Willa Cather’s My Antonia contains the epigraph, “Optima dies… prima fugit,” a quote from Virgil, meaning “The best days are the first to flee.” Cather concludes the novel with the lines “Whatever we had missed, we possessed together the precious, the incommunicable past.” These two sentences, surrounding the body of the text, are extremely meaningful in their representation of the idea the author is continually attempting to display through Jim’s life, with the use of American Exceptionalism and Societal Determinism that he has bought into. By the end of the novel, Jim realizes that his best days have fled long ago, as he reminisces over the essence of Antonia and his childhood. The words that encapsulate Willa Cather’s classic novel, My Antonia, …show more content…
The theme of reflection is very strong at this point, as they have spent about twenty years apart, and Antonia has had to deal with her difficult lives, remaining strong and building a very large family, married to another Bohemian man, Anton Cuzak. Meanwhile, Jim embraced the lifestyle set out ahead of him, as a businessman in the city. Jim’s happy reunion with Antonia and her family brings back his memories of their childhood together. Jim now feels nostalgic, although they have had to lead different lives. It is now clear, through the peace felt in Antonia’s presence was the foundation of their best days, not only the immature adventures they trekked through to avoid other realities. The idea manifested in the epigraph is evident by the end of the novel, simply by the focus on the memories of growing up, and by the belonging that has returned. Societal determinism, as the force that most greatly affected the outcome and the straying of their paths, has taken over their lives. As Jim began to be convinced of the scholarly life ahead of him, he has left behind Black Hawk continually. The days unaffected by these societal expectations are far behind them, yet the memories will not flee as quickly as the ephemeral days