My Antonia
...nd had switched the role of the male and the female in the marriage. Mrs. Gardener seemed like the typical business man, the way her mannerisms were cold, socialized little, kept rules and was constantly making sure that everything was running fine at the hotel, while Mr. Gardener always took time to stop and talk to guests. Mrs. Gardener was the exception, the successful businesswomen in the story were single, like Lena and Tiny Soderball. Lena showed up in Black Hawk all "dolled" up. She had now become the dressmaker for Mrs. Thomas. Before this job, Lena worked at home and was very poor. Back on her farm, she was scantily clothed because of the lack of money her family had but now with her new job, Lena was now seen dressed in dresses and very proper. With her new clothes came a new attitude. Lena knew that with a married life came restrictions so early on she decided that she didn't want to get married, even though her and Jim had a little liaison. "I don't want to marry Nick, or any other man," Lena murmured. "I've seen a good deal of married life, and I don't care for it. I want to be so I can help my mother and the children at home, and not have to ask life of anybody" (103). Lena and Tiny Soderball end up not getting married. Lena set up her own dressmaker'' shop and moved to San Francisco, where she continued in the dressmaking trade. Tiny Soderball moved west and made a small fortune during the Alaskan gold rush then moves to San Francisco with Lena where she enjoys her life of leisure on the strengths of her savings. Girls will be girls. In Chapter VII, Jim and Antonia are walking down at the prairie-dog-town and encounter holes, which belong to snakes. While they were looking at the holes, a snake slithered up behind Jim. Antonia screams, stands back and watches Jim kill the snake. This was very typical for the woman to be helpless and have the male come and save the day. Also when there is constant dancing in Black Hawk, Lena, Antonia, and Tiny went every night. Men and boys would line up to dance with Lena and Antonia. The girls loved the attention because there were never enough girls but always enough boys to go around. Antonia even gets kissed and even though she slaps him, she liked it. When Antonia first meets Jim, she grabs his hand and together they run over to the steep drawside to play. Antonia never was shy when it came to Jim. She was definitely a free spirited, confident girl. "Antonia had opinions about everything, and she was soon able to make them known" (22). Even though there wasn't very much food at her home and her father was constantly sick, Antonia always seemed to be relatively happy. The younger you are the more oblivious you are to the serious things that are happening in life. However, even after her father dies, Antonia doesn't complain about working out in the fields, neither did her sister. "We knew that things were hard for our Bohemian neighbours, but the two girls were lighthearted and never complained. They were always ready to forget their troubles at home, and to run away with me over the prairie, scaring rabbits or starting up flocks of quail (23). Antonia's father's death marked the beginning of her working career. She needed to help support her family now and took up working in farms and in the city. Ambrousch, her brother, seemed like he didn't work, but just ordered around Antonia. "Ambrousch hired his sister out like a man, and she went from farm to farm, binding sheaves or working with the threshers. The farmers liked her and were kind to her, said they would rather have her for a hand than Ambrousch" (95). Tiny, Lena, and Antonia went to Black Hawk to work. They worked hard for their family, so whenever they received their wages, they sent it home, which was the main reason why the girls went to the city to work. There were also the four Danish girls and the three Mary's. The daughters of merchants in Black Hawk didn't work. They didn't go outside during the winter because it was cold and they wouldn't go outside during the summer because it was hot. So not only were the foreign girls more skilled they were also more beautiful. Foreign farmers in our county were the first to become prosperous. After the fathers were out of debt, the daughters married...