"The Virginian" and the American Frontier

Paper Summary:

"The Virginian", a recent television adaptation of a classical western novel, written in the final decade of the 19th century by Owen Wister, combines many symbolic representations of themes found in late 19th century culture. The paper shows how Molly Stark, who comes from Vermont to Wyoming to teach school, represents many of the ideas found in the suffrage and temperance movement that are thought of as typical of the progressive era. There she meets a ranch-hand played by Bill Pullman, who is only known as the Virginian. Like the Virginian, she is a rugged individual with a well-defined set of beliefs who acts as a Paladin against the backdrop of the American frontier. The paper compares the television adaption to films which were made, based on the novel.

From the Paper:

"Women first came to the west as prostitutes, but when the territory granted women the right to vote in 1869, it began to attract fiercely independent "spinsters" such as Molly Stark. In Wyoming, we see the fruition of the goals that first coalesced in New England at the Seneca Falls convention. Although men were to continue to outnumber women, the state went on to pass many laws aimed at introducing gender equality. Such laws gave women control over their earnings and personal property, required that both male and female heirs be treated equally when someone died without a will, and specified that home loan or farm mortgages were not binding on a wife unless she had co-signed the contract with her husband."

More papers on "The Virginian" and the American Frontier:

• Comparison Essay # 99019 : "Evil in "The Crucible" and "The Scarlet Letter"
• Comparison Essay # 92307 : "The Odyssey" and "The Aeneid"
• Comparison Essay # 6789 : "The Odyssey" and "The Mill on the Floss"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: