The VirginianThe cowboy hero, The Virginian, as depicted in Owen Wister's novel was the first of his kind and today is known as the mythical and stereotypical figure of the cowboy that our vision of the western frontier are based on. The Virginian was the first complete Western novel, aside from the short dime novels, which marked the final phase in the evolution of the cowboy hero into a national icon. The Virginian was published in 1902 and was very popular at that time due to settlement in the West. The story of the cowboy who had the skill and courage to take control of the wild frontier fascinated people. The cowboy hero had some distinctive qualities, he was a self-styled vigilante, had a very strict moral code, had exceptional perception skills and had the ability to adapt. Owen Wister's The Virginian was the first to portray these qualities and truly create a deeper cowboy character. While the Western frontier was still new and wild, the Western hero often took on the role of a vigilante. The role of the vigilante in the frontier was that of an extralegal verve used to curb criminal threats to the civil peace and affluence of a local community. Vigilantism was typical of settler-state societies of the Western frontier, where government structures and powers were initially very feeble and feeble. The typical cowboy hero was willing to use this extralegal verve. The Virginian demonstrated this throughout with his interactions with Trampas, particularly in the interactions leading up to the shooting and during the shooting itself. “Others struggled with Trampas, and his bullet shattered the ceiling before they could snatch the gun from his hand… Yet the Virginian stood quietly in the midst… in the center of the paper… and a reserved man against violence. Also as a man who will defend the good of the community, protecting those who need protection as a vigilante of the western frontier. The Virginian was a true cowboy hero because he was a vigilante who followed his own moral code. The moral code of the cowboy he was not dictated by the laws of society because he was an independent who worked to escape civilization. The Virginian was the first of the Western heroes to give the world someone to look up to as an example comparisons of the protection and respect of women like Molly. He also had many skills that gave him the realistic air that made Western heroes so popular in the early 1900s as the Western frontier came to an end. Works Cited Wister, Owen. The Virginian. Penguin books. 1902. Print.