Cimarron · Chapter
Chapter II explained
At the Venable family dinner table, Yancey Cravat recounts his harrowing experience during the Run of 1889, including sharing his last cup of water with a desperate woman and racing through a wall of fire.
What happens
At the Venable family dinner table, Yancey Cravat recounts his harrowing experience during the Run of 1889, including sharing his last cup of water with a desperate woman and racing through a wall of fire. His tale reignites his desire to return to the Oklahoma country to help build a new state, sparking a fierce confrontation with Felice Venable, who opposes taking Sabra and Cim into the wilderness. The chapter ends with Yancey declaring that Sabra and Cim will go with him.
Themes in this chapter
Pioneer Spirit and Manifest Destiny
Yancey's story and his determination to return to Oklahoma embody the pioneer drive to settle and build a new state, despite hardship and opposition.
Gender Roles and Women's Agency
The chapter contrasts the idealized pioneer woman in a sunbonnet with Felice Venable's rejection of that image, and features a woman racing alongside Yancey in the Run.
Myth vs. Reality
Yancey's romanticized account of the Run is challenged by Felice's insistence on Southern gentility and the harsh realities of the frontier.
Characters to notice
- Yancey Cravat
Tells the story of the Run, defends pioneer women, and declares his intention to return to Oklahoma with his family.
- Sabra Cravat
Listens to Yancey's story, is startled by his plan, and ultimately supports him.
- Felice Venable
Vehemently opposes Yancey's plan to take Sabra and Cim to Oklahoma, insisting on her Southern refinement.
- Cim Cravat
Present at the dinner table, held by Sabra, and begins to whimper during the argument.
- Cousin Dabney Venable
Scoffs at the idea of Oklahoma becoming a state with an Osage or Cherokee governor.
- Cousin Jouett
Makes a joking comment about Yancey's story and later yawns, excusing himself for a siesta.
Key passages
“It’s women like her who’ve made this country what it is. You can’t read the history of the United States, my friends ... without learning the great story of those thousands of unnamed women ... crossing the prairie and the desert and the mountains enduring hardship and privation.”
Yancey argues that the true pioneers of America are the countless unnamed women who endured immense hardships while settling the frontier.
Yancey elevates the role of women in westward expansion, contrasting with Felice's denial of that identity.
“I’m going back to the Oklahoma country; and Sabra and Cim with me.”
Yancey declares his firm intention to return to Oklahoma and insists that his wife and son will accompany him.
This statement triggers the central conflict of the chapter between Yancey and Felice Venable.
“I couldn’t down another mouthful, parching as I was. I’d have seen her terrible face to the last day of my life. So I righted it, and held it out to her and said, ‘Here, sister, take the rest of it. I’m through.’”
Yancey describes how, despite his own thirst, he gave his last cup of water to a desperate woman because he could not bear to drink while she suffered.
This act of selflessness highlights Yancey's character and the extreme conditions of the Run.