Antonia Shimerda and Jim Burden: Two Parts of a Georgic Whole

In discussing the Georgic tradition, Seija Paddon says that the Georgic farmer “has both the philosopher’s comprehension of nature and its workings, as well as the determination an inner resourcefulness of a heroic warrior” (74). This can be applied to My Antonia, and especially to both the characters of Antonia and Jim as embodying these two different attributes. Sensitive, poetic Jim clearly fills the role of philosopher, with his scholarly nature and his attitude on education, whereas rough-around-the-edges Antonia comes to embody the warrior due to the pressure of helping to provide for her family on the harsh Nebraska prairie.

Jim lives inside his own head from the very beginning; in the very first chapter, he spends the train ride reading and eschews socializing with “the Bohemian family” whom he will soon befriend. When Mr. Shimerda beseeches Jim to teach Antonia English, Jim obeys with an immediate interest, showing the importance he places on education. On page 97, when he tries to press Antonia to go to school, it is clear that he has not even realized that school and learning both are a privilege; to him, they are simply a necessity of life.

This contrasts sharply with the harsher necessities of Antonia’s life. As an immigrant, it is immediately necessary for her to help out with farm work both for her own family and as a hired hand. She easily drops the gender roles Jim feels she should possess, losing, as his Grandmother says, “all her nice ways and [getting] rough ones” (99); however, for her, it is not a choice. Just as Jim cannot live without school, for Antonia, a life without heavy farm work is inconceivable. She has an amazing ability for coping with everything from her father’s death to not being able to pursue the education she desires; she allows herself to mourn these things as is shown in the tears she sheds over not being able to attend school on page 97, but she does not allow these truths to dampen her tenacity. She is driven and strong, and does not allow the difficulties of life to keep her from doing the work that is necessary for her family’s survival.

Jim’s desire to learn and think, in contrast with Antonia’s drive to accomplish the physical necessities of prairie life, both combine and play off of each other to fit Paddon’s definition of the Georgic farmer. Without Antonia, Jim would simply be a smart country boy bound for greater things. Without Jim, Antonia would be just another illiterate immigrant whose family was lucky that by fifteen she could do a man’s work in the field. Together, however, they become an interesting, compelling pair who truly embody Paddon’s definition of the Georgic farmer: one part philosopher, played by Jim, and one part warrior, a role which Antonia seems born to fill.