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Willa Cather Quotes

Author

American author known for her depictions of the American Midwest. Cather's works often feature female protagonists, showcasing their resilience and growth in challenging environments. Her notable works include 'My Ántonia' and 'O Pioneers!'

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Famous Willa Cather Quotes

“The Queen had a jewel of great value, a turquoise that had fallen from the sun, and had the image of the sun upon it. And when she desired a young man whom she had seen in the army or among the slaves, she sent the Captive to him with the jewel.”

Sun Turquoise Jewel

Book:Youth and the Bright Medusa

Source: Youth and the Bright Medusa

“The pale, cold light of the winter sunset did not beautify - it was like the light of truth itself.”

Light Sun Cold Winter Sunset Pale

Book:The Best of Willa Cather

Source: The Best of Willa Cather

“The great fact in life, the always possible escape from dullness, was the lake. The sun rose out of it, the day began there; it was like an open door that nobody could shut. The land and all its dreariness could never close in on you. You had only to look at the lake, and you knew you would soon be free.”

Looks Facts Sun Doors Land Rose Lakes Dullness

Book:The Professor's House

Source: The Professor's House

“Claude Wheeler opened his eyes before the sun was up and vigorously shook his younger brother, who lay in the other half of the same bed.”

Book Eye Half Sun Brother Bed Lays His Eyes Other Half Younger Brother

Book:The Best of Willa Cather

Source: The Best of Willa Cather

“The air was cool enough to make the warm sun pleasant on one's back and shoulders, and so clear that the eye could follow a hawk up and up, into the blazing blue depths of the sky.”

Enough Eye Sun Clear Air Sky Blue Depth Warm Shoulders Pleasant Hawks Blazing

Book:O Pioneers

Source: O Pioneers

“He domesticated and developed the native wild flowers. He had one hill-side solidly clad with that low-growing purple verbena which mats over the hills of New Mexico. It was like a great violet velvet mantle thrown down in the sun; all the shades that the dyers and weavers of Italy and France strove for through centuries, the violet that is full of rose colour and is yet not lavender; the blue that becomes almost pink and then retreats again into sea-dark purple—the true Episcopal colour and countless variations of it.”

Sides Dark Sun Growing Sea Century Flower Lows Blue Rose Hills France Colour Native Thrown Shade Mexico Retreat Violet Purple Variation Velvet Lavender New Mexico Weavers

Book:Death Comes for the Archbishop

Source: Death Comes for the Archbishop

“I wanted to walk straight on through the red grass and over the edge of the world, which could not be very far away. The light and air abot me told me that the world ended here: only the ground and sun and sky were left, and if one went a little farther there would only be sun and sky, and one would float off into them, like the tawny hawks which sailed over our heads making slow shadows on the grass.”

Source: 60 WESTERNS: Cowboy Adventures, Yukon & Oregon Trail Tales, Famous Outlaws, Gold Rush Adventures & much more: Riders of the Purple Sage, The Night Horseman, The Last of the Mohicans, Rimrock Trail, The Hidden Children, The Law of the Land, Heart of the West, A Texas Cow-Boy, The Prairie…

“I kept as still as I could. Nothing happened. I did not expect anything to happen. I was something that lay under the sun and felt it, like the pumpkins, and I did not want to be anything more. I was entirely happy. Perhaps we feel like that when we die and become a part of something entire, whether it is sun and air, or goodness and knowledge. At any rate, that is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great. When it comes to one, it comes as naturally as sleep.”