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The Virginian’s Growth as a Character Good novelists carefully develop their main characters. Events and other characters in the novel shape the personality of the main character. In his novel, The Virginian, Owen Wister’s main character, the Virginian is bland and unattached early in the story, but gradually develops a complex personality. The Virginian is portrayed in the beginning of the story as just another cowpuncher with no apparent personality other than a boring rustler. As a guest of Judge Henry’s arrives in Medicine Bow, the Virginian is sent to greet him. As he introduces himself to the guest, he demonstrates the obvious attitude of a hired hand. He carries himself in a rough, straightforward manner. He is a man used to hard work and a hard life. To the guest, the Virginian describes the next leg of the journey in such a matter of fact fashion that the guest is