Cather Studies, Volume 7: Willa Cather as Cultural Icon

“Two or Three Human Stories”: O Pioneers! and the Old Testament

86 “Two or Three Human Stories” O Pioneers! and the Old Testament J E S S I C A G . R A B I N I N T R O D U C T I O N : B E C O M I N G A G I V E N Scholarship on canon construction suggests that texts become literary icons in much the same way that symbols accrue meanings, that is, through association. If a canonical work is “authoritative in our culture” (Bloom 1), then an iconic work might be emblematic or representative of certain ideas in a generally recognized way. In the case of both canon formation and iconography, intertextuality, or the ability to tap into a recognized tradition while still making a unique contribution, would seem essential. Sometimes canonicity and iconography collapse into one, rendering a literary text (or an author) both an icon and the cornerstone of a canon. The Old Testament, for example , occupies such a place in our culture and literature. Harold Bloom establishes this centrality of the Old Testament to the canon of Western literature by describing it as “such a given that we are blinded to its idiosyncrasies” (4). Many writers since have both adopted and adapted the biblical tradition as part of their own journey to canonical and iconic status. While Willa Cather’s literary corpus has by now earned an indisputable place in the canon of American literature, her status as an icon is only beginning to be systematically investigated. One step toward understanding Cather as cultural icon might involve beginning to explicate an iconography of Cather. Therefore it would seem that the powerful undercurrent of the Old Testament in Cather’s texts, 87 “Two or Three Human Stories” in terms of both content (particularly themes and motifs) and techniques (style and genres), would provide significant insights into Cather’s emergent status as literary and cultural icon. Explication of these undercurrents should not, however, be confused with engaging in the often fascinating but ultimately meaningless process of enumerating correspondences. A major flaw in such delineations is the necessity of establishing intentionality on the author’s part (otherwise we are just talking about coincidence). As familiar as Cather was with the Old Testament, it is safe to assume that she did not have access to (or perhaps even interest in) a wealth of biblical criticism and traditional rabbinic scholarship. But positing influence does not require intentionality. The likelihood that consciously created parallels and unconscious similarities coexist in Cather’s work does not detract from the importance of these Old Testament echoes. Quite the contrary, as Cather herself might point out. In fact, it seems plausible to argue that given Cather’s knowledge of the Old Testament, the elements that recur throughout Cather’s novels serve as another manifestation of “the thing that teases the mind over and over for years, and at last gets itself put down rightly on paper” (Not Under Forty 76). “A F A D E D T A P E S T R Y D E E P I N T H E C O N S C I O U S N E S S ” Cather’s knowledge of the Bible and its lifelong influence on her sensibilities have been well established: the Bible was among her earliest reading materials, and at least one prominent critic “can imagine her enjoying the sonorous phrases of the King James Bible” at her own funeral (Hoover 192).1 Furthermore, Cather habitually read from the Bible before writing, according to Malcolm Cowley, who speculates “that it did involve a touch of piety” (188) despite Cather’s avowal that she was only interested in quality prose. The rhythms and devices of that prose certainly made their mark. And although, as Thornton Wilder reports, Cather “regretted that she had formed this habit, for the prose rhythms of 1611 were not those she was in search of” 88 j e s s i c a g . r a b i n (qtd. in Cowley 188), her disclaimer should only serve to pique our interest, particularly since in other places she accepts this influence as a matter of course. Cather’s admiration for the Old Testament as a literary text with far-reaching canonical influence is apparent in her review of Thomas Mann’s Joseph and His Brothers, in which she proclaims the ubiquitous character of the...