The Divide

Front and Center

At this point, we hope we don't even have to tell you that nature is an Extra, Super, Very Important part of O Pioneers! From the first line to the last, nature is everywhere in this novel. It's more than a symbol. It has a life of its own—playing a role just as central as that of Alexandra, or any other main character.

So in this section, we're not going to try to tackle the topic of nature in its entirety. To get the bigger picture(s), check out "Theme: Man and the Natural World," or "Theme: Visions of the Prairie." For the way in which the depiction of nature adds to the pastoral tone and style of O Pioneers!, head on over to our sections on "Tone" and "Writing Style." And finally, for all the many ways that nature permeates Alexandra's character and fantasies, don't forget to check out her "Character Analysis."

What's in a Name?

Now, we'd like to focus on something a little different. Even if the prairieland in O Pioneers! doesn't symbolize something in particular, aside from the very general Nature-With-A-Capital-N, we can still look to the smaller details in order to glean some hidden references. And that brings us to the Divide. No, not the place, but the name itself: "the Divide."

Will Cather invented the town of Hanover, NE; you won't find it on a map. But it's sometimes assumed that what she calls "the Divide" includes the area where she herself lived as a child, Webster County, located in southern Nebraska. This area consists of high prairieland, called so because it sits a little higher than the rivers in the area.

But that doesn't exactly tell us why it's called the Divide. The fact is, we don't really know where this name comes from (perhaps from the Continental Divide, a few hundred miles to the west?). But still, the name "Divide" evokes an image of this area and its inhabitants as cut off, "divided" from the outside. It's almost like this place is at the divide that marks the end of the world. That's a sentiment Cather had herself about the Divide, when her family first got there:

As we drove further and further out into the country, I felt a good deal as if we had come to the end of everything—it was a kind of erasure of personality. (Source.)

It's tempting to see the Divide, as Cather sees it here, like one big eraser of personality. Cut off from the Old World and everything familiar, the Bergsons have to start over, and rebuild their sense of identity. In a character like Alexandra, for instance, we witness her own struggle not to become totally submerged in the mysterious power of the land, which threatens to divide from her own dreams and desires. Many don't last; but a few, like Alexandra, find freedom in the opportunity to start over.