Willa Cather: The Emerging Voice

Abstract

This biography aims to explore the connections between Cather's artistic and her psychological growth. Using Cather's personal and professional correspondence the book aims to deal openly and seriously with her lesbianism, the importance to her of her female friends, and her work. An assessment is made of the impact of the need for her to conceal her sexual identity, and her childhood, adolescence, young womanhood and apprenticeship are explored. The author paints a picture of the artist as a young woman and reveals the complex interplay between Cather's life and her work.