[parsifal]

I was taken with the sexual undertones of the novel. I suspect a menage a trois was going on between the Starretts and Shane. Note all the latent showing out between Joe and Shane "pulling the stump." ( I am serious, here!)

Or this tidbit from page 80 of my book: "Did ever a
woman have have two such men?" The two men stared at her and then at each other in that adult knowledge beyond my understanding.Shane rose and stepped over by my mother. He put a hand gently on her head and I felt his fingers in my hair and the affection flooding through me. He walked quietly out the door and into the night.

skip skip skip.

"Do you think I don't know, Marian?" [Joe Starrett]

"Don't fret yourself Marian. I'm man enough to know a better when his trail meets mine. Whatever happens will be all right."[Joe Starrett]

Another possibility is that Shane is Bobby's father. This would mean that Marian and Shane knew each other in the past. This would explain the time and attention that Shane lavished with Bobby.

All in all, a darn good read. parsy.

[PJ-Comix]

I was taken with the sexual undertones of the novel. I suspect a menage a trois was going on between the Starretts and Shane. Note all the latent showing out between Joe and Shane "pulling the stump."

I think you are reading too much into that stump allusion. As Freud once said, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."