book 1 chapter 8-13

In chapter eight, Jim hears the fairy tale-like story of Pavel and the wolves. Pavel's illness and death marks the beginning of the winter hardship for the frontier inhabitants, and his story emphasizes how much at the mercy of nature humans actually are. The wedding guests that Pavel talks about were helpless when chased by the wolves, and similarly, the Shimerdas and the Burdens will be intensely vulnerably to the bitter, impersonal cold. After a long and idyllic autumn, Pavel's death is the first of a number of winter tragedies.

Pavel's story is also significant because it brings Jim and Ántonia closer together. It is scary and exotic, much different from the huge, empty prairie that surrounds them. Since they tell no one else Pavel's secret, it is something that only they share. In addition, Pavel's story casts America as the land of opportunity‹the only place where he and Peter can go to escape their past. Only in America can the two men begin anew and keep their dramatic tale a well-hidden secret.

Pavel's death emphasizes how important human relationships are on the frontier. With Pavel's death, Mr. Shimerda loses his one friend and can now only speak to his family and, brokenly, to the Burdens. He becomes completely isolated from outside social contacts and loses the only people who can really offer him good help and well-meaning advice.