A whole book is dedicated to Lena Leningrad. Yet the book is entitled My Ántonia. Is the book about Antonia? Why? Why not?

Well spotted! This is an interesting fact about this
excellent book concerning migration and the expansion of the border of the West in
America, and is an issue that has troubled critics. The structure of the book and the
way that Antonia herself is apparently forgotten about for an entire section does lead
some to question who the actual protagonist of the novel is supposed to be. Lena
Lingard, in addition, is said by some to be a much more interesting and fascinating
character compared to the somewhat bland Antonia, and so some argue that Lena Lingard
actually threatens to "steal teh show."

In response to this
issue, David Daiches, a famous critic of Cather and her works, actually believes that
this is a fault of Cather in this brilliant novel, and that she loses focus of her
central theme, which he said to be the "development and self-discovery of the heroine."
In addition, others have pointed toards the mode of narration to explain the curioius
lack of focus. Having a male narrator who is infatuated and fascinated with the central
character but who remains profoundly detached from so much of the action results in a
lack of focus and a kind of moral emptiness at the centre of the novel, some
argue.

You might want to think about this issue based on
your own reading of the novel. Who is the true heroine? Which out of the two female
characters it the more appealing and why? Why do you think Cather left Antonia for a
whole section to follow a different character?