O Pioneers!: Analysis of Major Characters
"O Pioneers!" is a novel by Willa Cather that explores the lives of Swedish immigrant families in Nebraska through the lens of its major characters. Central to the story is Alexandra Bergson, a strong and resourceful woman who takes over her family's farm after her father's death. Her innovative farming methods and dedication to cultivating the land illustrate her pioneering spirit, though her success comes at the cost of personal sacrifices, particularly in love. The narrative also delves into other pivotal characters, such as Carl Linstrum, who struggles with his identity between two cultures, and Emil Bergson, Alexandra's youngest brother, whose tragic love affair highlights the emotional complexities of rural life.
The novel portrays a range of relationships, from the supportive yet distant bond between Alexandra and her brothers, Oscar and Lou, to the tumultuous romance between Emil and Marie Shabata, which ends in tragedy. Additionally, characters like the hermit Crazy Ivar and the spirited Amédée Chevalier enrich the story with themes of wisdom, friendship, and the harsh realities of frontier life. Overall, "O Pioneers!" presents a rich tapestry of character dynamics set against the backdrop of the American frontier, reflecting on themes of resilience, love, and the struggle for identity in a new land.
O Pioneers!: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Willa Cather
First published: 1913
Genre: Novel
Locale: Nebraska
Plot: Regional
Time: 1880–1910
Alexandra Bergson, the daughter of a Swedish immigrant homesteader on the Divide in Nebraska. A strong-willed woman of great courage and resourcefulness, she takes charge of the farm after her father's death and, through good years or bad, uses the land wisely. When times are hard and neighbors become discouraged and move away, she scrimps and saves to add their acres to her own. She is the first on the Divide to try new agricultural methods, to plant alfalfa, to build a silo. She keeps Oscar and Lou, her younger brothers, from leaving the farm for easier work and softer living in town. At the end, she can look out over her cultivated fields and know that she has won prosperity for herself and her brothers. Yet her success as a farmer is bought at the price of her experience as a woman. Twice she sees Carl Linstrum, whom she loves, leave the Divide with no words of love spoken. She is more than forty when the death of Emil, her youngest brother, killed by a jealous husband, teaches her the need of love and the grace of compassion, and she and Carl are reunited. Alexandra Bergson is a character almost epic in stature, a fertility goddess of the plains subduing the wild and stubborn land and making it fruitful.
John Bergson, an immigrant farmer who dreams of re-gaining on his Nebraska homestead a family fortune lost in Sweden. He dies after eleven years of failure, his faith in the land still unshaken. On his deathbed, he asks his two eldest sons to be guided by their sister, for he sees in her qualities of imagination, energy, desire, and wisdom that her brothers lack.
Mrs. Bergson, a devoted wife and mother who tries to maintain household order by clinging to old, familiar European ways. Her twin passions are gardening and preserving.
Carl Linstrum, a grave, introspective young man unsuited to farm life on the Nebraska frontier. His predicament is that of many transplanted Europeans, divided as he is between his Old World heritage and his prairie environment. When his father sells the Linstrum farm and moves back to St. Louis, Carl goes to the city to learn the engraver's trade. Sixteen years later, dissatisfied with commercial life, he returns to the Divide, but Oscar and Lou Bergson, Alexandra's brothers, insult him and drive him away with accusations that he has come back to marry their sister for her money. Carl goes off to Alaska but returns when he reads the news of Emil Bergson's murder. This time, he and Alexandra plan to marry.
Oscar Bergson and Lou Bergson, Alexandra's younger brothers. Dull, insensitive, greedy, they respect their sister but have no real affection for her. Their great hope is that they or their children will inherit her land.
Emil Bergson, Alexandra's youngest brother, whose relationship to his sister seems more like that of a son than of a brother. He grows into a moody, restless young man. Less stolid than the Scandinavian Bergsons, he finds his friends among the more volatile, merrier Bohemians and French settlers in nearby communities. In love with Marie Shabata, a young married woman, he goes to Mexico for a time. After his return, he plans to study law in Omaha. One night, Frank Shabata finds Emil and Marie together and in his jealous rage kills them.
Marie Shabata (sha-BAH-tah), a pretty Bohemian housewife, innocently flirtatious from childhood, always merry and teasing. Having eloped with Frank Shabata, she tries to make the best of a bad situation and endures as cheerfully and patiently as possible his jealous suspicions and wild outbreaks of rage. At first, she refuses to acknowledge her true feelings for handsome young Emil Bergson, but circumstances bring them together until, one disastrous night, Frank Shabata finds the two in the orchard and shoots them.
Frank Shabata, a wildly jealous, bad-tempered man distrustful of his pretty young wife. After shooting Marie and Emil Bergson when he finds them together, he makes a futile effort to escape before surrendering to the authorities. Alexandra Bergson shows the true bigness and generosity of her nature after Frank has been sentenced to prison. Convinced that he had acted only as his rash and violent nature compelled him and that his punishment can serve no purpose for the dead, she visits him in the penitentiary at Lincoln and promises to do everything she can to get him pardoned.
Crazy Ivar, a Swedish hermit and horse doctor whom the uncharitable call crazy; others believe him touched by the hand of God. He is wise in homely folklore concerning animals, birds, and crops, and Alexandra Bergson asks his advice on many farm matters. After he loses his land during a period of depression, she gives him a home. Behind his clouded mind, he is a man of deep faith and shrewd wisdom.
Amédée Chevalier (ah-may-DAY sheh-vahl-YAY), a jolly, high-spirited young French farmer, Emil Bergson's best friend. He dies suddenly after an emergency operation for appendicitis.
Angélique Chevalier (an-zhay-LEEK), his young wife, widowed after a year of marriage.
Annie Lee, the neighbor girl whom Lou Bergson marries. Like her husband, she is ashamed of old-fashioned European ways and apes American dress and customs.
Milly, Stella, and Sadie, the daughters of Lou and Annie Bergson.
Mrs. Lee, Annie Bergson's mother, a spry, wholesome old woman who holds nostalgically to the Old World ways her daughter and son-in-law dislike. Every winter, she visits Alexandra Bergson, who allows the old woman to do as she pleases during her stay.
Signa, Alexandra Bergson's hired girl and friend.
Nelse Jensen, Signa's husband.
Barney Flinn, the foreman on Alexandra Bergson's farm.