The Virginian · Chapter
To the Reader explained
The author addresses the reader directly, explaining that the novel is historical in nature, depicting Wyoming between 1874 and 1890 as a vanished world.
What happens
The author addresses the reader directly, explaining that the novel is historical in nature, depicting Wyoming between 1874 and 1890 as a vanished world. He reflects on the romantic figure of the cowpuncher, his integrity and wildness, and the inevitable transition that followed. He also shares an anecdote about a cowpuncher who valued truth in storytelling, underscoring the authenticity of the narrative.
Themes in this chapter
Civilization vs. Wilderness
The chapter contrasts the wild, vanished world of the cowpuncher with the inevitable transition to a shapeless, unlovely state.
Masculinity and Honor
The cowpuncher is described as a man of his word, who kept his promises and did not talk lewdly to women, embodying a code of honor.
Characters to notice
- The Virginian
Mentioned as a character the author knows intimately, like a father knows his son.
Key passages
“Any narrative which presents faithfully a day and a generation is of necessity historical; and this one presents Wyoming between 1874 and 1890.”
A story that accurately portrays a specific time and its people is inherently historical, and this book does that for Wyoming from 1874 to 1890.
The author justifies calling the novel historical despite its fictional characters.
“He rides in his historic yesterday. You will no more see him gallop out of the unchanging silence than you will see Columbus on the unchanging sea come sailing from Palos with his caravels.”
The cowpuncher now belongs to the past, as unreachable as Columbus's voyage.
Emphasizes the complete disappearance of the cowboy era.
“If he gave his word, he kept it; Wall Street would have found him behind the times. Nor did he talk lewdly to women; Newport would have thought him old-fashioned.”
The cowpuncher was honest and respectful, traits that would seem outdated in modern finance or high society.
Highlights the moral code of the cowpuncher.