Abstract

Willa Cather has completed twelve long novels in her life time, and establishes her fame in the American literary canon of the early 20th century. Many works of the famous American writer Willa Cather explore the relationship between human and nature, O Pioneers is one of them. 

This paper attempts to analyze the differences of ecological consciousness between male and female with Eco-feminism in her novel O Pioneers, and states that assertive female principle is beneficial to establish a harmonious relationship between human and nature through the analysis of the relationship between the mistress Alexander and nature. The thesis analyzes the novel O Pioneers in view of eco-feminism aiming to reveal the interdependent relationship between nature and women and call on people to reconstruct the society in the ecological and feminine way to achieve natural harmony. 

    Key words: Willa Cather; Eco-feminism; harmony; nature

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

2. Literature Review-2

3. The General Knowledge of Eco-feminism-3

3.1 Origin and Formation of Eco-feminism-3

3.2 Significance of Eco-feminism-4

4. An Analysis of Eco-feminism in O Pioneers-4

4.1 Relationship between Men and Nature-4

4.2 Relationship between Women and Nature-6

4.2.1 Relationship between Women and Land-6

4.2.2 Intimacy with the Land and the Animal-6

4.3 Return to Nature-7

4.3.1 Harmony between Women and Nature-7

4.3.2 Pioneer Women’s Identity as an Independent Spirit-9

5. Conclusion-11

References-13