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Chapter 45
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
Augustus sends Newt—the cowhand Jake is least likely to shoot in a jealous rage—to guard Lorena. When Call returns, Augustus tells him about Blue Duck. His sadistic and fearless reputation makes them worry that he’ll try to steal their horses, or worse. Deets manages to track him throughout the afternoon but loses him before sunset, adding to the general worry. The visibility provided by the full moon makes it unlikely that Blue Duck will attack immediately but Call nevertheless rides off to a nearby ridge to sit watch overnight.
Blue Duck’s ghostlike ability to escape into the barren landscape further emphasizes the danger that he poses to this group of white cowboys (and their tagalongs Jake and Lorena) and plays into stereotypes of Indigenous men as dangerous and borderline supernatural in their abilities. Still, Call, Gus, and Deets handle the danger in a businesslike way, testifying to their past as Rangers and their ability remain calm under pressure.
Themes
While Call sits alone on the ridge, cleaning his gun, memories of Maggie overwhelm him. He went to her initially out of curiosity, since other men made such a fuss over sex. He meant it to be a single experiment, and he immediately regretted what he felt was a loss of his self-control. But he felt himself inexplicably drawn back to Maggie and he visited her regularly for several months. She was small, gentle, and needy, and something in him responded powerfully to her vulnerability. Their relationship ended after they argued one night. She wanted him to call her by her name. Something about the despair and need of that request was too much. Call never went back.
It's telling that Call rides off alone: a cornerstone of his character is his need to believe that others need him more than he needs them—that he might not need other people at all. That’s why his history with Maggie rankles him so much. He perceived the feelings he felt for her almost like an attack, like arrows or bullets that pierced through his shield of independence and threatened his autonomy by showing it to be a lie. Especially when she asked him to acknowledge her humanity.
Themes
Call still feels guilty over Maggie because, Augustus maintains, he knows he broke her heart, though he hates to admit it. Call’s feelings of guilt and loss haven’t diminished even though many years have passed. It’s still unsettling that the love and need of one woman named Maggie so easily upended his carefully constructed self-control and imperviousness. He knows he should acknowledge Newt as his son, even if he can never be sure. But doing that would mean admitting his relationship with Maggie to others, and that would force him to confront the fact that he let someone—her—down. He can’t bear the thought of letting anyone who depends on him down.
This chapter clearly illustrates Call’s greatest strengths and weaknesses of character. Clearly, he feels love and responsibility deeply and wants to protect the people around him. But his failure to do so with Maggie showcases his unwillingness to admit his mistakes or change his course of action, even when his behavior hurts other people. In a way, he’s as selfish as Jake because he places his own pride above others’ needs and feelings—first with Maggie and now with Newt.
Themes
