Rooster Cogburn AP

In Rooster Cogburn, the alpha male cowboy is not the center of attention the whole time. John Wayne's spotlight is shared with Katharine Hepburn, or Eula Goodnight in the movie. She is a strong female character who displays male characteristics. Eula Goodnight actually wants to accompany John Wayne, but not because she wants to be his wife or lover, but because she wants revenge for her father's death. She doesn't give up; she is as stubborn as Rooster. This sense of revenge and duty that Eula talks about in the movie, is usually associated with the alpha male cowboy, not the woman. She also knows how to shoot a gun. This is not common at all in the traditional Western movies. Usually, only men know how to shoot and women usually don't even hold a gun. She also drinks some of Rooster Cogburn's whiskey at the end of the movie. All of these aspects just prove that Eula Goodnight could be just as stubborn as a man, a good shooter as any man, and driven by duty like any man.

This movie was made in 1975; right in the middle of the second wave of the feminist movement. Women were just getting their voices heard. The women were rallying for equality; they wanted an end to discrimination. Eula Goodnight is a perfect example of what women were rallying for in these decades. Rooster Cogburn is a Western that completely takes a different turn because for once, a woman can have male characteristics and actually be more equal to a man. This is a big step for women at the time. They still weren't completely seen as equal to men, which one can still see in the movie. For example, Eula Goodnight still talks a lot and sometimes lets her talking get her in trouble, especially with Hawk. However, the fact that she can follow the harsh trail that Cogburn travels and does not give up or give in from being tired, makes her an extremely important female character. Katharine Hepburn depicts the women who believe that they can do what men have done all their lives. They can be like an alpha male cowboy who travels in the West, ready to accomplish their duty.