NL "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"

Sue Matheson would most definitely classify Tom Doniphon as the classic Western antihero. Matheson mentions how the Duke is "hardboiled", an element that is essential to the Western's foundation. "[A]s Jonathan Letham notes, 'Wayne is '[a] dark night, [a] damaged and isolated paternal figure which gathers in one place the allure of violence, the call away from home''" (889). In John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Tom Doniphon (John Wayne), follows the exact code of the Western hero Matheson mentions: a hero developed out of WWII disillusionment, a hero with a past but with a responsibility-driven contradiction to "hero". The Western hero is just that, an antihero such as Tom Donipon.

Matheson would certainly point to Doniphon's "[f]anatic devotion to duty-- which makes him the ideal American male" (889) as something that really does drive his antihero qualities. He is very much that Western paternal figure that Matheson (and Tompkins for that matter) describe. Doniphon, through his "fanatic devotion" as a Western antihero, constantly is watching over Stoddard, very much in a parental way. This paternal attitude is not just in the vigilance or advice Doniphon lends Stoddard, but also in the way that Doniphon interacts with Stoddard throughout the film. Tom always laughs at the actions of Stoddard, teases him, and addresses him by the name "Pilgrim". This can be seen as more than just a reference to Stoddard's origins in the East; you really can look at Tom calling Stoddard "Pilgrim" as Doniphon addressing the wandering nature of Stoddard and how Tom, like a parent, helps Stoddard to better fit in out West.

In the end, Doniphon further embodies another one of Matheson's anti-hero aspects, being "alienated". Through the film Tom tends to keep to himself with regards to the interactions with others in town. He is certainly no Peabody, no Liberty Valance with his gang, no Stoddard living and interacting in the heart of town. He keeps his distance, but through duty, protects the innocence around him. But it is two of the very final acts of what we are exposed to Doniphon that embody his alienation. Tom gives up Hallie to Stoddard, after clearly courting her for quite some time. He does this through some strange moral obligation that is closely linked to a Western antihero. This seals his fate as being alienated from society in general, he does not have a woman to tie him down into the domestic world of Shinbone.

But the more subtle thing indicating his alienation is the sheer confusion of those in Shinbone at the beginning of the film as to just who died that would warrant a US Senator stopping by town. Tom was so alienated that not only did the "townspeople" never know who the true "Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" was, but also the memory of him as a force in town counterbalancing Liberty in the first place was forgotten entirely.

Liberty Valance is definitely one of Matheson's Western outlaws. Matheson states, "because [of outlaws'] extremely self-indulgent behavior is not moderate, like heroes, outlaws also cannot be considered men" (906). This exact concept is used by Peabody, the idea that not a single person could truly consider Liberty a "man". Valance, through intimidation and fear, indulges in whatever he wants; Liberty is a thief, a gun-for-hire, a plunderer, and a public menace. He, in comparison to Tom, is that "rough, unmannered villain" Matheson talks about. In Matheson's words, "[H]e [Valance] simply does not walk like a human being; the outlaw lumbers about like an ape with his silver-headed cat-o'-nine-tails while flouting all that 'civilized' America holds dear: good posture, freedom of speech, and most of all, the democratic process itself" (895). This of course reflects upon his mannerisms, his attack on Peabody's press, and his intimidation tactics during the election.

Matheson comes right out with her classification of Stoddard. He is the one that does not fit in in the West. He knows there is something "[t]hat the residents of Shinbone do not: there is something amiss; the corruption so evident in Valance has pervaded everyone in Shinbone" (896). Thus, he is the outsider, and is feminized. He is simply not the Western "man". Matheson points out this "feminized" aspect in Stoddard in his nonfunctional wardrobe, the time he spends performing "womans duties" such as cleaning dishes, refusal to wear a gun, and right down to the shootout: Stoddard's wearing of an apron in the gunfight. Matheson is right, Stoddard is indeed the outsider to the West; he has faith in the law of the book and denounces the law of the gun. He is forced into conformity to the West in his taking up the gun against Liberty, yet in the end, it was Doniphon who really murdered Liberty "in cold blood", preserving Stoddard's role as the outsider.