Through comparing three western movies, all ranging in different eras from 1932 to 1994, it is clearly shown that whether it's the loving mother or town prostitute,

women characters often play a minor part compared to the men, yet they are very important to the whole development of the film.

Jean Aurther plays a very loving mother and wife in the 1952 film Shane. The opening scene perfectly depicts the stereotypical mother. She stands near a window washing dishes. She is watching her son play outside. A strange man rides up on his horse and begins to talk to the little boy. The woman peers out the window at the hansom mysterious man. As he catches her looking at him she quickly hides her face as if not to be seen.

Her husband then comes out to talk to the stranger. The window and her face is always seen in the background as the two men talk but she often hides from the view of the window. Finally she comes outside and stands next to h

The other women in this film are represented in the same manner. In the town store, women and girls are folding clothing silently as they watch what goes on around them. As a fight breaks out in the saloon that is joined to the store, the women run out and hide for their safety. Men joke around with each other as they complain about their wives taking too long to get ready to go to town. They then admit that it's worth the wait because they are so beautiful.

They are good mothers and wives yet that is all they are depicted as. The women in the movie Shane are flat characters and we only see one side of them thus giving the stereotypical view that women are only valuable for the services they provide for the family.

Stone's character acquires the name "The Lady" while in the first bar scene and that what she is known by throughout the film.

When Mrs. Rogers finds out that the man is actually the well known gunman J.B.Books, she is very angry. She didn't want that kind of presence staying in her home and she is mad that he lied to her about his identity. She, without hesitation, proclaims her disapproval to Books. He then reveals to her that he is dying. Mrs. Rogers feels sympathy for Books and tells him she has no intentions of throwing him out, yet she still put up an angry front.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2053
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)