Immovable: Willa Cather’s Logic of Art and Place

I M M O V A B L E : W l L L A C A T H E R ’S L O G I C o f A r t a n d P l a c e M a r í a C a r l a S á n c h e z A ft e r t h e p u b l i c a t i o n o f D e at h C o m e s f o r th e A r c h b ish o p , W illa C a t h e r r e c e iv e d so m a n y in q u ir ie s c o n c e r n in g t h e n o v e l ’s h ist o r ic a l d e t a i l a n d h e r o w n c o m p o s it io n a l m e t h o d o lo g y t h a t sh e a d d r e sse d a n o p e n le t t e r t o t h e p u b lic in t h e C o m m o n w e a l m a g a z in e . I n t h e c o u r se o f d e sc r ib in g h e r v isit s t o N e w M e x i c o a n d t h e in sp ir a t io n sh e t o o k fr o m it s p e o p le a n d a r c h it e c t u r e , C a t h e r in d u lg e d in a slig h t d ig r e ssio n : M a y I sa y h e r e t h a t w it h in t h e la st fe w y e a r s so m e o f t h e n e w e r p r ie st s d o w n in t h a t c o u n t r y h a v e b e e n t a k in g a w a y fr o m t h o se o ld c h u r c h e s t h e ir o l d h o m e ly im a g e s a n d d e c o r a t io n s, w h ic h h a v e a d e fin it e a r t ist ic a n d h ist o r ic v a lu e , a n d r e p la c i n g t h e m b y c o n v e n t io n a l, fa c t o r y - m a d e c h u r c h fu r n ish ­ in g s fr o m N e w Y o r k ? . . . A l l C a t h o l i c s w ill b e so r r y a b o u t it , I t h in k , w h e n it is t o o la t e , w h e n a ll t h o se o ld p a i n t in g s a n d im a g e s a n d c a r v e d d o o r s t h a t h a v e so m u c h fe e lin g a n d in d i­ v id u a lit y a r e g o n e — so ld t o so m e c o l le c t o r in N e w Y...