Willa Cather's diction and rhetoric paints Alexandra as a strong woman concerned with her own self interest.
Willa Cather was a lesbian and probably had a slight bias for how a successful woman should present herself.
You could see that in Alexandra's clothing and mannerisms.
Willa Cather deliberately casts a woman into the traditionally male dominated tale of independence and heroism.
The title of the novel O Pioneers! has another meaning beyond that of the traditional pioneer moving westward.
Alexandra is one of the first women to play a powerful character with a heroic role in a novel.
In that way she is a pioneer.
Willa Cather exhausts any literary means necessary to create a pioneering role for Alexandra as a powerful woman.
Alexandra's choice by saying it was no "affliction" and that she was "comfortable" in it despite the lack of femininity a baggy woolen coat would provide.
Cather compares the way Alexandra carries herself in a simile to a "young soldier.
" This use of this language is intriguing because especially during that time period the term soldier would evoke an emotional response and without a doubt the reader will have the specific idea that soldiers are only men.
Since soldiers are often thought to be strong, brave, and male it is really making a strong statement by comparing a woman to them.
Alexandra's face was described as being a "serious, thoughtful face.
" This language is meant to contradict how women were viewed in society at that time.
Women had a hard time being taken seriously, let alone being perceived as smart enough to be thoughtful.
In just a few lines Willa Cather successfully destroys the stereotype that is expected of other female characters with Alexandra.