Performative Language and Gender Identity in Cather’s O’ Pioneers! and My Antonia

A Study of Judith Butler's Performativity Theory in Willa Cather's Works

Authors

  • Mahdi Dehghani Firouz Abadi Tolou-e Mehr Non-profit University
  • Amirreza Abyar Firouz Abadi M.A in English Language and literature

Keywords:

Performativity language, Discourse, My Antonia, Willa Cather, Judith Butler

Abstract

This paper aims to examine Willa Cather’s O Pioneers! (1913) and My Antonia (1918) in  the light of Judith Butler’s theories of performativity of language and gender identity. In most of her works, Cather uses the medium of language and gender to establish identity as a means of identification. Throughout this study, the researchers strive to mainly explore the attitudes of female protagonists and their gender identity as well as the performative nature of the characters’ language and gender through the evocation of environment. Butler argues that both sex and gender are culturally constructed according to set categories. For her, one thing is certain:language is the medium through which we create and perform our identity. Accordingly, in these novels, Alexandra and Antonia ignore the norms of their societies and subvert the discourse by building their gender through performative language and gender identity. 

Keywords: Performativity, Language, Discourse, O’ Pioneers!, My Antonia, Willa Cather, Judith Butler

References

References

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Published

2025-06-10

How to Cite

Dehghani Firouz Abadi, M., & Abyar Firouz Abadi, A. (2025). Performative Language and Gender Identity in Cather’s O’ Pioneers! and My Antonia: A Study of Judith Butler’s Performativity Theory in Willa Cather’s Works. FOTROS Journal, 2(1), 17–36. Retrieved from https://fotrosjournals.com/index.php/pub/article/view/7

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2025): Faith, Self, and Meaning: Explorations Across Religion, Gender, and Literature

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Copyright (c) 2025 Mahdi Dehghani Firouz Abadi

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