Phillips, Anne R.2022-11-282022-11-28195413997553https://hdl.handle.net/10657/12693During her lifetime, Willa Cather wrote and had published twelve novels, eight of which critics generally consider her major works. These eight books display the anti-materialistic theme common to all her novels. In the first chapter of this thesis the critical opinion of Cather's novels is reviewed. Then the way in which she constructed her major novels around an anti-materialistic theme is discussed. The novels, all of which used the virtues of the American pioneers to emphasize the theme, fall into three groups: the novels of the land, the anti-progress novels, and the novels showing reverence for the past. [...]application/pdfenThis item is protected by copyright but is made available here under a claim of fair use (17 U.S.C. Section 107) for non-profit research and educational purposes. Users of this work assume the responsibility for determining copyright status prior to reusing, publishing, or reproducing this item for purposes other than what is allowed by fair use or other copyright exemptions. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires express permission of the copyright holder.Thesisreformatted digital