# Dr. MacBride — The Virginian character guide

> Dr. MacBride in The Virginian by Owen Wister.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the Rev. Dr. Alexander MacBride, the doctor, the Doctor, The Doctor

**First appearance:** 0021-xix-dr-macbride-begs-pardon

## Snapshot

The Rev. Dr. Alexander MacBride, a minister-physician whose stern Calvinist sermons on damnation land on cowboys with grotesque untimeliness.

## Who they are

Dr. MacBride serves Bear Creek as both preacher and doctor, officiating weddings and tending bodies while preaching a theology of wrath. His sermon to the cowboys — 'They are altogether become filthy' — offers no ray of hope, no homely talk of their special hardships, only dogma naked as iron. He matters because his failure to reach the men he shepherds throws into relief the human warmth the frontier must supply for itself.

## Relationships

### [The Virginian](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_virginian_se/characters/the_virginian)

_friendship_

Dr. MacBride is a kind physician who befriends the Virginian and treats him and others with medical care.

### [The Virginian](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_virginian_se/characters/the_virginian)

_friendship_

Dr. MacBride is a kind physician who befriends the Virginian and treats him and others with medical care.

## In the story

### [XVIII: "Would You Be a Parson?"](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_virginian_se/chapters/xviii-would-you-be-a-parson)

The missionary who arrives at Sunk Creek, seeking Judge Henry; his rigid demeanor contrasts with the Western setting.

### [XIX: Dr. Macbride Begs Pardon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_virginian_se/chapters/xix-dr-macbride-begs-pardon)

A stern missionary who criticizes the Virginian's lying as immoral, insists on the need for sermons, and is billeted with the narrator.

### [XX: The Judge Ignores Particulars](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_virginian_se/chapters/xx-the-judge-ignores-particulars)

Visiting to hold a service; criticized by Judge Henry for lacking understanding of Christianity.

### [XXI: In a State of Sin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_virginian_se/chapters/xxi-in-a-state-of-sin)

Dr. MacBride delivers a harsh sermon on original sin, failing to connect with the cowboys. He is described as tactless but personally brave, and plans to continue northward.

### [XXII: “What Is a Rustler?”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_virginian_se/chapters/xxii-what-is-a-rustler)

Mentioned as the missionary whose visit was shortened by the Virginian's actions.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_virginian_se/characters/dr_macbride
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_virginian_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_virginian_se/characters