Female Roles in My Antonia"There was a curious social situation in Black Hawk. All the young men felt the attraction of the beautiful, well-adjusted country girls they had come in the city to earn a living and, in almost all cases, to help their fathers get out of debt or to enable the family's youngest children to go to school." (Page 127) This was the lifestyle of most girls around the 1920s. The book My Antonia by Willa Cather, refreshingly creates female roles and strong personalities. Frances Harling, Molly Gardner and Lena Lingard are excellent examples of these women. Frances Harling is one of the great examples of what a strong woman can be. He is very responsible. She takes care of her father's business when he goes out of town, and on Sundays she goes to the office only to read the mail. Frances is very talented. He could play the piano without light and at the same time talk to his mother. Frances was also one of the most trustworthy people in town. If someone had a wedding they would bring a gift. If there had been a funeral she would have been there to help console them. You could always count on his presence. Molly Gardner had a strong personality. Molly would show her personality by the way she presented herself. Jim, the narrator, said, "Mrs. Gardener was certainly the best-dressed woman in Black Hawk, drove the best horse, and had a clever trap and a little white and gold sleigh." (Page 117) Molly liked to have the best material possessions in town and she liked to show them off. Molly's personality was the reason her and her husband's business was doing so well. Jim also said "...he knew that without her he would hardly be more than an employee in someone else's hotel." (Page 122) Molly also went on all the business trips because she was the smarter one between her and her husband. Lena Lingard wasn't one of the most respected people in town, but she wanted to better herself. He wanted to get away from the farm and thought the work on the farm was endless. Lena had left the farm at a young age to become a seamstress and study with Mrs. Tomas, a well-known seamstress in town..