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University of New Mexico

Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane and the Myth of the West

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

This paper examines the lives and legends of two of the most iconic women of the Old West, Annie Oakley and Calamity Jane. The focus of this study is not biography, however, rather a look at how they fit into the classic myth of the West, as envisioned by Henry Nash Smith. A review of the major literature on all three topics is followed by biographical information on both women, including the evolution of their legend. The final section of the paper analyzes how Oakley and Calamity Jane fit into and embody various aspects of the myth, Oakley representing the Garden of the World, while Calamity Jane is the Desert. This study opens the way for future work in gender in the West that examines the way some women challenged the existing power structure and male domination in the West.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
History
Level thesis:degree_level
Masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
History
Year
2011

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Reece, Amy
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Hutton, Paul
  • Cahill, Cathleen
  • Scharff, Virginia

Rights

Language dc:language
English

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:digitalrepository.unm.edu:hist_etds-1065

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of New Mexico
Base URL
digitalrepository.unm.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
related terms
citation

Reece, Amy. Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane and the Myth of the West. Masters thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1928/12825