An Eco-critical Analysis Of Male Characters In Willa Cather’s Prairie Trilogy

Willa Cather is an important female writer in the twentieth century in America.She is celebrated for portraying the frontier life in Nebraska prarie. O, Pioneers! TheSong of the Lark and My Antonia， also called The Prairie Trilogy, are threerepresentative novels describing the landscape of the vast prarie. Recent years with thedeterioration of the environment, Ecocriticism has played an important role in the fieldof literature criticism. Eco-critics mainly advocate the vitalness of respecting andprotecting nature and the necessity of keeping a harmonious man-nature relationship.In Willa Cather’s Prairie Trilogy, readers can see the beautiful scenery of the westparirie and feel the pioneering spirit of the immigrants. In these three novels, the femalemain characters all live in harmony with nature. It is no wonder many critics have dweltinto depth about the deep ecological consciousness of the female characters in thesenovels. However, the male characters are often ignored or just considered to be a foil.This thesis focuses on the male’s ecological consciousness, from which we further thinkabout the issue of man-nature relationship.The thesis is divided into five parts. The first part is an introduction to WillaCather and The Prairie Trilogy, a brief summary of the critical review of the novels anda brief introduction to ecocriticism. The second part analyzes the male characters whohold anthropocentrism. These male figures with man-centered ideology control anddestroy the nature at will, and at last are abandoned by nature in return. The third partstudies the male characters who believe in ecocentrism. These male characters considernature as man’s close friend. In their eyes, man and nature are equal and interdependent;nobody has the right to control and destroy the nature. Therefore, they keep aharmonous relationship with nature. The fourth part focuses on Cather’s ecologicalconsciousness. Cather shows the strong eagerness to setting up the harmonious relationship between man and nature. The last part is conclusion.Men and nature are interdependent and interrelated; men are just one part ofnature. Both men and women have the responsibility to maintain the harmoniousdevelopment of the ecosystem. The male characters, under the influence of patriarchalideology, play an important role in keeping the harmonious man-nature relationship.Only by abandoning the anthropocentrism we human beings are possible to lead aharmonious life in nature and the whole ecosystem can develop soundly.