Willa Cather was a renowned author and anthropologist. Most of her writings were majorly on people’s lives and perceptions in the society. Two of her outstanding stories are Wagner Matinee and The Sculptor's Funeral. The two stories focus on the challenges different characters face in life. They also major on the dark side some people find themselves in life and their inability to be understood by the community and thus become the subject of hatred and gossip. From the two stories, it is evident that individual can struggle, lost connection and become isolated when they do not conform to the society's expectation.
FromWagner Matinee and The Sculptor's Funeral, it is evident that if a person cannot match the bar set by the society, or be in line with the norms in the community, such a person loses connection with people, struggles in life and become isolated from the community. In Wagner Matinee the focus is on Georgiana. The theme of isolation is evident. People expect her to stay connected to the outside world. On the contrary, she has never traveled fifty miles from her home. She also moves in with Howard at an age that was considered too old to get married at that time by the society. She struggles a lot with her life due to her inability to match the expectation of society. The color black, such as the black stuff dress, is used by the author to implicate Georgiana’s dark life. Due to her failure to meet the expectation from the society, she struggles, loses connection with people and becomes isolated. On the other hand, Harvey Merrick faces the same fate as Georgiana. His dead body receives a cold reception because he detached himself from the society and did not match their expectation. He struggles with passion and individuality which was not the expectation of the people. People thought money was the priority. According to the people he got away from the town and as a result, lost connection with people resulting in his isolation.
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In summary, those who cannot conform to the society’s will and expectation find themselves isolated. Both Georgiana and Harvey are typical characters who underwent such experience. From Wagner Matinee and The Sculptor's Funeral, isolation, detachments, and struggle are themes that are displayed by the characters that did not conform to society's norms.
