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A review by katizwitchy
The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
4.0
I enjoyed this novel thoroughly! Funnily enough, reading this novel really reminded me of when I read Emma last semester. I feel as if the themes in both novels are the same, just in vastly different settings. Both novels follow a woman through her youth and into her adulthood, and I saw a lot of similarities in personality between Emma and Thea. Obviously, their stations in life are a bit different, but I feel as if Thea is the American version of a “gentry” class; her father is a minister, and her family seems to be well-off financially, or at least not struggling to get by. To be honest, I did not really care for Thea as a character as she did not really seem to have much empathy for those around her, much like how I felt about Emma at the beginning of Emma. There are circumstances that surround both characters, such as the marriage market and their “ways to make a life” that inclined me to be a bit fairer when delivering judgments, and though by the end I was still not the biggest fan of Thea’s, I had respect for her individuality and growth, just like I had for Emma in the closure of her novel.
I also thought that there were similarities between Mr. Knightley (from Emma) and Dr. Archie. Obviously, there is the (and I know this is dated but it still made me uncomfortable) creepy interest in a child from someone far too old for them, but the mentoring and moral-teaching aspect of both men was very apparent as well.
To get away from the comparisons, I think that there are a lot of interesting things at play in this novel. For example, there were many moments where readers viewed Thea through a man’s eyes, and though this novel focused on a woman, it did not feel very sympathetic towards them. I do not really know how to put this best, but this novel felt like it was written by a man. The constant descriptions of Thea’s body (and using her physicality to describe her emotions) felt… uncomfortable (?) to read because Thea was being objectified (or at least it felt that way to me). The only descriptions of Thea’s body that were okay for me were the descriptions of her warming her bed with a brick and taking a bath. I think I liked these more because they focused on the body internally versus externally. I feel like the description was also coming more from Thea than from an outsider, which to me was more intimate and less creepy.
I also thought that there were similarities between Mr. Knightley (from Emma) and Dr. Archie. Obviously, there is the (and I know this is dated but it still made me uncomfortable) creepy interest in a child from someone far too old for them, but the mentoring and moral-teaching aspect of both men was very apparent as well.
To get away from the comparisons, I think that there are a lot of interesting things at play in this novel. For example, there were many moments where readers viewed Thea through a man’s eyes, and though this novel focused on a woman, it did not feel very sympathetic towards them. I do not really know how to put this best, but this novel felt like it was written by a man. The constant descriptions of Thea’s body (and using her physicality to describe her emotions) felt… uncomfortable (?) to read because Thea was being objectified (or at least it felt that way to me). The only descriptions of Thea’s body that were okay for me were the descriptions of her warming her bed with a brick and taking a bath. I think I liked these more because they focused on the body internally versus externally. I feel like the description was also coming more from Thea than from an outsider, which to me was more intimate and less creepy.