A Wagner Matinee

I was a little confused on the sudden jump to realism.  I do not recall going over the realism style of writing.  I guess it is not that hard to figure out, hints the title of the style, but I am not for sure on what characteristics go into play under this style.

The story was about a man who got a letter in the mail saying that his aunt will be down to visit him (Cather 521).  The man seemed at shock for a second that his aunt was coming down to see him, but yet still very excited.  Anyways, I found it kind of funny how he reacted to the letter.  He was very excited but nervous in a way.  He seemed to have a great past with the aunt and wanted her to be impressed with how he lived and went around (Cather521-522).  I found it very weird because I guess you can grow close to just about anybody, but not many people fall close to their aunt, but he did.  I kind of related it to when someone is coming over ( I do not know who), but you want to make a good impression on them.  That is what he was doing when he found out that his aunt was coming.  To impress her he was going to go to the opera house with her (Cather 522).  The aunt, Aunt Georgiana, loved music growing up and was always doing something with music, so he decided to get tickets to the opera.

Emerson said “How does Nature deify us with a few and cheap elements” (Emerson).  In this story, Cather takes the element of music and brings a whole new meaning to it.  Emerson takes nature and shows the love toward that element. Aunt Georgian, (Cather), takes the element of music, which she loved in her childhood and creates the same affect in her adult life.  Two different elements, music and nature, but have the same meaning in both of these writers philosophies.


Willa, Cather. “A Wagner Matinée.” Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 521-526. Print.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Nature." Ralph Waldo Emerson Texts. Web. 06 Feb. 2012.