My Antonia Illegitima Quotes

“The greatest gift you can give to others is gift of unconditional love and acceptance in all situations.” In Willa Cather’s book, My Antonia, paints the acceptance of an illegitimate child in an interesting light. After Antonia has her baby, many people in the town feel sorry for her, but after time, the baby is accepted; especially by Antonia’s husband, Anton. Cather depicts a different attitude towards illegitimacy towards most, showing happiness and acceptance for the baby rather than negativity. In history, the approach is often different, showing a stigma and resilience towards illegitimate babies. This shows that Antonia’s baby is treated different that most in her time and status, and can show how Cather’s portrayal of illegitimacy

Antonia talks about how “If Anton had made trouble about [her baby when she was born out of wedlock] when [she] wouldn't have married him” (Cather 228). Anton, she admits, has “always loved her like she was his own.'’ (228). Anton embraces Martha with open arms, not showing any signs of disapproval, the way all the towns people act when Martha is born. Anna, one of the children, states “'I didn't even know Martha wasn't my full sister until after she was engaged to Joe'" (228). Antonia and Anton raise their family to be accepting, and even after they found out that Martha was not their sister, they loved her the

Illegitimacy in today’s world does not have such a heavy stigma hanging over it, although “ a large proportion of abortions carried out are carried out on women who are not married” (Teichman 43). In modern days, many people carry out abortions to prevent the judgement and 'burden' of having a child out of wedlock, and many try to prevent these children as much as possible. In society, many times the opinions of things that are negative in the past often change, such as race and slavery, but it seems the topic of illegitimate children still has a negative reputation today. Cather depicts the positive side of having a child out of marriage, such as the gift of life and the opportunities and experiences it can bring. This contrast of history and Antonia can shows meaning in Cather’s characters, showing the speciality of each and every person, Antonia being one of a kind, in all situations. Although many have negative views, Antonia shows her love for the child not matter what, because Antonia “ loved it from the first as dearly as if she'd had a ring on her finger, and was never ashamed of it." (Cather