This is the central experience of Thea's life. The most important thing Fred does for her is not to fall in love with her - although he does - but to send her off to his family's ranch in Panther Canyon, Arizona, to rest when she's exhausted with overwork. Thea also meets Fred Ottenburg, the son of a wealthy brewer, who introduces her to a new circle of society where her talents are noticed & appreciated. Thea's bond with Dr Archie was formed in her childhood & he encourages her to strive for more than a life as a piano teacher in small, dusty towns. One friend of her childhood, Dr Howard Archie, remains steadfast & helps her to move to Chicago. She finds that she's grown away from her family & the people of Moonstone. She makes few friends because she is impatient with anyone who doesn't work as hard as herself.

It was moving to meet her & she was moving to meet it.Īt first she studies piano but when, with the aid of a small inheritance, she goes to Chicago to study, her teacher, Harsanyi, recognizes that her voice is special & encourages her to study opera.

It was as if she had an appointment to meet the rest of herself sometime, somewhere. She took it for granted that, some day, when she was older, she would know a great deal more about it. She had always believed that by doing all that was required of her by her family, her teachers, her pupils, she kept that part of herself from being caught up in the meshes of common things. Of this feeling Thea had never spoken to any human being until that day when she told Harsanyi that 'there had always been - something.' Hitherto she had felt but one obligation toward it - secrecy to protect it even from herself. Her determination to study music sets her apart from her siblings & her contemporaries. Thea knows she is destined for great things. But The Song of the Lark isn't a story of farming families living on the land. Thea's Scandinavian heritage is something she has in common with many of the characters in Cather's other novels. Thea learns piano from Herr Wunsch, a German immigrant who has fallen on hard times. One of seven children, her life is hard but not unhappy. Thea Kronborg is the daughter of a Methodist preacher in Moonstone, Colorado. The Song of the Lark is the story of the growth of an artist. I was reminded of the reasons why I enjoyed Willa Cather's writing all those years ago. Then, the book sat on the tbr shelves for nearly 10 years until I decided it was time to read it. I think I bought this edition of The Song of the Lark because of the beautiful Hammershoi picture on the cover.

I read quite a few of Willa Cather's novels & short stories when I was younger but I hadn't read her for a very long time.

The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather