West of the Border: The Multicultural Literature of the Western American Frontiers

237 Pages·2000·1.436 MB·English

by  Noreen Groover Lape

West of the Border

West of the Border
The Multicultural Literature
of the Western American Frontiers
T
Noreen Groover Lape
Ohio University Press
ATHENS
Ohio University Press, Athens, Ohio 45701
© 2000 by Noreen Lape
Printed in the United States of America
All rights reserved
Ohio University Press books are printed on acid-free paper TM
09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lape , Noreen Groover, 1966–
West of the border:the multicultural literature of the Western American frontiers/
Noreen Groover Lape.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN0-8214-1345-7 (alk. paper)—ISBN0-8214-1346-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1.American literature—West (U.S.)—History and criticism. 2.American
literature—Minority authors—History and criticism. 3.Women and literature—West
(U.S.)—History. 4.Multiculturalism in literature. 5.Ethnicity in literature. 6.Frontier
and pioneer life in literature. 7.West (U.S.)—In literature. I. Title.
PS271 .L37 2000
810.9'3278—dc21
00-028569
For Dale

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Rites of Passage, Contact Zones, and the American Frontiers
1. Double Consciousness in the Borderlands 19
The Frontier Autobiographies of James P. Beckwourth and Sarah
Winnemucca Hopkins
2. The Second Coming of Trickster 57
Culture Contact and Trickster Border Narratives
3. Bartered Brides and Compulsory Bachelors 85
on the Chinese American Frontier
The Short Stories of Sui Sin Far
4. Arranged Betrothals and Mixed Marriages 119
The Japanese American Romances of Onoto Watanna
5. Conservation, Anthropology, and the Closed Frontier 137
The Southwestern Writings of Mary Austin
Epilogue 175
Notes 179
Bibliography 205
Index 219

Acknowledgments
A
ny serious act of writing, as I try to teach my freshman composition stu-
dents, is truly a social and collaborative interaction. What I value most
about having written this book is the satisfying intellectual and social connec-
tions I formed with people who so generously aided and guided me.
In 1993, I was having a conversation with my mentor Carolyn L. Karcher
when the idea for this book was generated. I thank her for meticulously read-
ing and commenting on the entire manuscript, teaching me how to shape a
book, offering heartfelt encouragement, and always being extremely generous
with her time. I also thank Lynda Hill, Susan Wells, and Jeannie Pfaelzer for
reading the manuscript and offering countless helpful suggestions. As a result
of this collaboration, I published a version of the ¤fth chapter in Breaking
Boundaries: New Perspectives on Women’s Regional Writing, edited by Sherrie
A. Inness and Diana Royer (reprinted here by permission of the University of
Iowa Press), and a version of the ¤rst chapter in the summer 1998 issue of
American Indian Quarterly (published by the University of Nebraska Press).
I would also like to thank Gillian Berchowitz and David Sanders at Ohio
University Press. They approached me about publishing my manuscript even
before I had begun to contact publishers, gave me important editorial advice
about crafting a book, and adroitly guided the project through to its completion.
Over the last few years, Dan Ross read the entire manuscript, listened to me
rattle on endlessly about the changes I was making, helped me sort through and
address various reader comments, and constantly assured me that I was on the
right track. My gratitude extends not only to him but also to Cindy, Melanie,