Abstract

Abstract:

This essay provides an explanation for American author Willa Cather's confounding decision to ban the publication of her letters, arguing that one mustunderstand the specific personal and psychological contexts of the executionof her final will in 1943. Since the ban on publication has now been lifted byCather's executors, the essay uses ample direct evidence from the letters themselvesto analyze the concerns that led to Cather's choice. I argue that Cather'sban emerged from a time of grief, physical pain, and growing hopelessnessabout the future while the world was at war.

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