Willa Cather was one of the most prominent American writers of the early 20th century. Writing novels, essays, and short stories, Cather relied on her youth in Nebraska for inspiration. Though, Nebraska lacked many of Cather’s longings like the arts. By moving to Pittsburgh and New York after college, Cather would find the indulgences she desired. In two of Willa Cather’s short stories, “Paul’s Case” and “A Wagner Matinee,” Cather demonstrates how the arts allow people to temporarily escape their miserable lives by explaining the effects of theatre and music on those passionate about it.
Growing up in the Midwest provided Willa Cather with unique experiences that appear in her writings. Originally from Virginia, Cather, at nine years old, moved …show more content…
At the beginning of the novel, Paul immediately distinguishes himself from other teenagers through his peculiar behavior in the classroom and distinctive style. For example, at a hearing with the school’s faculty regarding his behavioral problems, Paul wears “an opal pin in his neatly knotted black four-in-hand, [with] a red carnation” (“Paul’s Case” 1). His unusual choice in clothing compels the reader, the school’s headmaster, and the teachers to believe that Paul is unlike ordinary teenagers and thus, misunderstood (Hicks). Soon after the meeting, Paul must go to the Carnegie Hall where he works as an usher. Paul reveals that the hall not only excites him but also comforts him, something school could never do. This appears in the dressing room when Paul “[is] quite beside himself… [the boys are] telling him that he [is] crazy…Paul [dashes] out to the front of the house to seat the early corners” (“Paul’s Case” 2). When the orchestra finally appears, Paul takes his seat and “the first sigh of the instruments seem[s] to free some hilarious and potent spirit within [Paul]” as he “[feels] a sudden zest of life” (“Paul’s Case” 2). Entrancing Paul, the music guides him into a fantasy where he escapes his responsibilities as a young man and only appreciates what he hears (Gold). …show more content…
Originally a music teacher in Boston, Aunt Georgina “[had] been exiled to the barbarian country of a bleak prairie farm, where she has toiled like a slave” (Woodress). Cather “plac[es] the story back in pioneer times” to paint a desolate picture of Nebraska and emphasize Aunt Georgina’s poor life (Woodress). For example, when Aunt Georgina exits the train in Boston“look[ing] not unlike one of those charred, smoked bodies that fireman lift from the débris of a burning building,” the reader automatically thinks of Nebraska as an unwelcoming place (Matinee 1). Aunt Georgina needed to return to Boston because of a family matter and there she stays with her nephew, Clark, with whom she became close during his childhood. This bond developed because during Clark’s adolescence, he visited Aunt Georgina for the summer in Nebraska and “she would sit with [him] by the hour…while [he] struggled with the ‘Harmonious Blacksmith’; but she seldom talked to him about music” (Matinee 2). Although Aunt Georgina adored music, she attempted to rid it from her life upon arriving to Nebraska because it reminded her of her history with music in Boston. This is why when Clark began to love one of his aunt’s music books as a child, she told him to “pray that whatever your sacrifice [in life] be it is not that” (Matinee 2). Thus, when Aunt Georgina visits
Growing up in the Midwest provided Willa Cather with unique experiences that appear in her writings. Originally from Virginia, Cather, at nine years old, moved …show more content…
At the beginning of the novel, Paul immediately distinguishes himself from other teenagers through his peculiar behavior in the classroom and distinctive style. For example, at a hearing with the school’s faculty regarding his behavioral problems, Paul wears “an opal pin in his neatly knotted black four-in-hand, [with] a red carnation” (“Paul’s Case” 1). His unusual choice in clothing compels the reader, the school’s headmaster, and the teachers to believe that Paul is unlike ordinary teenagers and thus, misunderstood (Hicks). Soon after the meeting, Paul must go to the Carnegie Hall where he works as an usher. Paul reveals that the hall not only excites him but also comforts him, something school could never do. This appears in the dressing room when Paul “[is] quite beside himself… [the boys are] telling him that he [is] crazy…Paul [dashes] out to the front of the house to seat the early corners” (“Paul’s Case” 2). When the orchestra finally appears, Paul takes his seat and “the first sigh of the instruments seem[s] to free some hilarious and potent spirit within [Paul]” as he “[feels] a sudden zest of life” (“Paul’s Case” 2). Entrancing Paul, the music guides him into a fantasy where he escapes his responsibilities as a young man and only appreciates what he hears (Gold). …show more content…
Originally a music teacher in Boston, Aunt Georgina “[had] been exiled to the barbarian country of a bleak prairie farm, where she has toiled like a slave” (Woodress). Cather “plac[es] the story back in pioneer times” to paint a desolate picture of Nebraska and emphasize Aunt Georgina’s poor life (Woodress). For example, when Aunt Georgina exits the train in Boston“look[ing] not unlike one of those charred, smoked bodies that fireman lift from the débris of a burning building,” the reader automatically thinks of Nebraska as an unwelcoming place (Matinee 1). Aunt Georgina needed to return to Boston because of a family matter and there she stays with her nephew, Clark, with whom she became close during his childhood. This bond developed because during Clark’s adolescence, he visited Aunt Georgina for the summer in Nebraska and “she would sit with [him] by the hour…while [he] struggled with the ‘Harmonious Blacksmith’; but she seldom talked to him about music” (Matinee 2). Although Aunt Georgina adored music, she attempted to rid it from her life upon arriving to Nebraska because it reminded her of her history with music in Boston. This is why when Clark began to love one of his aunt’s music books as a child, she told him to “pray that whatever your sacrifice [in life] be it is not that” (Matinee 2). Thus, when Aunt Georgina visits