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Rehtinking Resistance: Race, Gender, and Place in the Fictive and Real Geographies of the American West

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Rehtinking Resistance: Race, Gender, and Place in the Fictive and Real Geographies of the American West REHTINKING RESISTANCE: RACE, GENDER, AND PLACE IN THE FICTIVE AND REAL GEOGRAPHIES OF THE AMERICAN WEST by TRACEY DANIELS LERBERG DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Texas at Arlington May 2016 Arlington, Texas Supervising Committee: Stacy Alaimo, Supervising Professor Neill Matheson Christopher Morris Kenneth Roemer Cedrick May, Texas Christian University Abstract Rethinking Resistance: Race, Gender, and Place in the Fictive and Real Geographies of the American West by Tracey Daniels Lerberg, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Arlington, 2016 Supervising Professor: Stacy Alaimo This project traces the history of the American West and its inhabitants through its literary, cinematic and cultural landscape, exploring the importance of public and private narratives of resistance, in their many iterations, to the perceived singular trajectory of white masculine progress in the American west. The project takes up the calls by feminist and minority scholars to broaden the literary history of the American West and to unsettle the narrative of conquest that has been taken up to enact a particular kind of imaginary perversely sustained across time and place. That the western heroic vision resonates today is perhaps no significant revelation; however, what is surprising is that their forward echoes pulsate in myriad directions, cascading over the stories of alternative voices, that seem always on the verge of slipping away from our collective memories, of ii being conquered again and again, of vanishing. But a considerable amount of recovery work in the past few decades has been aimed at revising the ritualized absences in the North American West to show that women, Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans and other others were never absent from this particular (his)story. Their presence has been revealed in the recovered works of fiction, life writing, and the historical record. There is compelling evidence that narratives proffered by women and minority writers during the nineteenth century resist the grand narratives authorized by the tenants of Manifest Destiny—a paradigm that continues to infiltrate the literature, scholarship and political landscape of the American West. But recovery efforts and explorations of contemporary westerns written by women and minorities remain incomplete and under theorized. Our perceptions of the American West and its past continue to be fueled by a limited number of highly popularized fantasies that provide the foundation for many cultural beliefs and attitudes. Only in continuing to examine the alternative narratives and attending to even small acts of resistance can we disrupt traditional models of thinking about and responding to the place of the American West. iii Copyright © by Tracey Daniels Lerberg 2016 All Rights Reserved Acknowledgements This project, as with so many of its kind, is a story of endurance. That this project has come to this stage, one that is both an exciting opening in many important ways, and also a sad closing of sorts, is due in large measure to colleagues, friends, and family who wanted me to dream and to strive, but most importantly to be both vulnerable and brave. So many supported me and trusted me, even when I refused these to myself. This is a blessing that I cannot hope to have earned, nor one that I can ever hope to repay. Nonetheless, I have been buoyed by their strength and commitment, and I will remain eternally grateful to each of them. I am indebted to and owe particular thanks to a number of individuals who will never fully understand the extent to which they have carried me through and brought me hope as I crossed the vast desert of my own resistance. I owe my sincere gratitude to Dr. Stacy Alaimo, who has been a devoted mentor to me, and a tireless champion for students, feminists, and the environment at UT Arlington and in the world. She has been and always will be a dear and wonderful friend. I received incredibly valuable remarks from each of my dissertation committee members. Their expertise helped shape this project in important and dramatic ways. Dr. Kenneth Roemer is truly a gentleman, a scholar, and a legend whose thoughtful and engaging approach is a wonderful model. Dr. Cedrick May is a fearlessly innovative scholar who invites others to join him in a tireless pursuit of v scholarly joy and joyful scholarship. Dr. Neill Matheson is an elegant writer whose prose style and intelligent reading of texts provide stunning examples of linguistic elegance. And Dr. Chris Morris provided insightful comments and challenging questions. His keen historical position was invaluable. It has been my undeniable privilege to work with these amazing academic minds. I am fortunate also to have wonderful friends and colleagues. Dr. Desiree Henderson guided me through my MA and has continued to proffer stellar advice as a friend and colleague. Drs. Penny Ingram and Peggy Kulesz never failed to encourage me as they provided moments of clarity, laughter, and good cheer when they were needed most. I have also had a number of writing partners at UT Arlington and Texas Christian University. We shared our work, our grievances, and our progress. Drs. Christi Cook and Margaret Lowry, and Bethany Shaffer listened to my ideas, read my early dissertation proposals, and even commented on some of my creative writing projects. They delivered enthusiastic recommendations. Larisa Schumann, Lynda Davis, and Peter Mosley read some early section drafts: I wish them continued success as they complete their dissertations. Luke Tesdal was generous with his time in reading and rereading portions of this and other scholarship on my behalf. He never failed to provide sharp-witted comments that made revisions an unusual pleasure. I was ‘provoked’ to this inquiry by a number of tremendously gifted thinkers and writers, some whose works are considered here, others who are not: vi Stacy Alaimo, Annette Kolodny, Susan Bordo, Luce Irigaray, Judith Butler, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Mary Wollstonecraft, and many, many more who are my intellectual foremothers and sisters. I owe them thanks for carving out a literary and intellectual territory and laying the groundwork for myself and other scholars to follow. My research was partially funded by a UT Arlington Office of Graduate Studies Dissertation Fellowship and the Ida V. Hall and George Kohfeldt Endowed Scholarship in Southwestern Studies from the UT Arlington History Department. The support was invaluable in allowing me to complete this project. I am honored that they found my efforts deserving of their financial commitment. vii Dedication I am indebted to my family, those here and there, to the living and those no longer so, who informed my way of thinking about the world, my place in it, and all the others who walk with me. Jamie, Kurt, and Brian, are only wispy ghosts of my childhood now, but I think of them often and I will them into happiness. I hope that they are, and that one day I will know. Jack made me feel safe in an unsafe world; Dan taught me to love football with a mad passion; and, Pauline showed me the power of a quiet resolve. Sandy invited me to dream; and Sue taught me resilience. Bailey gave me hope; Spencer joy; and Aiden a future. And though there have been too few of those perfect days, we have grown together in this wild world, sometimes crying, sometimes singing. I love them all deeply. And, thanks to Dr. Matthew Lerberg, with whom my story began anew. He continues to make me believe in impossible dreams. He is my friend, my rock, my partner, my love. Laughing. Riding. Hiking. Climbing. Falling—Falling. Climbing. Hiking. Riding. Laughing. Always. Forever. Dancing together to the end of love. viii Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. v Dedication ............................................................................................................ viii List of Illustrations ................................................................................................ xii Chapter I Introduction: The Rise and Proliferation of the Mythic North AmericanWest, its Heroes, and the (not quite) Empty Frontier World He Claimed ............................................................................................................. 1 The Mythic Hero ............................................................................................. 1 Genres of the West .......................................................................................... 5 The Place ....................................................................................................... 15 Others ............................................................................................................ 21 Literary Modes .............................................................................................. 25 Everyday Lives ............................................................................................. 33 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 36 Chapter Summaries ....................................................................................... 38 Chapter II Taming the West: Narratives of Captivity and Displacement in the
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