A Lost Lady
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A Lost Lady is a 1923 novel by American writer Willa Cather. It tells the story of Marian Forrester and her husband, Captain Daniel Forrester, who live in the western town of Sweet Water along the Transcontinental Railroad. Throughout the story, Marian—a wealthy married socialite—is pursued by a variety of suitors. Her social decline is seen to represent the end of the American frontier.<ref>Template:Harvnb: "Mrs. Forrster's decline parallels the West's decline; the novel becomes an elegy for the pioneer past".</ref> F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby was significantly influenced by this work.Template:Sfnm
Plot summary
Niel Herbert, a young man who grows up in Sweet Water, witnesses the slow decline of Marian Forrester, for whom he feels very deeply, and also of the West itself from the idealized age of noble pioneers to the age of capitalist exploitation.
Major characters
- Niel HerbertTemplate:Sndthe main character who is a young boy when he meets the beautiful Mrs. Forrester. He falls in love with what she represents and struggles to preserve his boyhood image of her. After watching her have an affair with Frank Ellinger and later, as a widow, with lawyer Ivy Peters, he leaves Sweet Water. By the end of the novel, Niel realizes that his love of Marian was based on Captain Forrester's idealization of her.
- Mrs. Marian ForresterTemplate:Snda charming socialite married to Captain Forrester. The young Niel falls in love with her beauty and apparent refinement. He is later dismayed to discover her affair with Frank Ellinger. After her husband's death, the widow becomes the mistress of Ivy Peters, who runs her estate. She eventually leaves the town and moves to California, dying before Niel sees her again.
- Captain Daniel ForresterTemplate:Sndan aging man of the Pioneer generation who made his fortune building track for the railroads when the continent was crossed. He is proud of his beautiful, sophisticated wife. The novel opens at a time when he has already been physically destroyed by a fall from a horse. After suffering two strokes, he eventually dies, signifying the end of the pioneering era.
- Frank EllingerTemplate:Snda muscular bachelor and businessman of the Gilded Age generation. Frank is Mrs. Forrester's lover and visits her when the Captain is away from the house. He marries Constance Ogden.
- Ivy PetersTemplate:Snda cocky and pretentious young man of the Jazz Age generation, who later becomes a lawyer. He becomes very wealthy and manages the Forrester estate, taking the widowed Marian as a mistress. He eventually owns the estate.
- Constance OgdenTemplate:Snda Southern girl who is Niel's age and is envious of Marian's beauty. She later marries Frank Ellinger.
- Judge PommeroyTemplate:SndNiel's uncle, he is a lawyer who falls on hard times in much the same way the Forresters do.
Literary significance and criticism
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The novel has a robust symbolic framework.Template:Sfnm Critical approaches have noted that the character of Marian Forrester symbolically embodies both the American Dream, as "focused on self" <ref>Template:Harvnb: "Marian Forrester, then, represents the American Dream boldly focused on self, almost fully disengaged from the morals and ethics to which it had been tied in the nineteenth century".</ref>Template:Sfn and the gradual decline of the American West.Template:Sfn
Legacy and influence
F. Scott Fitzgerald acknowledged the influence of this novel; he borrowed many of its themes and elements.Template:Sfnm Marian Forrester, in particular, partly inspired his Daisy Buchanan character in The Great Gatsby.Template:Sfnm Fitzgerald later wrote a letter to Cather apologizing for any unintentional plagiarism.Template:Sfnm
Media adaptations
The first film version of the novel was created in 1924, adapted by screenwriter Dorothy Farnum.Template:Sfn Directed by Harry Beaumont, the film starred Irene Rich, Matt Moore, June Marlowe, and John Roche.Template:Sfn
The novel was adapted again, very loosely, as a film of the same name in 1934 by Gene Markey. It starred Barbara Stanwyck as Marian Forrester.Template:Sfn The film did not live up to the novel's reputation and is generally regarded as mediocre.Template:Sfn Cather was so displeased with the film that she forbade any further film or stage adaptations of her work.Template:Sfn
References
Citations
Works cited
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