A Wagner Matinee - Analysis

Willa Cather's writing style was very obviously influenced by transcendentalist period philosophers. Her short story "A Wagner Matinee" takes place mostly in Boston. The narrator Clark became in charge of looking after his aunt when she came into town for a legal matter. Many years before, she left the Boston Conservatory, where she was a teacher, to get married and move to Nebraska. Since then, she had never been 50 miles from her farm. Aunt Georgiana had always been nice to Clark, and he remembered that from his childhood, so he decided to take her to a concert because of her past love for music. At the concert, Aunt Georgiana was moved by the music. She was reminded of the love that she once had with music, and it was almost like an "out of body experience" (Werlock).

Emerson and Thoreau were both known as very prominent transcendentalist philosophers during their lives. Breaking the story down into very simple aspects, even the name "Georgiana" is a form of the name "George," which is derived from a Greek word meaning "farmer" as well as "worker of the earth" (Werlock). Transcendentalists were known for their connection with nature, tying the simple name of the character into the influences of the author. Aunt Georgiana also left her job as a teacher at the Boston Conservatory to move out to a rural farm, yet another connection to nature as well as transcendentalist influence. Cather used nature to help set up the contrast in her story. Just like the music that Clark and Aunt Georgiana listened to at the concert, the contrasting landscapes of Nebraska and Boston helped to shape the contrast in the plot of the story (Werlock). Cather, along with her family, moved to Nebraska as well when she was nine years old. Her story may have come from her personal experiences in the move. The conflict between the opposing scenery in the different areas of the nation (rural and urban) were a major point in many of her stories, especially in "A Wagner Matinee."


Willa, Cather. “A Wagner Matinée.” Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 521-526. Print.


Werlock, Abby H. P. "'A Wagner Matinée'." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CASS846&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 21, 2012).