Willa Cather O Pioneers!

After Alexandra rejects her brothers’ patriarchal advice about what she can and cannot do with her land, Oscar and Lou conclude that “Alexandra ain’t much like other women-folks” (173).  In what ways is this assessment true?  What qualities of character, imagination, and spirit distinguish her from most of the people, both women and men, who surround her?  How does her attitude and behavior defy the conventional expectations for a woman in her time and situation?