Alexandra's Diary

Alexandra’s Diary


“The day after Emil’s funeral, Alexandra written to Carl Lindstrum; a single page of notepaper, a bare statement of what had happened.” Carl Lindstrum a friend, a best friend throughout Alexandra’s life was in Alaska or so she thought. He was far from her and the pain that Alexandra felt seem to consume her and she felt alone. “As the weeks went by and she heard nothing from him, it seemed to Alexandra that her heart grew hard against Carl. She began to wonder whether she would not do better to finish her life alone. What was left of life seemed unimportant.” (pg. 150)

As fate would have it, Alexandra’s youngest brother Emil met Marie when they were very little and they became good friends. As time went the neighbors, Emil and Marie, developed a close relationship. Nobody planned it, it just happened over time.

Alexandra’s brother Emil and his lover “Marie” who was a married woman were murdered one night by Marie’s jealous husband Frank. Alexandra, who was unmarried worked her whole life and gave her brother Emil a decent life. She educated him and desired to leave and will her home and land to him after her death. Alexandra saw something different in her youngest brother Emil and wanted him to have a life that she could not have. Now after Emil’s death Alexandra was alone and her best friend Carl was too far away from her and she saw her life as lonely.

At the end of Alexandra’s Diary she described her change in heart and a renewed love for Carl “She put her hand on his arm. ‘I needed you terribly when it happened, Carl. I cried for you at night. Then everything seemed to get hard inside of me, and I though perhaps I should never car for you again. But when I got your telegram yesterday, then – it was just as it used to be. You are all I have in the world, you know.’”(pg. 158)

Alexandra had lived her life single and alone, she lived her life for her youngest brother. Upon her Emil’s death Alexandra was free, free to love and live her own life. Alexandra’s life was tied to Emil and the land. “You belong to the land, “Carl murmured, “as you have always said. Now more than ever.” (pg. 160) Alexandra’s determination to work her land and succeed and provide for Emil created isolation around her.

At the end of the diary Alexandra finally commited to marriage to Carl “I had a dream before I went to Lincoln – But I will tell you about that afterward, after we are married.” “She leaned heavily on his shoulder, ‘I am tired,‘ she murmured. ‘I have been very lonely, Carl.’” (pg. 161)

Alexandra’s love of the land was as strong if not stronger than her love for Emil, her family and even for Carl “Fortunate country, that is one day to receive hearts like Alexandra’s into its bosom, to give them out again in the yellow wheat, in the rustling corn, in the shining eyes of youth!” (pg. 161) It was fortunate for the land that Alexandra would never completely leave.

In conclusion, Alexandra's strong character have some readers believing that Willa Cather was a feminist. Cather wrote about strong independent woman. In the article "Who Stole Willa Cather, it says "Feminism is only necessary for victims, weak women. Cather is not a "rebuke" to "the feminists"; indeed, she is an inspiration. But critics who tell us that because an exceptional woman has overcome the odds there is no reason for feminist analysis must expect to raise a few incredulous eyebrows." Alexandra's diary is about a strong woman who struggled and succeeded in the wilderness. It is a tribute to all the women who were like Alexandra.

Works Cited

Willa, Carter; O’Pioneer’s!
New York, New York: Barnes and Noble Publishers 2003

Kress, Susan. "Who Stole Willa Cather." Salmagundi. 135-136 (Summer-Fall 2002): 90-102. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Vol. 98. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 90-102. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Florida State University. 31 Oct. 2009