Response to O Pioneers Post

In O Pioneers, there were a couple things that stood out to me. One of the things was how Alexandra was so much more different than every other woman. She was strong, independent and did what see wanted and got what she wanted. Most of the other women in the story were rather weak and just lived through their lives unhappily, like Marie. And then there was Carl, who was also very different to a lot of the other men. He traveled around and also did what he wanted to do and didn't really care about what other people thought. What stands out to me, too, is how Carl is not "manly" in the traditional sense. He is sensitive and even lets Alexandra carry his suitcase for him when he returns to Walnut Grove or wherever they are...And I thought it was interesting, I am not sure if there is a so what there, that they were the two to get together. They were perfect for each other, and there wasn't many romances in the story where the people were in love with who they were married to. Or something bad happened to their spouse and then they were alone, Angel's husband died. All I mean by this is that love didn't work out for alot of people but it did for Carl and Alexandra. OK, so you've potentially got two things here: one, Carl and Alexandra don't follow traditional gender roles. You could focus on either one of these characters to show how Cather exposes the confining nature of these roles. Or, you can look at them as "lovers" who are friends, not passionate, wild things (like the ducks, like Emil and Marie, etc.)
Another thing that I thought was interesting was the way Alexandra felt towards Marie. At the beginning of the book, she loved her dearly, thought of her as her best friend. I really believe Emil is a vehicle to triangulate Alexandra's desire for Marie. This seems true to me even in the very first time Marie is introduced--Alexandra cannot bear to tear Emil away from such a lovely playmate. But then as the book goes on, and Emil starts to get kind of interested in Marie, Alexandra got really annoyed with her and Alexandra didn't really want to spend as much time with Marie. Then at the end of the book when Frank kills Emil, Alexandras brother, and Marie, she feels really bad for Frank! She feels like he is the victim in this whole situation. Frank killed her only two friends and it seems like she didn't care so much about that and cared more about Franks well being. I think this was because Alexandra was either in love with Marie, or she was extremely jealous of her. It would make sense that if she was jealous of Marie, because everyone loved Marie and Marie was kind of what everyone wanted to be like. Then when Alexandra loses her brother to her, it makes it Alexandra even more angry at Marie and probably more jealous. Sisters never like who their brothers love, It was interesting to hear you discuss this in class. The problem is that she certainly has more reason to dislike Oscar and Lou's goofy wives, but she seems rather indifferent abou tthem and in Alexandras case it could be because she was in love with Marie. The way she talked about Marie, it sounded like she loved her and when someone you like starts to like another person, you can get annoyed with the person you like, which is what happened between Alexandra and Marie. OK, you've got it. To do a good queer reading, you look at the ways in which lesbian desire is coded in the text or repressed by the characters. Alexandra is one cold fish, but she certainly seems enamored with Marie at moments. By the end, though, she blames Marie for her passionate nature and perhaps understands how a man (a heterosexual man) would get sucked in by her. The problem to Alexandra seems to be unbridled passion. Marriage with Carl is "safe"; following her desires, especially a desire for Marie, is most certainly not safe. You're ready to go with this if you can finish this thesis: Cather uses Alexandra's repressed desire for Marie to show...? The danger of unsanctioned passion? The destructive force of wild passions? What do you think?
Look closely at Ch. 6 of Neighboring Fields and Ch. 2 of Winter Memories. Lots and lots to work with, but I think this could be fun for you.