Willa Cather

My Anatonia Anootated and Illustrated Edition by Willa Cather

First published in 1918, My Antonia is a modernist novel. Modernism was a literary movement that began at the very end of the nineteenth century and continued until the end of the 1930s. It reached its peak during the 1920s, and it was characterized by a tone of experimentation. Authors innovated with narrative voice and structure, often foregoing linear plots in favor of more creative forms of narration. There was also a greater emphasis on a character's interiority - his thoughts, motivations, and unique consciousness. While My Antonia follows a conventional plot structure (with the exception of the frame narrative of the introduction), it is full of the rich, complex symbols and detailed character development that characterizes the modernist novel.