The Power of the Dog

Phil is the novel’s central character, and much of the plot explores how others respond to him. His presence looms large, even in scenes from which he is absent. Phil is a naturally gifted individual. He is educated and was an excellent student in college. He favors the kind of learning that comes from self-teaching, the best example of which is his uncanny knack for paying the banjo by ear. Phil idolizes his late mentor, Bronco Henry, for having shown him the ways of ranch life when Phil was younger, but at 40 years old, Phil will depend on nobody else for an education of any kind.

There is a well-defined structure to Phil’s life that he has created for himself. Various rituals, such as the annual castration of the bull-calves or the monthly bathing sessions at the swimming hole, guide his life. At the novel’s outset, he is irked that George does not recognize that it is the 25th anniversary of their first cattle drive. These kinds of things matter to Phil because they fit into his neatly arranged world. When Rose is introduced, he sees her as a threat to his well-defined order.