In Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey, a slight shift in gender power roles and social hierarchies is omnipresent and is best reflected in the novel through Love. The dominance of masculinity is still clearly represented through the Cowboys, Lassiter, and Venters, but Gray gives more power to women like Jane and Bess, arguing that they play an important role in promoting men's development. Cowboys having deeply affectionate relationships were rare, and prior to Grey's novel they had not been commonly portrayed or accepted in Western culture. According to Wister, in fact, the idea of ​​marriage has a negative connotation and is considered a symbol of danger or evil in old western novels. Gray turns this belief on its head by giving women more power, while maintaining the image that women are constantly oppressed and often subjected to discrimination. While the male figures in the novel exude strength and courage to become the heroes who save the weak and defenseless female figures. Gray initially portrays Jane, the novel's main female protagonist, powerfully as she has inherited large sums of land and wealth from her deceased father. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Jane may have materialistic power because of her resources, but we quickly realize that she is weak and vulnerable because she cannot stand up for herself against Tull and the jealous Mormons who want her riches. Jane's inability to defend herself as a woman is mainly due to the lack of respect that men show her and therefore a virile figure, Lassiter, comes to her rescue. Grey's presents Lassiter as a cowboy of “superior ability,” casting him as an intimidating and imposing figure, an outsider with a holstered gun and a black leather suit. He is a manly figure who also shows his nobility and morality while showing respect for woman as he says, “Where I grew up, a woman's word was law. I'm not quite over it yet” (Grey 5). Lassiter not only saves Jane who is socially oppressed by her religion, but also develops a relationship with Jane while making sure not to appear as that isolated and lonely figure that most Cowboys are notoriously framed as. Lassiter can do no wrong because he came to Utah to solve his sister's death and at the same time help Jane avoid further discrimination. Lassiter possesses all the characteristics of a cowboy and a hero, yet he is known for changing the perception of an ideal cowboy through his willingness to interact with Jane and create a relationship that lasts. Lassiter shows that he wants to be more than a gunslinger, he wants stability in his life and needs a companion which he eventually receives when he runs away with Jane to Surprise Valley along with Venters and Bess. The gender dynamics of the novel are also shown through Venter's relationship with Bess. After Venters accidentally injures Bess for wearing a mask while riding, Venters shows his morality and compassion when he ensures that Bess recovers so intensely that they quickly become attracted to each other. However, even in the initial moments of their relationship Gray establishes rigid gender roles, portraying Venters as the dominant force in the relationship and Bess as the submissive one, as he says: "I saved her, I disconnected her from that old life: she me belongs” (Grey 92). Gray diminishes Bess' image by giving Venters ownership over her and making her seem like a vulnerable figure who needed to be saved. Bess is also portrayed as a young and innocent woman throughout the novel since Gray refersconstantly refers to her as a "girl", even though she is actually eighteen and an adult by law. Referring to her simply as a “girl” suggests youth, inexperience, and implies dependence on an older figure; that person was Venters, just as Jane needed Lassiter. However, the interaction of Venters and Bess presents a dynamic unknown in old Western culture where both male and female are transformed through love. Bess has a spiritual and physical awakening as she goes from being a girl of "flexible form" (Grey 113) to a sexually attractive woman as she "no longer resembled a boy. No eye could fail to mark the rounded contours of a woman" . " (Grey 163). Like Jane with Lassiter, Venters hopes to redeem himself through Bess and transform himself as he says: "If I can regain your strength... help you in any way to have a happier life, just think of how much it will be nice to me!" (Grey 115). Likewise, Venters is transformed by the fact that Bess "went away a boy and came back a man" (Grey 190). Or, as Bess praises, "I am a man, a man you made" (Grey 216). Venters is completed by Bess, without her he would be a lost man with no direction in his life. This interaction and this positive outlook on relationships was extremely rare at the time, especially in the old western because society could not accept giving women that amount of social power. The idea that men and women should discover their true selves and their social roles together was refuted in the West and never had the courage to be introduced until. Grey's novel.Wister's belief that marriage is always portrayed as a comic failure or a symbol of infidelity in classic westerns is dispelled by the relationship between Venters and Bess because we see the positive transformation of both individuals through their love. Before falling in love with Bess, Venters is a strong cowboy but internally he is a depressed man looking for a purpose in life. Gray explains his mental state best when he describes, “I have nothing to lose but my life. . . "I can't feel well, I've lost everything... I mean the loss of good will, of good name, everything that would have allowed me to endure in this village without bitterness. Well, it's too late" (Grey 59) Venters too , being such a dominant and masculine figure, has internal struggles because he feels like he lacks a partner in his life due to his isolation. His relationship with Bess relieves him of all these problems, as Gray later explains when Venters comes to terms with himself, “He climbed a great yellow rock that raised its crest among the spruces, and there he sat looking down towards the valley and the west. 'I love her!' Aloud he spoke, he lightened his heart, he confessed his secret. For an instant, the golden valley swayed before his eyes, and the walls swayed, and everything around him swirled with tumult within "I love her, I understand now" (Grey 216). This also goes against Wister's belief that a true cowboy wants to be alone and self-sufficient and doesn't need anyone else in his life because he is manly enough to take care of business on his own. Wister claims that isolation preserves racial purity, yet his belief is refuted by both Venters and Lassiter because they transform into men thanks to the women in their lives and discover that love is something that was missing for women to be portrayed as Weak and fragile creatures and men were portrayed so strong and dominant is no surprise due to the social standards of old Western values. Lassiter and Venters are both characterized as classic Western cowboys who are noble, honest, and possess undisciplined skill and courage..