In Last of the Mohicans, Cora represents the ideal rugged individualist. When she lived in Britain, Cora was a traditional British woman, valuing stability and tradition over individualism. Her trip to America completely changed her outlook. From the second she met Nathaniel, Cora's views of the world were changed. She did not long for her home anymore, instead she enjoyed her adventure in America. When she asked Nathaniel why the people would live in the wilderness, unprotected, she genuinely did not know as the idea is completely foreign to her. She quickly became enticed in the idea of exploring the unknown and living with nature surrounding her. Through the rest of the movie Cora possesses the qualities of an ideal American at the time.
On a side note, Cora seems to be an emotionless monster to me. Her friend, her father, and her sister were all killed as well as many others during her short stay in America. Yet she seemed to be unfazed by everything around her, only acting remotely surprised/sad when her sister died, but in the next scene she didn't seem like it hurt her one bit. She instantly forgets that people close to her are dead. Also the fact that she had probably never seen someone die before and all of a sudden hundreds of people die around her doesn't seem to surprise her in the least bit. From this I conclude that Cora is a psychopath with no capability of emotions.
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