Lone Women

The winds of Montana are mentioned many times throughout Lone Women, and they serve many symbolic purposes, though they are always characterized as being harsh, cold, and unrelenting. At times, the wind represents the wails of ghosts and monsters, such as when Adelaide assures Sam that the sounds he hears coming from the steamer trunk are actually the winds outside. When Adelaide is visited by the ghost of her mother, she notes that “the wind howled, but [she] hardly heard it. It was like a conversation happening in another room” (171). The winds therefore announce the arrival of her mother’s ghost even as they serve as a haunting voice all their own. In fact, the winds often became a character in the novel, giving voice to the vast Montana plains that dominate the narrative with their sheer size and presence. The wind reminds the other characters of the landscape around them by bursting through cabin doors, rattling windows, and even trying to communicate with them. For example, as Grace and Sam ride back to their cabin, they note that “[t]he wind at night served as a third participant in their conversation” (221).