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Chapter 99
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Lonesome Dove, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
American Mythology
Family
Luck, Fate, and Chance
The Good Life
The Meaning of Masculinity
Feminine Strength
Summary
Analysis
It starts to bother Call that Gus left his half of the herd to “the woman,” who isn’t even in Montana helping with the hard work—although he knows that Lorena would have been more of a liability than a help among a dozen lonely young men. Still, every time he sells cattle to the Army—or to the Indigenous nations, with whom Hugh Auld has helped him to get on good terms—he sets aside half of the money.
The book has thoroughly humanized its various female characters—even Jennie and Sally Skull have interesting backstories and personality traits that render them uniquely human—yet Call continues to insist on considering women as a group rather than admitting that they are individual and fellow human beings. He clearly cares more about promises made to his dead (male) friend than about the living Lorena. And this, the book implies, shows weakness rather than strength.
Themes
One winter night, someone steals some of the company’s horses. Call, Pea Eye, Newt, Hugh, and Needle track their animals north into Canada in the company of a father and son. Call shoots the father as he tries to flee but can’t quite bring himself to hang the tearful and apparently contrite son, Big Tom. Tom goes back to the ranch with the men and works there as a blacksmith for a few weeks before he shows his true colors by trying to run away with some of the men’s valuables early one morning. No one is sad when Call hangs him as a thief after all.
The episode with Big Tom is notable because it is the only time Call changes his mind. It seems like the loss of Jake, Deets, and Gus—and the attempts at self-reflection that followed—might have given Call a chance to evolve. But hopes for this occurrence evaporate when Big Tom proves himself to be unworthy of the second chance. Given what they already know about Call, it’s safe for readers to assume that this episode will merely confirm his belief that it's a weakness to change his mind. And without Gus around to question him, he’s likely to become even more entrenched in his ways. This episode also offers a final reminder that the drive has arrived in Montana and set up their base, but that doesn’t mean that their lives are about to become easy or comfortable. They still live on a wild, unpredictable frontier.
Themes
As winter turns to spring, Call starts thinking about his promise to Gus. But he dallies in Montana, taking interest and pride in Newt’s work and giving the boy increasing responsibilities. This irritates Soupy Jones, who was promoted to top hand after Dish left. When Soupy confronts Newt, Newt stands his ground even though the older and bigger man beats him bloody. This, too, delights Call. He can see the boy has leadership potential.
It’s unclear why Call dallies—he’s more reticent about sharing his thoughts with readers than Gus was—but there are two primary possibilities. Fulfilling Gus’s final request will formally mark the end of his relationship with Gus and will make the loss feel irrevocable, something he’s not yet ready to face. Second, although he’s still unwilling (or unable) to acknowledge Newt as his son, he’s taking a growing interest and pride in the boy—in other words, he’s starting to act more like a father than ever before.
Themes
Soupy and Bert Borum quit, but Call easily hires six new hands. Things are going well. As May turns to June, he still hasn’t left for Texas. He often thinks about talking to Newt, about publicly claiming the boy. But he still hasn’t by the time he saddles up and prepares to take Gus’s body south. On the day of his departure, he puts Newt in charge, then gives Newt the Hell Bitch and the pocket watch Call’s own father left to him. In that moment, he wants to acknowledge the boy, but he finds that the words get stuck in his throat, physically choking him. So, he rides off without having said them.
Readers should remember that Gus asked two things of Call before he died: first, that Call take him back to Texas. And then, equally importantly, that Call acknowledge Newt and take on the role of the boy’s father, a role that rightfully belongs to him. One of these is easier for Call. Unfortunately, it's also the less important one, because it’s the promise made to a friend who is now dead and unable to care whether it’s completed or not. In the end, his pride proves stronger than love. And this surprising twist, this unclosed loop becomes the book’s biggest tragedy.
Themes
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Newt has noticed the Captain’s attention all spring and concluded that Mr. Gus must have been right. Call is his father. And for a moment, when Call comes to say goodbye, Newt thinks that he will finally acknowledge this truth. When it becomes clear that Call can’t, Newt feels sad. In his mind, he tells the Captain to just go on and leave things the way they are if it’s this hard to say anything. And that’s just what Call does.
Call’s failure is his own biggest tragedy. While it hurts Newt, it’s also the point at which it becomes clear that he no longer needs the Captain’s acknowledgement to tell him who he is. He shows himself to be the bigger person when he lets Call go without having heard the words he longs for. And in this way, he shows himself to be more mature than his father.
Themes
