Book Club: Discuss/find out about a Classic Tale Set in Wyoming: The Virginian

[Front-Ranger]

The narrator and the Virginian made camp in the Tetons, and TN slept in the next morning, even though he bunked on the cold hard ground.

Finally, the Virginian shook him awake. “Both of us were glad when presently we rode into a steeper country, and among its folds and curvings lost all sight of the plain. He had not slept, I found. His explanation was that the packs needed better balancing, and after that he had gone up and down the stream on the chance of trout. But his haunted eyes gave me the real reason—they spoke of Steve, no matter what he spoke of; it was to be no short thing with him.”

[Front-Ranger]

Before taking off on their journey that morning, TV goes off to be with his friend, his horse Monte, and he talked to it as the narrator writes in his diary.

Later, TV observes that Monte is among the few horses that are shod front and back--with horseshoes on all four hooves.

Again, TV is musing about Steve. They used to run together as young men. "'We was just colts then' he said. He dwelt on their coltish doings, their adventures sought and wrought in the most perfect fellowship of youth. 'For Steve and me most always hunted in couples back in those gamesome years,' he explained. And he fell into the elemental talk of sex, such talk as would be an elk's or a tiger's; and spoken so him, naturally and simply, as we speak of the seasons, or of death, or of any actuality, it was without offence, or would be offence should I repeat it."

[Front-Ranger]

The title of this chapter is "Superstition Trail" and on the trail, the narrator and the Virginian suddenly become aware of fresh horse's hooves. They study them for a while, and begin to realize that there are actually two men with one horse--they trade off riding the horse. Since one is much heavier than the other, they begin to call them "Ounces" and "Pounds." Tension mounts as they follow the tracks.

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At the end, the two travelers come upon…Shorty. Yes, there were two men, one horse, and Shorty had the short end of the stick. In his hands was…the newspaper that the narrator had lent to Steve on his last day on earth. Taking it up, the narrator read a note scribbled in the margin:

‘Good-by, Jeff,’ it said. ‘I could not have spoke to you without playing the baby.’

‘Who’s Jeff?’ I asked. “

But, you all know by now who Jeff is.

[Front-Ranger]

Chapter 34: To Fit Her Finger

“The Virginian had touched the whole thing the day I left him. He had noticed me looking a sort of farewell at the plains and mountains. ‘You will come back to it,’ he said. ‘If there was a headstone for every man that once pleasured in his freedom here, you’d see one most every time yu’ turned your head. It’s a heap sadder than a graveyard—but yu’ love it all the same.’”

[Front-Ranger]

Now we have reached the point in our reading where Molly and the Virginian are on their wedding journey. But Molly, that ditz, is all angst-ridden because her mother won't be at the wedding ceremony. And why should she? The woman never answered the letter TV labored over and sent her asking for permission to marry her daughter. In fact, the mother's been spreading vile notions about TV based on a comment he made in his letter, "I never killed a man for pleasure or profit." The East and West are certainly diametrically opposed worlds.

[Front-Ranger]

We will be winding up the discussion of The Virginian shortly, because I have started reading a new book called The Cowboy Way by David McCumber, and I have begun a discussion on Anything Goes. Your last comments about The Virginian go here!!

[Front-Ranger]

If anyone has read thru all eight pages of this discussion, I'm curious. Does it give you too much or too little information? This will help me in future book discussions!

[Shakesthecoffecan]

I was disapointed in the way the Uncle Hughey character was handled. Wisler gave him a good set up and then ignored him. Whine, whine.

[Front-Ranger]

Wister seems to rotate through different characters who provide a foil for the Virginian, such as Scipio, Em'ly the hen, etc. As I recall, Uncle Hughey does appear a couple of times more: when he brings his bride home, and then later during a gathering. But you're right that his character that had such a promising start is largely undeveloped. Annie Proulx did that with her female characters in Brokeback Mountain, and we are lucky to have McMurtry and Ossana come along with their wonderful knowledge of female characters to flesh them out.