Lonesome Dove

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1985

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Part 1, Chapters 16-20Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapter 16 Summary

Gus tells Call that a hand named Jasper told him that Pedro Flores died. Call is sad; he remembers when he heard the news that other enemies died. He could always appreciate a worthy adversary. When they had defeated a warrior named Kicking Wolf, it had put them out of their jobs as Rangers. Call leaves to hire Jasper.

Part 1, Chapter 17 Summary

Lorena commits to making Jake take her to San Francisco. He relents but is petulant and sulky. After a week of his pouting, she isn’t as excited about him. She realizes that he is a man who needs to be taken care of. Nevertheless, she promises herself that she will make him take her on the drive if he leaves.

Gus comes in and requests “a poke” (189). When she says she’s with Jake, he says that Call will keep Jake for a couple of days. He also says Jake is a child who must be cared for, which she has to agree with. Gus offers 50 dollars for her services, but she still refuses. He convinces her to gamble on who can draw the higher card, and he wins. After they have sex, she tells Gus that she’ll go on the drive if that’s what it takes to get out of Lonesome Dove.

Part 1, Chapter 18 Summary

Jake and Call return from branding while Gus is eating. Jake is more annoyed than ever by his situation, which he blames on everyone but himself. Gus asks if he’ll marry Lorena, and Jake is shocked. Enjoying Jake’s discomfort, Gus hints that he heard Lorena talk about San Francisco, and says he should bring Lorena on the cattle drive. When Gus tells Call, he is stunned. He assumes Gus is joking and leaves.

Part 1, Chapter 19 Summary

Newt becomes friends with Sean and wonders why Jake is no longer interested in him. Around the fire, the men talk about their frustration with Lorena retiring. Deets is melancholy; he doesn’t understand why they’re leaving.

Part 1, Chapter 20 Summary

Jake is sulking about the drive. He slaps Lorena when she tells him about Gus and the wager they made. She says she’s going with him when he leaves, no matter where he goes. He says they’ll ride with the team, but camp on their own at night.

Part 1, Chapters 16-20 Analysis

Chapters 16-20 are relatively brief, showing the men’s preparations for the trip. Jake acknowledges that he can’t avoid taking Lorena with him. He has finally met a woman stubborn enough—and desperate enough to leave—that she will hold him accountable. When he hits her, he removes all doubt that he is no better than the other men who held her captive, but she still intends to use him to leave Lonesome Dove.

Lorena’s wager with Gus shows their continued affection even though she insists that she shouldn’t betray Jake. Gus knows that she can’t betray Jake because Jake doesn’t belong to her. Lorena’s inclusion on the cattle drive will allow McMurtry to continue to use her interactions with Gus as comedic relief from the increasing grimness she will experience with Jake.

Chapter 19 ends on a somber note with Deets, whose ominous feelings will prove well-founded. He doesn’t understand why they are leaving, and no one seems to be asking the question. Not even Call, who puts the drive into motion, is certain why he feels such an urgency to leave Lonesome Dove. Lorena is the only one who seems wholeheartedly invested in ending this chapter of her life. As Part 1 draws near its conclusion, the characters are on the verge of entering a new life where the relative lack of civilization, law, and shelter will cost them dearly.