Antonia---back where she belongs

Even though Antonia says she doesn't regret living in the Town, things really don't go too well for her there. She ends up with a baby born out of wedlock and loses the independence she had gained for herself and she has to move back home with Ambrosch and her mom. However, she still maintains her spirit and work ethic, which carries her through it all and are the two qualities Cather implies are necessary for settling and farming the barren, miserable, good-for-nothing land of Nebraska (no offense Tegan). We see though what a spirit and work ethic like Antonia's can accomplish--her farm seems to be more developed and more successful then even the long standing farm ran by Jim's American grandparents. Antonia, for instance, grew all the trees practically out of pure love and determination. She laid awake at night worrying about them and got up to water them--this shows something that goes beyond merely a good work ethic. It's her love for the land and nature and her determination to develop the land and turn it into something beautiful. At the beginning of the book, the land and weather are harsh, but at the end of the book the land is beautiful and no longer barren, and the weather is even nice enough for Jim to sleep outside. As Antonia has developed and matured, so has the land. Antonia seemed to love and care for the land right from the start, and now finally the land seems to reciprocate love and care for Antonia.

There is no question Antonia is where she belongs: in the country. There is question though whether Jim is where he belongs. We know he is in the City, is a lawyer, and is in an unhappy marriage. He seems to revive a little bit when he visits Antonia and begins to make country-like plans of hunting with her sons. I, for one, am left with the sense that Jim didn't exactly stay true to his country roots and made sort of a misstep somewhere in life. Or perhaps he would have never been able to really handle the labor and sacrifice country life requires and that is why he and Antonia could never be together. At any rate, it certainly seems that Antonia and her plain little country life stands in triumph to Jim's socially and financially successful city life.