The Rise of Women in the West

In the films Rooster Cogburn, High Noon, and Little Jo, the women in these films move away from the role of the defenseless housewife and took over some of the couragous actions that are often associated with the men of the West. In these films the women are not the motivation of the alpha male cowboy. The women are self-motivated and act out of a sense of duty for the good of the men in these films. This is a reflection of the progressive movement that the women took while their husbands were at war. They had a sense of duty to take over these roles because no one else would.
In High Noon, Amy is originally portrayed as someone who would rather avoid conflict. She wants to leave town and let Kane fight his own battle, but picks up the sense of duty and decides to stay and fight. In this film, she moves out of her shell and makes the transformation from seeing no use in fighting to staying and fighting.
In Rooster Cogburn, Eula shows undoubtedly shows couragous qualities by joining Cogburn to find Breed. This shows that she wants to seek revenge on Breed for killing her father. Her actions show that even women have the power to help catch criminals and kill. Eula is able to break down Cogburn's character and form a close bond that she learns from. This close bond is what enables her to fulfill the duties that the male character typicall have. This close bond was formed through their verbal communication. Tompkins states on page 66 that "Women, like language, remind men of their own interiority; women's talk evokes a whole network of familial and social relationships and their corollaries in teh emotional circuitry." This quote shows the relationship between Eula and Cogburn. Their talking really enhanced their bond and helped them become as close as they are.
The Ballad of Jo shows another strong woman who fulfills the roles typically associated with the alpha male. The lead woman in this role actually poses as a man and acts like one. Jo eventually is faced with a conflict and is forced to resolve this conflict the way the men do. Jo however, isn't comfortable taking another person's life. She eventually kills out of duty but has trouble overcoming the fact that she killed someone. Her role can be compared to the women in our society that dressed as men in order to get work and support their families. Once these women's true identities were revealed, they would be fired. This is similar to the consequences that Jo faced when her town learned her true identity.