My Antonia :: essays research papers

Book 3, "Lena Lingard," is set in Lincoln, Nebraska where Jim studies under the instruction of an admired scholar Gaston Cleric. Lena Lingard moves to Lincoln to set up a tailoring business and visits Jim. They start seeing each other regularly, going to the theater, and spending Sunday mornings together. He enjoys her company much more than that of the women of his own class who are so interested in socializing that they seem to have no life in them. Lena’s shop is very successful. She tells Jim she plans never to marry, having seen enough of marriages to know that it is not for her. She wants to be able to determine her own choices in life. Her plan is to make enough money to set her mother and younger siblings up in a comfortable house. From Lena, Jim hears about Antonia’s boyfriend, Larry Donovan, a railroad conductor who puts on airs above his status. No one likes Larry, but Antonia will not hear anything bad said of him. One day, Gaston Cleric comes to see Jim and tells him he will be teaching at Harvard. He invites Jim to come with him. Jim reluctantly says good-bye to Lena and then goes home for a visit before leaving. Book 4, "The Pioneer Woman’s Story," takes place two years later when Jim has finished his college courses and comes home to visit before continuing on to law school. Antonia is now twenty-four years old and has had a baby outside of marriage. Jim is disgusted with her and doesn’t plan to go see her where she is living with her family again. However, one day he is in the photography shop and sees a large picture of Antonia’s baby. The photographer says she is extremely proud of her baby. Jim decides to go out and talk to the Widow Steavens, a woman who has been renting his grandparents’ farm and who helped Antonia throughout the preparations for her wedding and who helped her after her child was born. Mrs. Steavens tells him that Antonia and Larry Donovan got engaged and Antonia set to work on her linens and her trousseau. She came to Mrs. Steavens’ house every day to sew. Larry Donovan was in Denver working. He took a long time to send for her and when he did he said they would be living in Denver instead of Black Hawk.