8-3 Willa Cather

Willa Cather was a seemingly strange woman.  She was born in 1873 and at the age of nine her family migrated to Nebraska.  She grew up among European immigrants who were full of courage, sensitivity, and perseverance which she used in her novels.  She challenged gender roles by dressing unconventionally.  she wore her hair short and dressed in men's clothing.  In 1900 Cather began publishing poems and short stories.  She published many poems and short stories among those were,"A Wagnor Matinee" and "Paul's Case."

The first short story "A Wagnor Matinee" was the story of a women and how she became lost in life.  Her nephew received a letter in the mail informing him that he was to take care of her for a bit.  His Aunt Georgiana the woman who raised him was coming to town and he wanted to show her a wonderful time.  As a young woman his aunt was a music teacher and had a great passion for music.  She met her husband and he convinced her to run away and elope.  She went from having a wonderful life to having nothing.  I do not think she hated her life life or her husband by any means, but she did regret it to a point.  They got land and lived on a small farm.  She spent the rest of her days working on the farm and raising children.  He was very close with his aunt and she had shared her loved of music with him.  She spent a lot of time teaching him many different works and taught him to play the piano.  There was a time when she told him not love the music too much or it might be taken away.  There was a deep sadness created by that scene for me, the thing she loved the most had been taken from her.

When his aunt arrived he decided to take her to the Oprah house.  She was not at all now like she was before, she had aged considerably.  He was worried she would not enjoy the Symphony Orchestra.  At first it seemed like she did not want to go, but I am guessing because it had been so long since she had been she felt a little uneasy.  Once in the Oprah house they sat together as the show began and as the songs played his aunt was moved.  They shared moments of sadness and happiness.  He was reminded of many times as a child and their time spent together.  She was in bliss and enjoyed every moment of the Oprah.  It took her back to a time way before the farm and before she was taken away from her music.  When the Oprah was over she did not want to leave.  It was back to reality, and back to what her life had become.

Often times I think that happens to many people.  Life sweeps us away.  In the business of life we lose our passions, goals, and dreams and before you know it life is almost at an end. 

The second story was Paul's Case.  Paul was a misunderstood teenager that desperately wanted attention.  He was a teenager that was basically hated by all his teachers.  They had a right not to like him, because he was constantly causing trouble in his classes.  He would tell elaborate stories about being friends with the actors at the music hall and things he did that never happened.  He felt his life was plain and boring.  He sat dreaming of a life he didn't have, and resenting his family for being so plain.  His father was no help and certainly did not encourage any of his hopes and dreams.  His family was not poor by any means, but his father did not like to give him money.  He let him work at Carnegie Hall as an usher to make some extra money.  It was there he became obsessed with he lives of the musicians and actors that graced the stage night after night.  He felt at home during the performances and was swept away.  He was a very peculiar person though.  After he was off work he would often follow the performers to their hotel and imagine what it was like to be there. 

One day at school he decided to take his smart little comments too far with one of his teachers.  Normally he gets out of trouble and normally he can go back to his life without much consequence, but not today.  That comment was the last straw.  He was taken out of school and away from his job.  His father told the people he worked for not to let him in anymore.  Paul was pulled out of his fantasy world and into reality.  This did not set well with Paul, and soon he was headed to New York.  He had stolen deposit money from his dad’s business.  He wanted to venture into the hotels he dreamed about and live the life of the famous.  He wanted to escape reality and be someone else.  He rented a wonderful room and enjoyed all the amenities of being rich and famous.  This bliss could not last for too long of course and soon all the money he had stolen was spent.  His name was in the newspaper and his father was looking for him.  He soon realized that he number was up.  He began to run with the little money he had left, and when he realized there was nowhere to run he took his own life.