Power Structures in Willa Cather’s My Ántonia

Sammanfattning: The thesis in this essay states that Ántonia Shimerda and Lena Lingard in My Ántonia achieve a higher degree of woman emancipation because of their active response to prevailing power structures and that Cather uses the hardships and disappointments of these young women to highlight these power structures. Therefore, My Ántonia can be regarded as a novel taking a stand against patriarchal power structures. The primary text is My Ántonia by Willa Cather, which is analysed with the help of Foucault’s theory of power and Judith Butler’s gender theories. The essay discusses which power structures are affecting Ántonia Shimerda and Lena Lingard and how these obtain a higher degree of woman emancipation due to their response to these power structures. Furthermore, the essay also deals with which inequalities in society that are highlighted by Cather in My Ántonia and how this is made.