As he approaches, he spots Ántonia sitting alone by a stream and notices she has been crying. His one -holiday comes in July, when he arranges to meet a party of girls, including Ántonia and Lena, at the river. Chapter 13 Chapter 14 During the summer, Jim commits himself to a rigorous study schedule in preparation for his upcoming university studies. Jim, pleased at her show of virtue, walks home with his heart full of her. When he asks for a kiss and goes a little farther than Ántonia expects, she scolds him for his brazenness. One evening, after a night of dancing, Jim walks Ántonia back to the Cutters. When Jim's reputation is brought into question, he is forced to look elsewhere for diversion, but he quickly finds that very few diversions are to be found in Black Hawk.Įager to find an alternative, Jim resolves to attend the Saturday night dances at the Firemen's Hall, sneaking out of the house after his grandparents have fallen asleep. Envious of the older girls, Jim begins to grow restless at the thought of being cooped up in school, and so he visits a local saloon. After the Vannis leave town, a group called the Owl Club begins to stage dances in the Masonic Hall each Tuesday, but Jim refuses to join. Now a senior in high school, Jim sometimes travels about with them.

She sews her own outfits and parades around town with Lena and a number of the other hired girls. Chapter 12 Once set up at the Cutters, Ántonia spends even more time and energy on her new social life. Cutter relates the elaborate ruse that her husband concocted: he put her on the wrong train while he slipped back to Black Hawk in his failed scheme to have his way with Ántonia. They find the house in utter disarray, and, as they are gathering up the torn garments, Mrs. Burden accompanies Ántonia to the Cutters to pack her trunk. Jim holes up in his room to recover, and Mrs. He had told Ántonia that he left his valuables under her bed and that she must not leave them unattended at night. Cutter has used the trip as an elaborate scheme to abandon his wife and either seduce or rape Ántonia.

A short while later, he wakes to the noise of someone in the same room and comes face to face with Cutter, who was expecting to find Ántonia in the room. On his third night in the house, he is roused by a noise, but quickly falls back asleep. Jim agrees to sleep there in her stead and comes back to the Burdens each morning for breakfast. Chapter 11 Left alone to housesit for the Cutters in late August, Ántonia has an uneasy feeling about spending the night by herself.

My antonia book cover