It's not that I'm wholly unsympathetic toward Lureen - I'm a career-oriented female myself. But she lost big points with me twice - first when she let the customer/cowboys refer to Jack as a 'pissant' and remained silent, imo, for the sake of her bottom line. Second during the 'blue parka' scene, it becomes clear that Jack has been the parent primarily involved with Bobby at school, and she shrugs off getting Bobby a tutor. In the short story, she controls the purse-strings, so he can't pursue it on his own, as I recall.
Like everyone, she's not all bad - she's pleased when Jack stands up for himself at Thanksgiving and like Katherine says, it's generous and kind of her to suggest Ennis get in touch with the Twists.
I guess Alma is just as innocent a victim of circumstances, but she gets on my nerves more.
For me, I think Alma getting on my nerves is because of the era. She knows her husband is gay and allows herself to be a victim. I guess that still happens today, but the modern female in me screams 'Move on, already.'
Re the No. 17: There's a theory I saw on imdb that connects the mailbox number to Lureen's performance in the rodeo. It's been a while since I've seen the movie and I never noticed this line particularly, so I'm going on what I remember of the imdb post, but apparently we hear the announcer saying that Lureen's score is 16.9, and that she has come in second to a competitor from Wyoming.
I hadn't heard that one - it's a good one...so many different ways to find meaning here.
Like Eric said, this one's my favorite from Meryl:
[in Chinese symbology] the number 8 represents Rebirth. There are other symbols of new life in that scene as well: Alma, Jr.’s impending marriage, Ennis’s newly awakened sense of the importance of making sacrifices for loved ones, and the view of the young green crops seen from the window in the last shot.”