Abstract
Willa Cather was an American novelist who grew up in Nebraska, where her most famous novel "O Pioneers!? is set. It is her second novel, and she was forty when it was published in 1913. Actually, this fictional novel is in keeping with its author's life insofar as the heroine has similarities with Willa Cather. Both grew up in the Nebraska settler country among immigrants from Europe. We may add that her early life in the Nebraska country influenced several of her novels, such as "My Ántonia" and "O Pioneers!? Willa Cather is considered a feminist writer since she created strong female characters that had the courage and vision to face all the obstacles in their difficult lives. We will see that Alexandra Bergson, who is the heroine of 'O pioneers!' doesn't make an exception. The novel begins with the introduction of the four main characters: Emil Bergson who is about five, his eldest sister Alexandra Bergson, her fifteen year-old friend and neighbor Carl Linstrum, and a pretty little Bohemian girl called Marie Tovesky who is the same age as Emil and comes from Omaha. The scene takes place in January, in the fictional town of Hanover, in Nebraska, and the Bergsons are Swedish immigrants. We can say that Hanover is a close representation of the city of Red Cloud, where Willa Cather's family moved to in 1884.
