The Virginian

Book summary on The Virginian by Owen Wister?

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At the beginning of the novel, Wister portrays the Virginian as the epitome of freedom and rugged individualism. The Virginian, a self-reliant bachelor, is skilled at his frontier craft of roping calves and riding horses, he is endowed with a mysterious moral vision which allows him to recognize and defeat his enemies. Gradually, he is drawn to the Eastern values held by Molly Stark, who "tames" him with marriage and family responsibilities. By the end of the novel, he trades his freedom for an agreeable alliance with civilization by changing from a wild frontiersman to a genteel rancher. Thus, like Wyoming, he slowly accepts post-frontier society, with its inherent dependence on industrialism and the railroad.

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The Virginian