Willa Cather & the Feminist Perspective Written by a Woman

In the modern period, Virginia Woolf was the first to examine from an avowedly female perspective the conventional views of what is held to be great literature. In A Room of One's Own, Woolf questions whether the assumptions and institutions of literary convention are adequate to explain the undeniable fact that most of the world's profound literature has been created by men. Tying together economics and literature, she notes that the lack of a profound female literary tradition can be traced directly to the economic powerlessness of women throughout history; their social responsibilities, set for them by men, precluded the collective development of their genius. On this view, the history of female literary accomplishment becomes an exception that proves the rule.

In the first place, to have a room of her own, let

alone a quiet room or a soundproof room, was out of

the question, unless her parents were exceptionally

rich or very noble, even to the beginning of the

nineteenth century. . . . [H]er pin money . . .

depended on the good will of her father (Woolf 54).

Pampered, provided for, womenor at least those of Woolf's social class, with whom she appears to have been principally concernedhad no capacity for authentic artistic creation and especially no opportunity to create a tradition of art. The lack of such a tradition "must have told enormously upon the writing of women"

ls closer to them in opinion than to her own family and ultimately understands that it is slavery that has poisoned the atmosphere of the mill farm. She would rather associate with them than with her own kin, and ultimately does when she hatches Nancy's escape conspiracy. Similarly, the opportunity to live in Washington was precisely her chance to affiliate with such people rather than with her own kind; she was reluctant to have her mother visit and become a part of this life at all. Had her husband lived, she would have had a permanent place in the leadership of what may be called abolitionist social consciousness. All of this becomes possible for her on a small scale when she places Nancy on the underground railroad. No less significantly, Rachel has done her part to help the American South reclaim something of its own decency. In this regard, Donald reminds one of the known fact that two of the most prominent abolitionist leaders were the Grimke sisters of South Carolina. Nancy gone, Sapphira reclaims something of a sense of decorum within her family unit, attempting a reconciliation with both Rachel and Colbert as she faces the prospect of an invalid old age. The decorum is there; that is all. The relationship between