Willa Cather, twentieth century American frontier novelist, adeptly displays heroic immigrant women who victoriously fight against environmental and cultural odds of the pioneer life at Nebraska. This paper addresses the fluctuating gender roles of her times and her version of male-female identity as discussed in My Antonia, where she strives hard at establishing the identity of the ‘New Woman’ and the weariness of the seemingly confused male of twentieth century. The paper deliberates about Jim and Antonia’s selfhood, besides discussing the psychological bearing of Jim’s repressed desires, frequently flashed in the form of dreams, treated by Sigmund Freud’s popular concept of ‘Interpretation of Dreams’.illa Cather, twentieth century American frontier novelist, adeptly displays heroic immigrant women who victoriously fight against environmental and cultural odds of the pioneer life at Nebraska. This paper addresses the fluctuating gender roles of her times and her version of male-female identity as discussed in My Antonia, where she strives hard at establishing the identity of the ‘New Woman’ and the weariness of the seemingly confused male of twentieth century. The paper deliberates about Jim and Antonia’s selfhood, besides discussing the psychological bearing of Jim’s repressed desires, frequently flashed in the form of dreams, treated by Sigmund Freud’s popular concept of ‘Interpretation of Dreams’.
Keywords: Self, Identity, twentieth century gender roles, New Woman, selfhood, dream etc.
