The main plot of a novel is often paired with an underlying narrative that serves as a commentary for the historical events in which the story is set in. Willa Cather’s A Lost Lady centers on the rise and fall of the social standing of Mrs. Forrester, the wife of a wealthy captain and an ardent socialite. In addition, the novel also tells the story of the replacing of the era of pioneers by the era of businessmen. The Captain, a man of kind disposition, and Ivy Peters, a cruel and unsavory boy from town, represent the old and new eras, respectively. Their different attitudes toward nature and women, in particular towards Mrs. Forrester, exemplify the values of the time periods they represent. Cather, through the partial perspective of Niel
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The disagreement of the characters of Captain Forrester and Ivy Peters begins with their impressions toward nature, as the former holds it in high regard while the latter does not care for it at all. The Captain’s love affair with the natural beauty of Sweet Water begins during his railroad days, wherein, upon seeing the hill “where his house now stood …. [he] made up his mind that he would one day have a house there” (Cather 42). The planning and patience required to complete this feat displays the Captain’s gentle and resolute nature, as he is willing to wait years to achieve what he wants. Even when he purchases the land, he does not abuse it, instead “[planting his] grove and [his] orchard” so as to profit off of the land while simultaneously furthering the beauty of it (43). His love for nature does not disappear with age; after his stroke, the Captain sits for hours on end “in the bushy little plot he …show more content…
Through Niel’s point of view, the men of the old era are pioneers, whose venture into the wilderness is seen as courageous, but this thinking is one dimensional and lacks perspective. The men of the old era were no less ruthless than the men of the new era, but the fog of nostalgia clouds the perspectives of both the reader and the narrator. As what happens with constantly comparing the new with the old, a desire to return to what is familiar appears, as it represents comfort and stability. The new era, in turn, always brings about scorn from those who yearn for the old, as the new era breaks traditions and barriers in its quest to differentiate itself from the movements and men who came before
The disagreement of the characters of Captain Forrester and Ivy Peters begins with their impressions toward nature, as the former holds it in high regard while the latter does not care for it at all. The Captain’s love affair with the natural beauty of Sweet Water begins during his railroad days, wherein, upon seeing the hill “where his house now stood …. [he] made up his mind that he would one day have a house there” (Cather 42). The planning and patience required to complete this feat displays the Captain’s gentle and resolute nature, as he is willing to wait years to achieve what he wants. Even when he purchases the land, he does not abuse it, instead “[planting his] grove and [his] orchard” so as to profit off of the land while simultaneously furthering the beauty of it (43). His love for nature does not disappear with age; after his stroke, the Captain sits for hours on end “in the bushy little plot he …show more content…
Through Niel’s point of view, the men of the old era are pioneers, whose venture into the wilderness is seen as courageous, but this thinking is one dimensional and lacks perspective. The men of the old era were no less ruthless than the men of the new era, but the fog of nostalgia clouds the perspectives of both the reader and the narrator. As what happens with constantly comparing the new with the old, a desire to return to what is familiar appears, as it represents comfort and stability. The new era, in turn, always brings about scorn from those who yearn for the old, as the new era breaks traditions and barriers in its quest to differentiate itself from the movements and men who came before