Modern Gargoyles and an Imagined Community of Care in Willa Cather's The Professor's House.

Society in the twenty-first century is characterized by selfishness, artificiality, and indifference that threaten altruistic values and the ideal coexistence of humankind. Considering the context of modern times and rapid changes in the paradigm of economic society, this study focuses on the belief that humankind must be integrated and connected harmoniously. The study suggests that the futuristic figures from Willa Cather's novel, "The Professor's House," like gargoyles, can be alternative models that lead to an altruistic and positive future by implementing the right social values in an imagined community of care. In the novel, Cather presents a model of integrated humans and an imagined community that prioritizes coexistence and convergence. Further, she explores the importance of new figures and future communities through connectedness, multi-communities for care, shared identity, social solidity, diverse caring experiences, and core skills for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]