56 pages • 1 hour read
Willa CatherA Lost Lady
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1923A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Decline of the Old American West
The novel’s major theme is the decline of the pioneer era, mirrored by the decline of Captain Forrester, who symbolizes the noble pioneer, and of Marian Forrester, whose warmth, graciousness, and lively spirit symbolize the essence of the old West. From the beginning of the story, the reader is told that Sweet Water, “one of those grey towns along the Burlington railroad, which are so much greyer today than they were then” (3), will suffer a downturn in prosperity in the span of the story. This happens, as Niel’s father and other townspeople fail in their endeavors and move away.
The Forresters, however, are shown to be thriving and prosperous. But Captain Forrester suffers economic ruin and increasing physical deterioration as the story goes on. Mrs. Forrester begins the story as a lively, charming young woman, but she’s slowly beaten down by her husband’s decline until she abandons her refined demeanor and cares only about making enough money to leave Sweet Water. Their trajectories embody the transition of the West over time. As the older pioneers aged and died, so did the wild, open land. With the land’s caretakers gone, there was no one to protect it from exploitation. Mining, deforestation, polluting of waterways, large-scale commercial agriculture, and other forms of despoiling the land change the character of the West.
Niel serves as the story’s point-of-view observer because this transition is so painful for him. He comes of age during the tail end of the pioneer era, just old enough to fall in love with its nobility and beauty, as symbolized by the Forresters. He mourns its passing and despises the West’s new ruling class, filled with crude, graceless men like Ivy Peters.
Author Willa Cather grew up on the prairies and felt a great love for the land and a sense of loss at the changes she observed. It is apparent from this novel that she considered the commercialization of the West a tragedy.
Idealization of the Pioneer Spirit
A related theme is Cather’s idealization of the pioneer spirit. During dinner with the Ogdens, Captain Forrester relates a story about the spirit of the original pioneers, how they dreamed of taking the open land and turning it into civilization:
“All our great West has been developed from such dreams; the homesteader’s and the prospector’s and the contractor’s. We dreamed the railroads across the mountains, just as I dreamed my place on the Sweet Water” (31).
Captain Forrester represents the kind of men who settled the West, who turned virgin land into civilization through sheer force of will. Their very dreams molded reality, like gods. This is what separates the pioneers from the following generation.
Captain Forrester loses his fortune for the same reasons he made it: his integrity and honor. As times changed, these traits are no longer required for success—they’re an impediment. Young unscrupulous men like Ivy Peters gain control of the land and the reins of power, supplanting the old pioneers. Niel feels that Ivy drained the marsh not so much for financial gain but to spite the Forresters and assert his power over former members of the upper class. The new breed of Westerners, like Ivy Peters, are parasites and vultures, capitalizing on the work of the pioneers. They exploit the land and its resources rather than take care of it. As the modern industrial age begins, the author appears to yearn for a simpler, more honorable time.
It is worth noting that seen through a modern lens, this idealization fails to consider the damage done to the land through farming and mining even in the pioneer era. Furthermore, it is never mentioned that the settling of the West decimated Native American communities. There is just one brief remark, that there was an Indian encampment on the spot where Captain Forrester chose to build his house. Nothing is said of what happened to those people when Sweet Water was settled.
Relationships Between Social Classes
Another primary theme is social stratification. At the beginning of the story, the reader sees how there are boys of different social classes within Niel’s group of friends. Niel and George are middle-class boys with professional fathers, who exhibit their status by their good manners. They are the only ones who know to stand up when Mrs. Forrester comes bearing cookies. The other boys are the sons of tradesmen; they are rough and lacking in manners. At the lowest end of the spectrum are the Blum brothers, German immigrants who “know their place.” When Niel is rushed to Mrs. Forrester’s house after being knocked unconscious, all the boys follow inside except for the Blums, who instinctively wait outside the kitchen door. Yet even though he is poor, Adolph Blum shows proper appreciation. He does not tell anyone when he sees Mrs. Forrester and Frank Ellinger embracing, because Mrs. Forrester is always kind to him. Much later, he brings roses that he can scarcely afford to honor Captain Forrester and show his appreciation for the kindness Mrs. Forrester paid him when he was young.
Ivy Peters represents the destruction of the social order. He does not believe that anyone deserves respect simply based on their social status. In the grove, he claims that Mrs. Forrester is no better than himself, a comment that the other boys find absurd. They know that elites are better than themselves and see this as the natural and necessary order of things. Thad, the son of a butcher, knows that there must be wealthy people for his father to sell expensive steaks; if everyone were equal, he could only sell cheap meat. As the story evolves, Ivy proves that the social structure can and will be disrupted, as he becomes wealthy through his cunning rather than birth status.
Later in the story, Mrs. Forrester attempts to transcend the town’s social stratification by bringing young men into her home to teach them upper-class manners. Niel sees that she made some success, as the young men learn to stand when a lady enters the room, but it is done in a jerky, artificial manner rather than appearing natural and habitual. Overall, however, Niel sees that Mrs. Forrester’s lessons have failed to turn the young men into gentlemen, implying that social classes cannot be fully transcended.
Loss of Innocence and Social Status
Niel’s coming of age, his loss of innocence and idealism, symbolizes the country’s coming of age during the 20th century. In the beginning of the story, the natural state of the Forresters’ land mirrors Niel’s innocent state. As he grows older, the high-minded ideals that he associates with Captain Forrester are replaced by the cruder elements of modern life. He feels a great sense of loss through these changes.
A major part of Niel’s loss of innocence and idealism occurs when Mrs. Forrester, whom he had envisioned as a paragon of virtue, shows herself to be all too human. She had represented the womanly ideals of beauty, grace, and loyalty as the warm center of her husband’s home. Even after he learns of her affair with Frank Ellinger, Niel still wishes to save her from being a “lost lady.” He wants to be her knight in shining armor, to save her from her sadness and suffering. When he sees her with Ivy Peters, he feels that he has failed irrevocably, and the loss of his innocence is complete.
Marian Forrester is the story’s eponymous “lost lady.” She is seen as something that Niel loses along with his innocence and idealism, but she also suffers losses herself. Pampered and indulged as the privileged daughter of a wealthy family, Mrs. Forrester loses her cherished way of life when Captain Forrester goes bankrupt. The loss of her youth also causes her to become unhinged when a younger, wealthier woman takes her place in Frank Ellinger’s affections. When her husband dies and she is forced to accept help from the local townswomen, she loses their respect and awe, becoming nothing but a source of gossip and mockery. In the end, she must fight not to lose everything. Niel wants her to fade away quietly like the pioneer class, but she will not. Niel considers her lost because she abandons the social mores and expectations of her class, but in reality she is trying to keep from becoming irrevocably lost to herself. In the end, Marian adapts, finding a means to the wealth and comfort that she requires in life. Perhaps in another time and place, she could have saved herself by creating her own wealth rather than depending on a man to care for her.
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