I've had My Antonia on my bookshelf since I was a teenager and always passed it by when trying to decide what to read next. Finally, upon my father's recommendation, I picked it up. I loved it! One half of me wishes I'd read it long ago, but another part of me knows that I would not have understood everything implied in it. For instance, one less significant character in the book is Wick Cutter. One of the many villainous things Wick does, it is told, is he "ruins" a girl and then sets her up in another town to run the only business anyone would ever go to her for. In not so many words, he basically set her up in another town to run her own "house of ill -repute." At least that's how I understand it. Honestly I'm not sure I would have picked up on things like that when I was a teenager.
While this is not what I'd call a "bonnet book," I still cried at times! There is at least one instance when the main character, Jim Burden, is in between colleges and decides to visit his old friends and stomping grounds once again. At this point he reconnects with his childhood memories that he kind of pushed into the background of his mind because he was learning so many new ideas and philosophies in college. He actually becomes heartsick for his childhood. I distinctly remember a time like this in my own life, in my first marriage. I simply began sobbing uncontrollably for my childhood, my youth, once again! It was some sort of awakening that I had to grow up now and do my own housework, laundry, and ironing because if I didn't do it, nobody else would. Hindsight is always 20/20 of course, but looking back I can clearly see that my ex-husband was not the only immature one. I was pretty immature myself, mentally and emotionally.
I also loved the parts of the story where Jim Burden is describing how much he adores, admires, and respects the "hired girls," the eldest daughters of immigrant families who come to the town to make a living, and of course send money back home so their fathers can pay their debts and own their lands. Throughout the story I wondered why didn't he marry one of those girls he admired so much! At a point during his adolescent years he even despises the other boys his age because they don't see in the hired girls what he does! He seems to despise the American girls because they don't have the vitality, strenth, personality, or zeal for life the immigrant girls do. Yet back in those days people stuck to their own kind. American boys married American girls, and the immigrants for the most part stuck to their own kind. What a shame! And how unlike it is today!
Of course, Antonia Shimerda is the main object of Jim Burden's admiration throughout the entire book to some degree (hence, the title). She is a wonderful character who most women would probably like to emulate one way or another. I relate to her character in the sense that I've always been one to land on my feet out of any crises or struggle. I like to think that I'm a survivor, that no matter what circumstances I might face in life, I'd pull through, myself & my children. It bothers me that I depend on my parents as much as I do to help me with the kids. I'm always looking for ways to not rely on them, as silly as that may sound. I'm sure mothers out there who don't have their family nearby would love to be able to rely on their parents more. But Keith & I both kind of pride ourselves on standing on our own two feet, so to speak. We don't like to take help, but sometimes we have to.
Of course an overall theme of the book is the hardships the early pioners to the West had to face: the first winter, farming unfamiliar land, the language barrier, homesickness, etc. Antonia, I think, at least partly represents or symbolizes those pioneer women, specifically.
To conclude, if you haven't read My Antonia yet, read it! I'm actually going to give it to Keith to read next time he leaves the country, which won't be too long from now! I think this book appeals to men & women alike. It is not a "bonnet" book.
