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Chapter 72
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
Dish gets the herd settled, picks out the choicest piece of beef for Lorena’s supper, awkwardly mounts his horse holding the plate, and rides over to the tent. She receives him as coldly as ever. Afterwards, Lippy finds him and tells him about the time Gus’s bet $50 and sex on a card draw with Lorena. Dish doesn’t know what to make of this story—or of Gus generally—but he tells Lippy to keep his mouth shut. In the morning, Lorena talks a little more, even though it’s mostly about how much she misses Gus.
For the first time in months, Lorena talks to Dish, even though she makes it clear that she’s not interested in him romantically. He can’t earn her love just by his devoted service—her heart wants what it wants. The encounter Dish has with Lippy injects some humor into the story at an increasingly dark period for Jake and the rest of the crew.
Themes
Lorena rides near the wagon, pointedly ignoring Lippy. She knows that Gus can take care of himself, but also that he’s a human being and thus as vulnerable to bullets as anyone else. Dish assures her that Gus and the Captain can take care of themselves. And that he will look after her, too. But he knows that he doesn’t want him to.
Lorena worries because she’s all too aware that despite their skill and experience, even Gus and even Call are human. She reminds readers that no one is exempt from fate.
Themes
