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“The dwelling houses were set about haphazard on the tough prairie sod; some of them looked as if they had been moved in overnight, and others as if they were straying off by themselves, headed straight for the open plain. None of them had any appearance of permanence, and the howling wind blew under them as well as over them.” The first novel in her Nebraska trilogy, O Pioneers! is an honest and charmingly descriptive look at those early settlers, their challenges and their successes. In the opening pages of the novel, Alexandra Bergson is a young woman with a dying father, three younger brothers and a mother who wants nothing more than to recreate life in the old country. Understanding that Alexandra is the brains in the family, John Bergson lays a heavy burden on his daughter – the running of the family farm. Over the years, she skillfully manages the property, accumulating more land and eventually wealth. There are some who have deemed this a feminist novel, but perhaps it is more a testimony to the level of participation that women were required to play when homesteading. Their contributions were sometimes equal to or more than the men in their families, and their sacrifices just as great. In this novel, Alexandra foregoes the possibility of marriage and children for the sake of her brothers. She has few close relationships, and eventually even those are taken away from her. Throughout the novel, the heroine struggles to pinpoint meaning in life and eventually she comes to the conclusion that it isn’t merely about one’s own family: “We come and go, but the land is always here. And the people who love it and understand it are the people who own it for a little while.” It appears that Alexandra Bergson takes comfort in the legacy of her actions, not necessarily for her own family, but for persons unknown in the future. This was a beautiful novel, not just for the history, but also for the ability to make one think about honor, self-respect and our own legacy.

2022-11-14 16:09