Published Paper Details:

American pioneers were the early settlers who came from Europe and other countries in search of the American dream of a new life full of possibilities . They embraced the unknown, charted unexplored territories and struggled to rewrite their destinies. And yet, the pioneering activity is usually presented as a male enterprise either ignoring the role of women or presenting them as weak, worn and unwilling partners . However, the literature written by women presents an entirely different picture providing a fresh perspective on the positive contribution of the women in the pioneer experience and nation building. The present paper examines two novels by Willa Cather, O Pioneers!(1913) and My Antonia (1918) , to get a feminist view of the dominant male discourse of the pioneers and their early lives in America. Cather moved to America as a nine year old child with her family and had a first hand experience of the hardships she has described in her novels. Her life in the frontier state of Nebraska during her formative years influenced and informed her literary style in describing the immigrant experience amidst the vastness of the western plains.