For example, in his adventures in the Surprise Valley and Deception Pass Bern Venters learns to care for a woman, Bess, and proves himself to be tender as well as an accomplished rider and herder of cattle. Venters gains a deeper appreciation for the land, as the land and Bess become one: "As he laid the girl down in the shallow hollow of the little ridge with her white face upturned, she opened her eyes. Wide, staring black, at once like both the night and the stars, they made her face seem still whiter" (Gray 1912). The beauty of the woman helps him appreciate the beauty of the land, and vice versa. Caring for Bess in the Deception Pass also teaches Venters how to place the needs others before his own needs. "That done, he spilled the contents of his saddle-bags upon the grass and took stock. His outfit consisted of a small-handled axe, a hunting-knife, a large number of cartridges for rifle or revolver, a tin plate, a cup, and a fork and spoon, a quantity of dried beef and dried fruits, and small canvas bags containing tea, sugar, salt, and pepper. For him alone this supply would have been bountiful to begin a sojourn in the wilderness, but he was no longer alone" (Gray 1912). Knives and guns are no longer enough for Venters, to sustain him, this suggests metaphorically.

Although he has hit the Masked Bandit, the fact that the Bandit is a woman reminds him of a need to embrace the tender side of his own nature, and the land....

Thus, the land is not simply a masculine proving-ground of valor in Riders of the Purple Sage; it is also associated with women, and kindness and chivalry towards women. And both men and women must learn interdependence as well as independence, to survive on the land. Jane Withersteen recognizes her dependence upon Bern and her love for Lassiter, just as she also gains the right to proudly call her ranch her own, in defiance of Church elders who will not even accept the word of a woman as a bond. Venters is the only man who is able to protect the cattle and the land Jane has inherited, underlining the need for all individuals to be reliant upon others, regardless of their status as gentile or Mormon.
Through the land, Venters is able to demonstrate both his goodness and prowess as a man to Jane, and to those who would persecute him for his lack of faith. The land demands respect, and cannot entirely be mastered, but it is also full of wealth, bounty, and generosity towards those who seek independence from societal bonds, as well as show kindness towards the weak. Finally, the land symbolizes the understanding that although the fiercely independent protagonists may be geographically isolated in the West, no man or woman can stand entirely alone.

Works Cited

Gray, Zane. Riders of the Purple Sage. Complete e-text. Originally published 1912.

30 Oct 2007. http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext98/prpsg11.txt