Some kind of magic …

… Nigeness: Cather: What's to Say? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

… the transition from the one Thea Kronborg to the other seemed to me entirely believable: the seeds of what she was to become – the fierce determination, the ability to harden her heart, the romantic urges, the soaring aspirations – were all present in the young girl. The later Thea is certainly at times unsympathetic, but that, for me, is one of the strengths of Cather's heroines, that they are always portrayed in the round, with all their faults – and yet they are in the end quite extraordinarily lovable.

I read The Song of the Lark last year and I completely agree. I read a couple of other Cather novels last year as well. I think she is the great American novelist.