Ántonia has a resilient inner strength that drives her to succeed and helps her survive adversity. In this way, like the plow against the sun, she symbolizes the invincible pioneer spirit. From the time of her arrival on the prairie, she believes that a person who works hard will become wealthy. "Wealth," of course, can mean a lot of land and money, but, more important here, wealth is synonymous with whatever is rich in spirit and understanding.
On the train that brings Jim and Ántonia to Black Hawk, the conductor comments on the young girl's "pretty brown eyes." Later, when Jim first meets Ántonia at her family's dugout, again he is caught by her arresting, unusual eyes: "They were big and warm and full of light, like the sun shining on brown pools in the wood." From the very start, Cather is imbuing Ántonia with the qualities of warmth, generosity, and earthiness.
Jim has met Ántonia for only a matter of minutes, but she immediately reveals her generosity and impulsiveness by trying to give him her ring. Later, she reveals her enormous capacity for compassion by crying for the little green insect that she knows will not survive the winter. She further reveals her maternal nature when she grieves for Peter and Pavel and when she feels protective toward Jim. Even after Jim kills the snake, ostensibly making himself her protector, she looks out for him, warning him about Lena's possibly distracting him from his future plans. Ántonia makes excuses for her mother's greedy, accusatory behavior when the Burdens bring food, but she herself never complains. She looks for the good in life and doesn't dwell on the bad. She is ambitious for her family, even for the overbearing Ambrosch.
