Initially her studies go well, but she finds her artistic growth chained by the expectations of the folks back home. When Thea moves to Chicago, however, both her character and the book's tone changes. Nearly a novel unto itself, this opening section sketches the entire town of Moonstone with a multiplicity of tragicomic details. The early sections of the book are pure Cather: a strong-headed yet friendly young girl surrounded by a colorful cast of multi-ethnic characters, from the anonymous tramp who drowns himself in the water tank to her alcohol-fueled German music teacher to the lively free-spirits living in the Mexican section of town. With only minutes to prepare for the role, Fremstad agreed to fill in, and Cather was amazed that the tired, faded, unapproachable star she interviewed earlier in the day had somehow transformed herself into "a vision of dazzling youth and beauty." From this kernel grew the story of Thea Kronborg, the heroine of "The Song of the Lark," which is Cather's portrait of the diva as a young woman. By coincidence, the night of their first meeting, Cather went to see a production at the Met right before the performance was to begin, the director learned that the lead singer had fallen into a dead faint. Cather interviewed the opera star Olive Fremstad, who had been born in Sweden and raised in Minnesota.
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