If certain of the situations in the novel derive from Cather’s recollections of her youth, however, the novel’s high stature in American literature results from Cather’s ability as a writer. Her sensitivity to the prairie landscape and her elegantly uncomplicated prose style have earned her a spot among America’s finest novelists, and My Ántonia continues to stand as the most lasting hallmark of her skill. My Ántonia is generally considered a modernist novel. In the early twentieth century, many authors were concerned with the alienation from society that resulted from ongoing processes of mechanization and industrialization. These writers responded to what they perceived as an increased fragmentation of the world by creating narratives and
