Date
10-14-2026
Department
College of Arts and Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD)
Chair
Yaw Adu-Gyamfi
Keywords
Biblical Allusions, O Pioneers!, My Ántonia, Resurrection, Baptism, Willa Cather
Disciplines
English Language and Literature
Recommended Citation
Cho, Song, "Biblical Echoes of Baptism and Resurrection in Willa Cather's O Pioneers! and My Ántonia" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 9007.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/9007
Abstract
Biblical allusions permeate the works of Willa Cather, imbuing her texts with additional layers of meaning. However, Cather scholars, both in the past and in recent times, have paid very little attention to this subject. Therefore, many biblical allusions have gone unnoticed. While the theme of the American Dream figures prominently in Cather’s O Pioneers! and My Ántonia, no study has examined her treatment of this subject through the lens of biblical allusions. The American Dream is generally understood as the opportunity for socioeconomic advancement through hard work. Cather, however, presents a view of the American Dream that is not centered on material gain. By exploring previously unidentified biblical allusions in O Pioneers! and My Ántonia through the framework of biblical typology, this study argues that Cather employs distinct biblical allusions in each novel—including those associated with exile, the journey to the Promised Land, John the Baptist, baptism, and Easter—to reinterpret the idea of the American Dream in ways that encourage readers to reflect on the theme of spiritual rebirth and, ultimately, on Christ’s resurrection. In O Pioneers!, biblical imagery associated with John the Baptist and baptism underscores spiritual rebirth. In My Ántonia, the experiences of immigrants recall the Israelites’ journey to the Promised Land, while Easter imagery at the end of the novel emphasizes the theme of resurrection. Both the main protagonist of O Pioneers! and the narrator of My Ántonia experience a form of spiritual rebirth toward the end of their respective novels. Cather does not employ biblical allusions merely for aesthetic purposes; rather, she employs them to communicate ideas concerning the American Dream, while directing her readers’ attention to the protoevangelium and Christ’s triumph over death on Easter.
