The Central Library Brown Baggers enjoyed a lively discussion of “My Antonia” (published 1918) by Willa Cather on Thursday August 21st.  This is the second book by Cather we have discussed with the first being Cather’s final published work (1940), “Sapphira and the Slave Girl”  which we discussed back in May 2024.  

Jim, the narrator of My Antonia, is recalling his childhood when at age 10 he was relocated from Virginia to the prairie to live with his grandparents after he was orphaned. The story  is told completely through Jim’s eyes. 

Set during the late 19th century, the title character Antonia is an immigrant girl who ends up in Nebraska with her family on a neighboring homestead.

Our readers really admired Antonia and thought she came across as full of spirit and energy. And we thought Jim felt possessive of Antonia, therefore the title. 

Another immigrant teen character Lena was also admired by our readers as someone who made it on her own, no marriage or children, with an entrepreneurial spirit.

Jim and Antonio go on to have very different lives but connect occasionally over the years.  

In the end our readers felt Jim envied Antonio’s life.  She enjoyed a husband and family, out on the land as she preferred vs. being in town.

Cather’s vivid descriptions of scenery and the landscape gave our readers a real sense of place.