"Phil always did the castrating": Repression and Cowboy Masculinity in Thomas Savage's The Power of the Dog

Abstract

Abstract: This article offers a reading of Savage's novel that explores the relationship between queerness and the Western. It contextualizes the novel within the shifting social mores of the sixties and shows how the popular character archetype of the "doomed homosexual" aligns with a vision of the "doomed West." It charts how Savage queers familiar Western signifiers—hands (barometers of manliness), the ambivalent symbol of the dog, and a rawhide rope (a symbol of control turned emblem of gay love). The argument is scaffolded by psychoanalytical readings, particularly Jung's concept of the "persona" and the "shadow" as a means of exploring repression and projection; Lacan's mirror stage as a source of confusion between the Ideal and the Horrifying; and Kristeva's work on abjection and visual trauma. It explores the importance of family in the shaping of identity; the despairingly limited role for women on the ranch; and how the masculine model of the cowboy might be inverted and challenged. References to Campion's recent movie of the book are included and offer alternative readings of key scenes.