Honor

The scene from All the Pretty Horses I wanted to take another look at (which I believe I did my presentation on? Maybe? Who even remembers January?) was John Grady’s conversation with Alejandra’s godmother.  She makes the statement, “A man may lose his honor and regain it again.  But a woman cannot.  She cannot.”  This is a common attitude that we have encountered in the these western narratives, starting with Rose Mapen in the Ox-Bow Incident.  She regains some measure of honor, but it is only through marriage.  Men define the honor of a woman.  In this way, Alejandra’s godmother is still correct.  John Grady has the ability to absolutely ruin Alejandra in a way she cannot ruin him.  Though western narratives in this class have shown many unflattering portraits of the female gender in the west, this is one of the few moments in text where it is truly acknowledged.