1.  Jstor – Willa Cather (1873-1947). Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Paula Kepos. Vol. 31. Detroit: Gale Research, 1989. p23- 70.  academic, peer reviewed source  American Quarterly, published by the John Hopkins Press for the University of Nebraska  James E Miller- University of Chicago Professor Emeritus, published 20 books on English Literature.  Cites his sources, ties his claims to internal supporting references

2.  “While some critics claim ‘My Antonia’ has no central plot or action and lacks focus, there is an emotional unity throughout the book – that of the cyclical fate of human destiny and the cultural evolution of the West.”  James E Miller Jr.

4. Seasonal Cycles FALL Change, transition WINTER Death, struggle SPRING Discovery, hope SUMMER Freedom, peace, ease

5. OriginationExperience Work, struggleSocial awareness Intellectual Achievement Personal Success

6. Social tiers few opportunities (GROWTH) Complexity of adulthood, education, future (FRUITION) Humble beginnings Toil/hardship Satisfaction/happin ness (BIRTH) Status, success fulfillment sophistication (DECLINE and RETURN) East/HarvardFrontier BlackhawkLincoln

7. Earth Goddess/fertility Woman and hardship Woman Wronged Woman Fulfills Destiny A Return to Enduring Qualities

8. The book is sustained by several levels of structural cycles:  The seasons of the year  Stages of human life  Cultural phases of civilization. …and their movement of future into present and present into past.

9. 1. Are these cycles always at work in fiction or just more apparent in Western fiction? 2. How does this formula of cycles assist the depiction of women in western novels?