Jim answers “Did anyone else find July's pursuit of...”

Noli Janos asked this question about Lonesome Dove (Lonesome Dove, #1):

Did anyone else find July's pursuit of Elmira unbelievable and tiresome? (Not here to complain, it's the book's only imperfection IMO!)

Jim I don't totally disagree, but I think that was sort of the point- Elmira found July to be tiresome and never would have believed that he'd go to such …moreI don't totally disagree, but I think that was sort of the point- Elmira found July to be tiresome and never would have believed that he'd go to such lengths to find her.

Plus, an underlying theme of the entire book is how pointless so many of these quests and missions were. That's really driven home in the last scene in the movie where Call, while trying to avoid the reporter, looks back at all the lives that have been lost and hurt by his own pointless "vision".

So July, being much like Call (albeit kinder and more loving) was simple and single-minded. He truly loved Elmira, and saw it as his duty as her husband to find and rescue her. Then when her son Joe died, he felt his obligation further to let her know of his death.

Also, he really had no interest in finding Jake, so he justified giving up that responsibility by needing to find his wife. (less)

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