Lena Lingard Character Analysis in My Antonia

Ántonia's friend in Black Hawk and one of the "hired girls." She becomes Jim's girlfriend when they reunite in Lincoln while Jim is in college. While Jim loves Ántonia with a pure, childlike love, his attraction to Lena is sexual. A Norwegian immigrant, Lena aspires to earn money, success, and independence, and refuses to marry. She is sophisticated and fashionable, and she becomes a successful dressmaker in Lincoln. Lena later moves to San Francisco with Tiny Soderball.

Lena Lingard Quotes in My Antonia

The My Antonia quotes below are all either spoken by Lena Lingard or refer to Lena Lingard. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

If I told my schoolmates that Lena Lingard's grandfather was a clergyman, and much respected in Norway, they looked at me blankly. What did it matter? All foreigners were ignorant people who couldn't speak English.

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 141

Explanation and Analysis:

I was bitterly disappointed in her [Ántonia]. I could not forgive her for becoming an object of pity, while Lena Lingard, for whom people had always foretold trouble, was now the leading dressmaker of Lincoln, much respected in Black Hawk.

Related Characters: (speaker), ,

Page Number and Citation: 205

Explanation and Analysis:

Lena Lingard Character Timeline in My Antonia

The timeline below shows where the character Lena Lingard appears in My Antonia. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...well-dressed girl arrives at the Harlings. Ántonia and Jim are surprised to recognize her as Lena Lingard, a Norwegian girl who used to work on one of the nearby farms and... (full context)

Jim sees Lena often downtown. She says she is thrilled to live in town, and tells him about... (full context)

...parlor where he is playing. The door between the two rooms is opened, revealing Ántonia, Lena and Tiny dancing to the music. Though at first the girls are shocked to be... (full context)

Sylvester Lovett, the son of a banker, becomes infatuated with Lena. Jim hopes that if Sylvester marries Lena it will help rid the townspeople of their... (full context)

...the dance and tries to kiss her. She reprimands him. When he tells her that Lena lets him kiss her, she tells him not to make a fool of himself, since... (full context)

...time inside studying, preparing for university. He only takes a break from studying when Ántonia, Lena, and their friends invite him to the river to pick elder flowers. Jim arrives early... (full context)

...the other girls arrive, they discuss the differences between the country and the town, and Lena says she is going to make enough money to get her mother out of the... (full context)

That same night, Lena appears at Jim's door. She explains that she has opened a dressmaking shop in Lincoln... (full context)

Lena and Jim go to the theater often that spring, although Lena insists on paying for... (full context)

At the theater, Jim feels "like a man" with Lena. When Jim and Lena see a performance of Dumas's Camille, Jim sympathizes with the young... (full context)

Lena's success in dressmaking grows, and Jim begins to visit her for dinner. He notices that... (full context)

Ántonia shows Jim old photographs of her wedding day, including photos of Ambrosch and Lena. Then she shows Jim one of himself, with Jake and Otto, and one of Jim... (full context)

Everything you needfor every book you read.

Everything you need for every book you read.

Everything you need for every book you read.

Lena Lingard Character Analysis

Lena Lingard Quotes in My Antonia

Lena Lingard Character Timeline in My Antonia

Everything you need
for every book you read.