Sometimes a Great Notion

Given Viv’s description of the Stamper family as difficult and conflict-ridden, Lee’s arrival back in Oregon should be a tense moment. However, Hank dotes on his half-brother and even crotchety patriarch Henry enthusiastically greets Lee when they reunite. It would see that the tension is largely in Lee’s head. While Hank’s tenderness surprises Lee, the narrative sheds light on Hank’s sensitive inner life by telling the story of him tenderly taking home three bobcat kittens when he was a boy. Moreover, Henry’s kind willingness to build a pen for the kittens also suggests a different side of his character, one that prefigures the moment Lee will learn that Henry has taken out a life insurance policy payable to his younger son. The richer insights into the Stampers suggest that the agitation Lee feels about being back home in Oregon might be misplaced. Lee is motivated by revenge, but Hank’s welcoming affection rattles Lee’s expectations about his brother. Stamper men can be vulnerable and caring, in contrast to their public reputation for being rough-edged and obstinate.

The theme of the unforgivable nature of the wilderness recurs when the Wakonda River washes away and drowns the kittens. Even Hank himself realizes that his hatred of the Wakonda and some of his cantankerousness stems from this loss. It is telling that the environment almost immediately punishes the Stamper men when they display emotional vulnerability. One of the novel’s great themes is traditional masculinity, which stresses physical and sexual prowess as markers of power and feelings as signs of weakness. This incident early in Hank’s life is one of the ways he learns to hide his warmer, softer side.

The novel’s main female character, Viv, has yet to make an appearance, though Lee does overhear her and Hank talking about how out of place she feels now that the Stampers are town pariahs. Her admission echoes Myra’s earlier inability to fit in while living in Oregon. Viv’s desire to make a place for herself in town also draws a comparison between her and Simone, the townswoman who relies on what amounts to sex work to survive. Though her lifestyle ostensibly contradicts her piety, Simone’s willingness to be sexually submissive allows her to fit into a version of traditional femininity. While individualism and bullheadedness may grant the male Stampers a measure of respect along with resentment, Viv’s association with these qualities only makes the townspeople shun her.