# XXIII explained — Cimarron

> Chapter companion for Cimarron by Edna Ferber.

## What happens

Osage has transformed into a sophisticated city, with skyscrapers, luxury shops, and social rivalries. Sabra and Donna orchestrate a social coup in Washington by introducing Ruby Big Elk to high society, effectively neutralizing opposition. Back in Osage, wealth becomes the sole measure of status, with Tracy Wyatt and Pat Leary competing for the tallest building. Sabra, now a Congresswoman, still wears her plain gold wedding band. The chapter contrasts the old frontier with the new opulence, highlighting the loss of Native American identity and the rise of materialism.

## Themes in this chapter

### Transformation and Progress

Osage evolves from a frontier town to a sophisticated city with skyscrapers, luxury shops, and social clubs, highlighting the rapid modernization and commercialization of Oklahoma.

### Social Class and Morality

Wealth becomes the sole standard of status, with millionaires competing for tallest buildings and social prestige. The chapter critiques the materialism and hypocrisy of the nouveau riche.

### Native American Dispossession

Ruby Big Elk is used as a social prop to gain acceptance, while Osage Indian women are patronized in shops. The renaming of streets from Indian names to American ones symbolizes cultural erasure.

## Character check-ins

### Sabra Cravat

Now a Congresswoman, she orchestrates a social reception in Washington with Donna, introducing Ruby Big Elk to Eastern elites. She still wears her plain gold wedding band, a symbol of her past.

### Donna Cravat

Leases a Washington house in Dupont Circle and plans a social coup with Sabra, using Tracy Wyatt's wealth and influence to defeat their enemies.

### Ruby Big Elk

Cim's wife, presented as an Osage Indian in native dress and later a Paris gown. She becomes a social rage but leaves Washington in disgust after her work is done.

### Cim Cravat

Donna's brother, brought to Washington with his wife Ruby and their children for the social reception.

### Yancey Cravat

Young Yancey Cravat, son of Cim and Ruby, is present at a country club luncheon where he corrects a matron's assumption about Indians.

### Sol Levy

Builds a penthouse on the Levy Mercantile Company building, living alone in luxury, aloof from the city. He is excluded from a dinner for Sabra but protests successfully.

## Key lines

> I had no idea Oklahoma was like this. I thought it was all oil and dirty Indians.

A Washington matron expresses surprise at Oklahoma's sophistication, having expected only oil and unkempt Native Americans.

_Highlights the ignorance and prejudice of Eastern elites toward Oklahoma and its Native population._

> The covered wagon my folks crossed the prairies in

Pat Leary proudly displays a covered wagon as a symbol of his family's pioneer past, though locals mock it as a fabrication.

_Illustrates the mythologizing of the frontier and the gap between reality and self-promotion among the wealthy._

> I am a lady. Make no mistake about that. Just because I am a shopkeeper don't think you can patronize me.

The hat worn by a shop owner signals her insistence on being seen as a lady of leisure, not a worker.

_Reflects the social anxieties and class pretensions of the era, where work was stigmatized for women of status._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/cimarron_se/chapters/xxiii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/cimarron_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/cimarron_se/chapters