Cimarron · Chapter
XIX explained
Sabra Cravat runs the Wigwam newspaper and her household alone, with Yancey, Cim, and Donna absent.
What happens
Sabra Cravat runs the Wigwam newspaper and her household alone, with Yancey, Cim, and Donna absent. Donna is sent to an Eastern finishing school against Yancey's wishes, while Cim dreams of geology and hates newspaper work. Sabra leads Osage's social and civic clubs, but her control is challenged when Ruby Big Elk insists on attending an Indian festival, forcing Sabra to rely on a Cherokee substitute. After a tense afternoon, Yancey returns moody and drunk, laughs at the pineapple and marshmallow salad, then leaves. Sabra, unable to sleep, goes to the Wigwam office late at night.
Themes in this chapter
Gender Roles and Women's Agency
Sabra runs the newspaper and household alone, leads social clubs, and makes decisions for Donna's education, asserting her agency in a male-dominated society.
Family and Marriage
Tensions between Sabra and Yancey over children's futures and household management; Sabra's isolation despite her public power.
Transformation and Progress
Osage's growth with civic clubs, paving agitation, and rival newspapers; Sabra's push for Donna's Eastern education reflects changing aspirations.
Characters to notice
- Sabra Cravat
Runs the Wigwam and her household alone; sends Donna East; leads social clubs; clashes with Ruby Big Elk; feels isolated and frustrated.
- Yancey Cravat
Opposes Donna's Eastern schooling; charming with female visitors; drinks heavily; laughs at the salad; leaves the house in a depressed mood.
- Cim Cravat
Age nineteen; wants to be a geologist; hates working at the Wigwam; understands Ruby's plans; hitches the phaeton for her.
- Donna Cravat
Age fifteen; sent to Miss Dignum's finishing school on the Hudson; described as brilliant and ambitious.
- Ruby Big Elk
Insists on attending the Mescal Ceremony; wears a white doeskin dress; leaves the house despite Sabra's objections.
- Jesse Rickey
Tells Yancey that Cim cannot be a newspaper man; has mournful, drooping mustaches.
Key passages
“She ran the paper alone, as she wished it run. She ordered the house as she wished it. She very nearly ran the town of Osage. She was a power in the Territory.”
Sabra managed the newspaper and her home entirely on her own terms, and she wielded significant influence over Osage and the broader Territory.
Highlights Sabra's autonomy and authority.
“Pineapple and marshmallow salad! 'It is all over with the Republic.'”
Yancey mockingly declares that the triviality of the salad symbolizes the decline of the Republic.
Shows Yancey's disillusionment and use of Latin quotation.