In most westerns, when we think of the “other”, what comes to mind is immigrants, women, blacks, Hispanics, and anybody else who is not a white male. The other rarely adds much to the films overall storyline and are almost never anything other than minor characters. In the case of the film Rooster Cogburn, however, this is not the case. Eula Goodnight, a woman and major character, is far from the traditional gender stereotypes placed upon women during the time period featured in the film. She is strong willed, as opposed to being subservient or beneath some man. She even participates in a battle, in one instance saving Rooster, which is nearly unthinkable for a woman to do in a western. Eula is a manifestation of the new perception of women during the 1970’s. Feminism was experiencing a period of high popularity, with many advances in women’s’ rights coming around, such as the right to have an abortion. However, there are still a few ways in which she still fits the classic view of women. For example, she cooks for Rooster, something that is absolutely expected of women in the classic perception of their responsibilities. To be fair, she also caught and killed said dinner first, which doesn’t fit the stereotype. It is worth noting as well that, in spite of her independence, she does recruit a man (Rooster Cogburn) to help her, whereas typically in western movies we see the lone alpha male cowboy riding out alone to confront the enemy or problem. With a slew of recent civil rights victories, feminist ideals were piquing the interest not just of the American populace, but also of movie producers. Rooster Cogburn is clearly a reflection on the new perception that women are indeed capable of hanging in there with a man, of doing what she wants without being told what to do.
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