This conclusion to the novel left us with Cather’s interpretation of the frontier in the words of Alexandra: “The land belongs to the future… we come and go, but the land is always here. And the people who love it and understand it are the people who own it- for a little while.” She is describing the conquest or dominance of the land to equate to the future, that while we may strive to attain a goal or ‘dream’ it will always be fleeting and once one comes to terms with this is when possibilities open.

It also concludes with Alexandra succumbing to her love for Carl and admitting her loneliness- until this point in the novel Alexandra has alluded to solitude but has rather identified it as independence. Here we truly see the burden she has undergone in the years and its psychological effects on her.