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Chapter 40
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
One day, when the herd is near San Antonio, something spooks the mules and they take off with the wagon and Lippy, whose coat is caught in a crack on the seat. Jim Rainey tries to stop the mules but only alarms them further and they run pell-mell off a creek cutbank. The wagon slams down and tips over, burying Lippy and smashing in half. In an instant, Gus and Pea Eye get the wagon off Lippy, who’s covered in mud and half drowned but otherwise fine. Still, the whole affair horrifies Newt, who still hasn’t gotten over Sean’s death.
Just when the trip seems to be going smoothly, something happens to remind the company that their continued existence and their success depend on their luck holding out. In this case, however, Lippy’s life is fortunately spared. The broken wagon also functions as a plot device to mark a turning point on the drive because it necessitates the pause of a day near San Antonio to find a new wagon.
Themes
When he’s recovered, Lippy reports that he heard a shotgun shot just before the mules spooked. He speculates that a bandit was shooting at them. In fact, although no one in the company will ever know it, the shotgun blast came from Bolivar, who was drifting into a pleasant dream about his daughters when the shotgun in his hand accidentally discharged. When the mules spooked, they threw him from the wagon seat. Bolivar has had enough of the drive—he didn’t really believe it when Gus said they’d go north for months, because Gus is full of hot air. He’s tired, and he misses his family. He turns in his resignation to Call, who ropes a horse for him as a parting gift, and then rides south, back toward Lonesome Dove.
It seems that Bolivar subconsciously solved his internal conflict about whether to continue with the drive or turn back toward his family in Mexico. Notably, even though he has only ever seen them irregularly, his daughters (and even his unpleasant wife) still have a hold on him. That’s how important a person’s family is. But it also sets him apart from others, like Gus, who ran away from home and never wanted to go back because he became caught up in the romance and adventure of exploring—and subduing—the American West.
Themes
