윌라 캐더의 『로스트 레이디』 : 변화하는 사회를 맞이하는 태도와 그에 따른 운명

초록

Willa Cather's A Lost Lady deals with the ups-and-downs of Marian Forrester through her life course from the maiden to married life. The story develops in a small western town called Sweet Water and covers the era between the late 1890s and the early 1900s. The place and time are of big importance in that they witness the huge leap of American society in various fields. During this period, railroad building plays a huge role to bring not only territorial expansion but a new set of ideas and attitudes in the name of progress and changes. The discussion of this text thus should begin with the importance of railroad building and its influence on the characters, for the rise and fall of the Forresters, and other people as well, has much to do with the principle the railroad building. While Captain Forrester, the once a hero in railroad building and the husband of Marian, sticks to the values and ethics quite familiar with him for a long time to cause his financial and social downfall, Marian changes as the story develops and she not only survives but also enjoys the life she has been dreaming of. She is a very active person, who tries to fulfill her dream of a bright and happy life, but the men she associates with betray her dream. Her attitudes, thus, indicate not only her active nature but also her desire to escape from her given reality toward a life she has been dreaming of. Unlike Captain and most people around her, she possesses quite free spirit that enables her to adapt well to varying circumstances. That spirit is the very spirit that invites the progress and changes of American society.

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