85 pages • 2 hours read
Willa CatherA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Because this novel deals so much with the power of nature and humanity’s relationship to it, seasons are important symbols of human cycles of development. Winter symbolizes peace and self-reflection—a time to prepare for the bustle and regrowth of spring. It is during the brutal Nebraskan winter months that Marie withdraws into her unhappiness. It is also during these months that Alexandra contemplates her own loneliness. Both women look forward to the inevitable thaw. More practically, winter impedes farming and community-building, so the fact that Hanover survives the cold season demonstrates that it has become an unstoppable town. Cather uses the isolation of winter to express her message that while community is important, self-reflection and introspection are equally valuable.
The white mulberry tree is a symbol of love, innocence, and death. Under the white mulberry tree, Emil and Marie come together: It is the physical site where they finally express their love. However, it is also the site of their death, implying that ultimate happiness leads to (and perhaps is worth) the risk of self-destruction. In this duality, the tree alludes to the legend of Pyramus and Thisbe—doomed lovers who die under the mulberry tree where they have arranged to meet.
By Willa Cather
A Lost Lady
A Lost Lady
Willa Cather
A Wagner Matinee
A Wagner Matinee
Willa Cather
Coming, Aphrodite!
Coming, Aphrodite!
Willa Cather
Death Comes for the Archbishop
Death Comes for the Archbishop
Willa Cather
Lucy Gayheart
Lucy Gayheart
Willa Cather
My Antonia
My Antonia
Willa Cather
Neighbour Rosicky
Neighbour Rosicky
Willa Cather
One Of Ours
One Of Ours
Willa Cather
Paul's Case
Paul's Case
Willa Cather
Shadows on the Rock
Shadows on the Rock
Willa Cather
The Professor's House
The Professor's House
Willa Cather
The Sculptor's Funeral
The Sculptor's Funeral
Willa Cather
The Song of the Lark
The Song of the Lark
Willa Cather