Where was Ennis coming from? Going to?

[Jeff Wrangler]

I recall from the story that Ennis was from Sage, down near the border with Colorado. As far as how he met Alma, I theorize that they met at church. We know that Ennis parents' were Methodist, and Alma is a church-going woman. Also at the end Alma Jr.'s wedding is going to be at the Methodist church. Ennis and Alma might have met at a get-together of Methodists sometime. I also wonder if their marriage might have been arranged by Ennis' siblings. Noticing that he wasn't naturally attracted to girls and wanting to have him settled so he wouldn't get in any trouble, they might have forced the two together. Ennis, being dutiful and never expecting to have a say in his own destiny, would have just followed along.

Interesting and plausible scenario for how Ennis and Alma met! Ennis was probably kind of socially inept--he may not even have realized that he wasn't all that attracted to girls (I was older than he was when he met Jack before I "figured it out"). It wouldn't surprise me at all if his brother's wife or his sister's husband knew "this nice girl named Alma Beers" and kind of threw the two of them together. The only concern I'd have about them meeting through church was that Ennis doesn't seem to have been much of a church-goer. Remember that rude comment about the "fire and brimstone crowd"?

Sage is pretty much where AP says it is, just about on the Utah line. If I could ask AP questions, one would be whether Signal is totally made-up, a fictionalized version of one particular town in Wyoming, or a fictionalized composite of a number of small Wyoming towns.

Anybody know whether Signal figures in any of AP's other Wyoming stories?

[MaineWriter]

Interesting and plausible scenario for how Ennis and Alma met! Ennis was probably kind of socially inept--he may not even have realized that he wasn't all that attracted to girls (I was older than he was when he met Jack before I "figured it out"). It wouldn't surprise me at all if his brother's wife or his sister's husband knew "this nice girl named Alma Beers" and kind of threw the two of them together. The only concern I'd have about them meeting through church was that Ennis doesn't seem to have been much of a church-goer. Remember that rude comment about the "fire and brimstone crowd"?

Well, just like it takes time for people to figure out their sexuality, I also think it takes time for people to figure out religion. I went to church and Sunday school, dutifully, for years before I finally "figgered" that one out. (I don't go anymore, for anyone who's interested.)

Also--if Ennis was going to church with his brother and sister, that may have been another source of his homophobia (it didn't come only from his father). Also, his "fire and brimstone" comment may have been a very subtle rejection of what they had taught him about him. Just a thought..

[opinionista]

I found these sites about some of the locations where the story takes place.

http://www.planetware.com/wyoming/signal-mountain-us-wy-sig.htm
http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=23398
http://www.ultimatewyoming.com/sectionpages/sec3/lightningflat.html
http://childresstexas.com/

[RouxB]

Good map Opinionista! Worland, Casper, the fictional Signal seem to be within a hundred mile range of Riverton-Sage and Ligning Flat maybe within 200-250 miles?. Until I saw the door on the truck I figured Ennis to be coming from wherever he and his brother had lived together. Maybe when the brother married, Ennis went back to Sage until this job came along.

 

[Kd5000]

A marriage of convenience for Ennis. He related to Jack that is brotehr got married and there was no room for him.  Meeting at church thing sounds  plausbile to me. 

His siblings subsituted for his parents and his brother probably strongly advised, (i.e. cutting the strings now that your 18), it's time for you to make it on in the world. Best thing you could do would be to settle down with this nice girl.

Brokeback Mountain was in the BigHorns. Am I  correct? Jack tells his wife he goes fishing way up there in Wy because the Big Horns aren't in Texas. Good excuse.

Worldand was very close to the Big Horns Mtns per my map. They occup the Northcentral part of WYoming.  50 miles from Riverton.  I just guessed that Signal would be a "bleek your eye miss it sorta place" in the vicinity of Worland.   A jumping off place.

[David]

I had kinda wondered how Ennis met Alma.    Ennis is such a shy, introverted guy.  Alma must have pursued him.  Maybe he was at the Riverton Grocery store when she spotted him?

[David]

Oh, one more thing.   There is a Signal Mountain near Jackson lake, over on the Idaho side.

[Lumière]

I always sorta thought to myself that Ennis and Alma met in High school or something...and because he was so shy, his brother and sister might have had a hand in encouraging him to settle down with such a 'nice girl'.  Also, like David said, there is also a possibility that Alma pursued him, she clearly loved him from the start.

I have also never seen the writing on the door of the truck that Ennis gets out of in the beginning - nothing except Ennis exists in that scene, the way he hesitates abit, puts on his jacket and adjusts the collar, with a brown paper bag in his hand (holding all his worldly possessions probably)..*sigh*

[Kd5000]

That's interesting about a Signal Mountain near Jackson lake. Will have to consult my map. Though it doesn't label mountains unless their unsually high.

By thew wayt what does Alma see in Ennis? He doesn't have any money, career prospects, etc etc, a good provider, in pre-womens lib world... Then again, expectations of life might have been different in rural America in 1963.

She was in love with him, even after the divorce, I belive Michelle Williams said Monroe was just a substitute.  Love I suppose is the reason she wanted to marry  him and then hopes he gets a good paying job working in the oilfields or a job with the power company.  Probably she didn't expect him to want to be a ranch-hand all his life. 

[Jeff Wrangler]

Brokeback Mountain was in the BigHorns. Am I  correct? Jack tells his wife he goes fishing way up there in Wy because the Big Horns aren't in Texas. Good excuse.

Even though Brokeback doesn't really exist, I recall a discussion about its location on the old big board months ago. I suppose it's possible that a fictional mountain wouldn't have to be in the same place in the movie as in Annie Proulx's story, but I recall that in the story, in the motel, Ennis tells Jack that he first thought he had the stomach cramps because he had eaten something bad at "that place in Dubois." Dubois is west and, I think, a little north of Riverton, on the edge of the Wind River Mountains. So in the story, at least, it appears that Brokeback is in the Wind Rivers. There is national forest land in that area, too, and remember that the sheep were pastured on forest service land.