Talk:The Virginian (novel)

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BetacommandBot 03:34, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

plot summary
Though it was tough, I've gradually come to accept Wikipedia's requirement that articles be strictly NPOV. However... The Virginian is not so much a narrative as it is an exploration of "issues", including Eastern versus Western attitudes; how men perceive their sexuality; and when violence is morally justified. All these are obvious, right-on-the-surface, and need no particular insight to recognize. So a "plot summary" that focuses on the themes (rather than limiting itself to a bald recitation of the plot) is justified. I have expanded it a bit. WilliamSommerwerck (talk) 17:30, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

@WilliamSommerwerck, you'd done a nice job of starting to expand the plot. The purpose of the plot section though is to straightforwardly recount the plot with some of the key events in the novel, not to interpret the perspective of the author or the meaning of the events in the novel. It would be especially important to not assume that the narrator is Wister since this is a novel and thus can't be presented as the description of Wister's encounter with the West (which would shift it to nonfiction). So the focus has to be on the unnamed narrator/the Tenderfoot's encounter with the Virginian and the West. Also, it seems important to not jump ahead, so, for example, the Virginian is just a cow-puncher for the first 20 chapters and becoming foreman is part of the plot development itself, so introducing him as the foreman from the beginning misses these plot developments. I've done a little work pulling the interpretation out and starting to expand the plot from a more objective perspective. Interpretation can go in a section on interpretation and that section then will require sourcing to ground the points being made. Cygnature (talk) 14:07, 17 June 2012 (UTC)

Merger proposal
According to WP:BKD, "it is not normally advisable to have a separate article on a character or thing from the book, and it is often the case [...] despite the book being manifestly notable". I propose that The Virginian (character) be merged into The Virginian (novel). I think that the content in the character article can easily be explained in the novel article. Guoguo12  (Talk)  17:53, 14 June 2011 (UTC)


 * I wrote the article as a character description - not only for the book, but for the TV series as well. However, if it is better to merge it with the novel page, I'm willing to do that. I simply wanted to provide readers with a character description - as in 'Marshall Matt Dillon' and 'Festus Haggen' of Gunsmoke. However, I don't know how to merge it! If you could help me out with this, I'd appreciate it! Meltoncub (talk) 21:55, 14 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Please don't take offense. I just think that the subject of the article isn't notable enough for its own article. Different parts of the page can be merged to different articles if necessary. As for preforming the merge, this discussion will remain open for some time to allow consensus to emerge. After that, instructions for merging (if that is the consensus) can be found here. Guoguo12   (Talk)  01:09, 15 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Oh no problem! You might say I'm happy that I even did it right! lol! Okay, I see. I'll leave it open for a while then! Thanks for your help!Meltoncub (talk) 15:41, 16 June 2011 (UTC)


 * I think it's reasonable to combine the two articles. The TV series derives from the characters created in the book. Both articles are relatively short and would not suffer from being combined. On the other hand, I'd point to the separation of Perry Mason (character) and Perry Mason (book series) by Erle Stanley Gardner. Both Wister and Gardner were pioneers in creating their respective genre. The difference, I think, is one of scale. There is just too much material to fit in one Gardner article. 204.124.82.48 (talk) 19:44, 27 September 2011 (UTC) Edward Barnard
 * Finally took care of this issue, and split the content to The Virginian (novel) and The Virginian (TV series). Fortdj33 (talk) 12:48, 1 December 2012 (UTC)

TV details bleeding into book article
I see some material that is true of the TV series but not true of the book. For instance, the ranch isn't called the Shiloh in the book, and the Virginian isn't made the foreman until well into the book. I'm re-reading the book now. I will wait until I've finished to make sure I'm refreshed on all the details and then I'm going to correct the errors. Winter Maiden (talk) 15:21, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

Changes made to introduction. Winter Maiden (talk) 16:05, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

There is an episode in season one that Trampas, Steve, and the Virginian all go fight in the Spanish American war. This took place in 1898 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.182.29.8 (talk) 05:27, 4 February 2022 (UTC)