This introduction gives many clues as to what we should look for as we read this novel. The rich descriptions of the prairie suggest that the land will play a major role in the story. Jim’s unexciting marriage, how he has been disappointed in life, and his fixation on Ántonia suggest that he was happier as a child than he is now. In this context, note the inscription by Virgil that Cather uses as a preface: “Optima dies . . . prima fugit,” meaning, “The best days . . . flee first.” The emphasis from the beginning is on loss, especially the brevity of beauty and childhood.
Jim’s romantic disposition suggests that, instead of being a strictly objective narrative, this novel will be colored by the narrator’s emotions, by his sometimes fanciful interpretations of events. This quality is reinforced when Jim rashly affixes the word My before Ántonia on his manuscript, making it a personal story, his story, about Ántonia.
