The Chapter Three of Book Three in My Antonia : the Relationship Between Human and Environment - Research Paper Example

My Antonia by Willa Cather Introduction: My Antonia by Willa Cather is a story of the protagonist Jim Burden, who narrates it in the form of a Memoir. It has five books divided into several chapters. In the third chapter in book three, Jim talks about how he spent his time during the spring season. Jim attended quite some plays together with Lena Lingard. This chapter describes in detail their experience watching a play called Camille, which is a story of a man’s love for a woman, who is dying of tuberculosis. This chapter directly follows the previous chapter where Jim is seen alone in the city when he meets Lena and plans to go out in the evenings to the theatre. The next chapter indicates that Jim, apart from going out with Lena to theatre, also meets her at her shop, visits her apartment and spends a considerable amount of time, since the time he met her. Chapter three of book three seems to be an account of the play and their experience watching it, but it is significant to the entire book as it brings out the pain in Jim with his separation from Antonia and his sudden realization of the compelling similarity between the play and real life. This realization is the heart of the chapter. Discussion: Jim says on his way back home after watching the play Camille with Lena in the city: When we reached the door of the theatre, the streets were shining with rain. I had prudently brought along Mrs. Harlings useful Commencement present, and I took Lena home under its shelter. After leaving her, I walked slowly out into the country part of the town where I lived. The lilacs were all blooming in the yards, and the smell of them after the rain, of the new leaves and the blossoms together, blew into my face with a sort of bitter sweetness. I tramped through the puddles and under the showery trees, mourning for Marguerite Gauthier as if she had died only yesterday, sighing with the spirit of 1840, which had sighed so much, and which had reached me only that night, across long years and several languages, through the person of an infirm old actress. The idea is one that no circumstances can frustrate. Wherever and whenever that piece is put on, it is April (p. 201). After his account of how Jim and Lena were able to navigate through the rain, he slides into his version of his experience of his walk back home after leaving Lena at her house. Unlike Lena, he stays in the country side. Jim describes the things in nature as he finds his way back home through the country side in which he lives. It is spring and the rain has left the blossoming lilacs fresh and fragrant. However, the words “bitter sweetness”, juxtaposes two opposites forming an oxymoron reflecting the disposition of Jim. The play Camille has left a lasting impression on his mind, that he sees the overwhelming reality of pain in his heart left by his separation from Antonia. The despair and frustration that arises of his condition is influenced by Camille and its characters, especially Marguerite Gauthier. This passage directly follows the plot of the play, as the death of Marguerite Gauthier still hangs on Jim’s mind, so heavy that idyllic nature seems a mixture of pleasure and pain. The rain drenched street seems “shining” than otherwise and endearing to the eyes clear after the tears they shed in the theatre on watching the play. There are signs of new life everywhere starting with the mention of rain, fresh blooming lilacs and new leaves. Cather uses a mixture of images in these and an unexpected oxymoron conveys with all suddenness the experience that Jim had watching the play Camille. The play is an image of Jim and Antonia’s love and separation, Jim’s unrequited, helpless or unfulfilled love is seen in Armand. He undergoes a transformation along with the character Armand undergoing similar experience as his. This explains Jim’s “mourning for Marguerite Gauthier as if she had died only yesterday, sighing with the spirit of 1840, which had sighed so much, and which had reached me only that night, across long years and several languages, through the person of an infirm old actress”, which is obviously not an objective expression of the experience but a more personal pain upon a tragedy of a distant character on the stage (p.201). Jim has been nostalgic about his past and the words “as if she had died only yesterday” shows how much memories can disturb over a long period of time. This applies not only the impact of the play but more to Jim’s experiences in the past. Cather allows Jim to recreate his memories and record his feelings about his memories and experiences. The death of Marguerite Gauthier stirs up a sense of personal loss due to his past, especially Antonia and then Nebraska. Marguerite dies a tragic death partly due to her frustrated love and that causes Jim to reflect “the idea is one that no circumstances can frustrate” (p.201). He considers his pain as something beyond frustration, something to be accepted and lived with. The sorrow is unspeakable and timeless. The play stands as a symbol of his own personal experience and agony at the loss of a life-time love and relationship with Antonia. Cather has used the play as a wonderful image which serves as a framework for analysis of Jim’s person and the recurring themes. It also implies how art can reflect life and emotions, as close as it is in Jim’s case. Conclusion The Chapter Three of Book Three in My Antonia closely follows at the heels of the previous chapters by taking the common thread, Jim’s nostalgia, his love of Antonia and his pain having lost it. The play is a significant image, an external symbol of Jim’s emotions and experiences. It also serves as a framework for analysis. It also adds to one of the book’s themes on the relationship between human and environment. When Jim describes nature, it symbolizes his psychology and gives shape to his emotional state and thoughts after watching the play. The chapter as a whole fits into the plot by adding to the action. Jim meeting with Lena and engaging a lot in going to theatres and finding her mature, realizing his maturity are related to the motif of adolescent and development. Social activities with Lena serve as an important outlet for Jim’s emotions and are significant to the memoir of Jim’s life. Bibligraphy Cather, Willa. “My Antonia”. 1918. Google Books. 6 Dec. 2009 . Read More