Xavier Wanz Character Analysis in Lonesome Dove

Xavier Wanz is the proprietor of the Dry Bean saloon in Lonesome Dove, Texas. He moved to Texas from New Orleans, where he worked as a waiter in fine restaurants. He is Lonesome Dove’s most fastidious resident. He never appears in his bar without a bow tie—or at least a string tied like a bow tie—and his biggest lament in life is that his establishment isn’t refined enough. He falls in love with Lorena and asks her to marry him instead of going north on the drive with Jake Spoon. After she follows the drive north, Xavier falls into a depression and burns the Dry Bean to the ground with himself inside it.

Xavier Wanz Character Timeline in Lonesome Dove

The timeline below shows where the character Xavier Wanz appears in Lonesome Dove. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...Ocean”—at full volume. Dishwater Boggett, a young cowhand, is making lovesick eyes at Lorena, and Xavier Wanz, the Dry Bean’s proprietor, is fussing over the tables with his usual fastidiousness. When... (full context)

...specified that they rent horses and rigs (actually, one rig that used to belong to Xavier Wanz) and they sell horses and cows. Then, he added that they don’t trade in... (full context)

...in front of the saloon. He has no idea who Lorena is with. And neither Xavier nor Lippy is around to ask. In consternation, Dish walks down to the river, where... (full context)

In the saloon, Dish finds Lorena, local cowhand Jasper Fant, and Xavier Wanz waiting for a fourth person so they can start a card game. Only Lorena... (full context)

Lorena has just finished packing when Xavier knocks on the door in tears. He declares his love and offers to marry her... (full context)

...Then he stops in the Dry Bean for one last drink. A disheveled and despondent Xavier sits in the corner. He confesses his feelings for Lorena to Augustus, who listens sympathetically,... (full context)

...anxious about the coming storm. She wishes she had stayed in Lonesome Dove or married Xavier. But she knows she must make the best of her situation. (full context)

...fooled her into thinking he cared makes her sad. She even considered going back to Xavier. Augustus notices her low mood. But he still asks her to cut cards for her... (full context)

...be Dillard Brawley, the town’s one-legged barber. He tells Call that after the drive—and Lorena—left, Xavier locked himself in Lorena’s room for a month, then burned the Dry Bean—and himself—to ashes. (full context)