Will Cather by Emily Zobal

Willa Cather: View on Walt Whitman and Women

Willa Cather was born on December 7th, 1873 in Back Creek Virginia. Cather’s childhood had a lasting impression on her that was very influential on her writing. When Willa Cather was nine years old, her family moved to Catherton, Nebraska and began a new life there and eventually settled in Red Cloud, Nebraska. When Willa first moved there she was not too keen on the vastness of Nebraska’s land. As time went on, the land began to grow on her and became a very influential aspect to her and became influential in her writing.

Willa Cather wrote many essays about other writer’s works. Just to name a few of the familiar authors, they were; Edgar Allan Poe, Henry James, William Deans Howells, Mark Twain and many more.

My favorite essay that I read that Willa Cather wrote was about the one, the only; Walt Whitman.

One of the greatest American poets and writers is considered to be Walt Whitman. Willa Cather had some opinions of her own about Mr. Whitman. In an essay that Cather wrote about Walt Whitman she made references that he had “no literary ethics” and that “He was a poet without an exclusive sense of the poetic, a man without the finer discriminations.” She didn’t call Whitman a good poet, but she also didn’t necessarily call him a bad poet. This is where Willa Cather is coming from:

As the essay went on, Cather began to go on about how nothing delighted this man more than nature did. His passion for nature shines through in his writing. Cather expressed that “He accepted the world just as it is and glorified it.” I don’t think this is a bad thing, in fact, I think this is one of the greatest qualities about Whitman. I don’t think that Cather meant this statement to be a bad thing either, she admires that quality in Whitman. It is truly a gift to be able to accept things what they truly are.

Although Cather may lead on the that she has her doubts about Whitman at first by saying that he was neither good nor bad writer, she continues in her essay to say that that there in uncanny primitive element force about him, “Whitman’s poems are reckless rhapsodies over creation in general sometime sublime, some times ridiculous.” In my opinion, something ridiculous equal pure beauty, perhaps even pure genius. Cather recognized that Walt Whitman saw the beauty in nature and accepted the world for exactly the way it was.

“And yet there is an undeniable charm about this optimistic vagabound who is made so happy by the warm sunshine and the smell of spring fields. A sort of good fellowship and whole- heartedness in every line he wrote. "

A quote that I really appreciated made by Walt Whitman and made me able to grasp what Willa Cather was trying to express in her essay was this:

“I think I could turn and live with the animals. They are so placid and self-contained, I stand and look at them long and long. They do not sweat and whine about their condition. They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins. They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God. Not one is dissatisfied not nor one is demented with the mainia of many things. Not one kneels to another nor to his hand that lived in thousands of years ago. Not one is respectable or unhappy, over the whole earth.”
-Walt Whitman

Willa Cather’s essay about Walt Whitman to me was about the originality of this American writer, and how he is able to capture the beauty in nature and the world.
I’ve really begun to admire Willa Cather as not only a writer but also as a person. She always stands up for what she believes is right and it didn’t matter to if she was “going against the grain.” The fact that she was able to give her true opinion about Walt Whitman even though he was beloved American writer by most, is something to admire. Something else that I find very admirable in Willa Cather is her defiance of the social norm of women of her time.
Willa Cather never let the fact that she was a woman hold her back from anything, and I mean anything. She was one of the first women to graduate from college university that wasn’t just specifically for women. I think anybody can agree that graduating college even in this day in age is quite the accomplishment, the fact that she did it in 1894.

“The fact that I was a girl never damaged my ambitions to be a pope or an emperor.”
-Willa Cather

I think Willa Cather had her sense of a strong willed woman show through in the characters in her book. For example, the book that we’re familiar with, My Antonia, has a very commendable woman character. Ántonia Shimerda, an intelligent woman, makes a major move from Nebraska to Bohemian and although she is faced with an large change in her life she still remains optimistic while still grieving the loss of her father. Instead of letting this life change and grief defeat her, she comes out on top. The strength this woman has throughout the novel is undeniable.
Willa Cather is a woman to be looked up to and respected. She was a woman with great ambition and never let anything hold her back, whether it be her opinion or her gender.

Appreciate Quotes? Check these out!
As I was looking up information about Willa Cather, I stumbled upon a collection of her quotes. Seeing that I am huge quote fanatic, I really took a liking to these particular quotes by her.

“The stupid believe that to be truthful is easy; only the artist, the great artist, knows how
difficult it is.”

“Some memories are realities, and are better than anything that can ever happen to one again.”

“Desire is creation, is the magical element in that process. If there were an instrument by which to measure desire, one could foretell achievement.”

“Most of the basic material a writer works with is acquired before the age of fifteen.”

Sources:
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/willa_cather.html
http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/8894/
http://www.willacather.org/