Gender Conventions and Punishment

In Willa Cather’s O Pioneers! Alexandra and Emil provide an interesting parallel with one another in that each break their established gender norms, yet the results of these actions manifest in vastly different ways. Moreover, the consequences Alexandra and Emil face as a result of their breaking the gender conventions reveal a great deal about Willa Cather’s feelings on the established gender norms set in place by the community within the novel. Gender rules and conventions throughout the novel are defined as the behavior expected of those within the community by those in the community, based on whether they’re male or female. For Emil and Alexandria breaking gender conventions results in both being punished, which suggests that Cather feels breaking gender roles is acceptable in some situations, but also has its consequences.

With regards to Alexandra and the gender rules set in front of her, she has to basically hide anything in her personality or actions that make her fit into the female rather than male gender roles. This attempt at hiding her feminine characteristics is how she breaks the female gender conventions within the Divide. As the protagonist of O Pioneers! Alexandra is strong, independent, and intelligent. It is revealed that her father, John Bergson, has more confidence in her than either of his two grown sons: Oscar and Lou. On his deathbed John Bergson tells his children that Alexandra will be the head of the household once he dies. This choice is a key example of Alexandra’s strength, intelligence, and independence because he chooses her over her brothers or even her mother, to be the head of the house. Furthermore, another other aspect of this is that it’s the beginning of Alexandra’s punishment for breaking ...

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...nd Emil are too very complex characters; both of whom bent or completely broke the gender expectations that were placed in front of them. For Emil, the consequence of breaking the gender conventions was ultimately his life. On the other hand, for Alexandra, the consequences were by far less severe than Emil’s, yet she was still punished. However, unlike Emil, who was punished all at one time, Alexandra’s punishment was evenly spread throughout most of her life. Furthermore, this shows that Cather felt there was a difference in the punishments for breaking the community’s gender constraints. Moreover, Cather shows that as a result of Emil breaking all gender conventions of the Divide his punishment was much more severe than Alexandra’s because she only went against some of the gender conventions and maintained a connection with the land and community of the Divide.