kill himself after uttering his absurd line about wetting himself?
i understand his death immediately after issuing Dunbar his orders (coupled with Timmon's death on the way back), would've ended any hopes of reinforcements getting to Dunbar, and thus advancing the story, but what the F was that all about?!?
it is better to have a gun and not need it, than to need a gun and not have it
Could tell this dude was a little stressed out
There's a war going on and he'sstuck in a western outpost with no hope of advancement above the rank of major and he is incontenent, which will guarantee no advance ment
You don't have to stand tall, but you have to stand up!
basically he is confused why someone would willingly go west. He is a decorated officer with a bladder issue. He was merely stating that there is nothing anyone can do about it to fix his medical issue
---------
One
Big
A**
Mistake
America
The Civil War was going on, leading to most of the "A Guys" being sent to fight there whilst filling their far out (near isolated from traditional "society" so to speak) frontier outposts with anyone they could to try and manage them. Some like Fambrough weren't able to handle it and succumbed to a mental breakdown something along the lines of "cabin fever" so to speak.
shareRead the original book. It says he was having a total mental breakdown and Lt Dunbar just happened to walk right in on it. His nonsensical ravings and incontinence reinforced this. When he kills himself, and Timmons dies at the hands of the Pawnee, there is no one left that knows about Lt Dunbar and where he was sent, which sets up the premise of the Cavalry not knowing he was at the outpost.
sharePretending to be a king, peeing his pants and demanding his crown after Dunbar left, and ultimately killing himself, seems to suggest he had a mental problem, not a bladder problem.
shareEven more amazing is that his junior officers clearly know he is bonkers, but the Fort appears not to have a doctor or any other way of having him stood down as of unsound mind (and body for that matter).
Not really amazing because it just writing for dramatic convenience that doesn't consider reality or common sense even a little bit.
The junior officers probably did most of the work in running the outpost. It probably wasn't a straightforward enterprise to get rid of a superior officer either. Even if a doctor did say he was unfit, it would still have to come from higher up the army hierarchy, and it seemed like a reasonably remote sort of settlement, so any communication would take some time. If the fort was running reasonably smoothly, and his mental problems were mostly benign, they may not have tried too hard to get rid of him. We also don't know how quickly his mental state deteriorated. He could have just been seen as eccentric for a long time; the field of psychiatric medicine was pretty undeveloped at that time. He was presumably somewhat competent at one point.
shareFambrough had lost all control of his career in the Army, as his posting to the remote Ft. Hayes suggests. His encounter with Dunbar, who willingly requests a frontier assignment, pushes Fambrough over the edge of sanity. Pissing his pants, then taking his own life are the only things left that Fambrough can really control.
-Rod
[deleted]
I disagree with posters here, insanity is too easy an answer in a 4 hour movie with so much metaphor and meaning. On it's face, there must be more.
The incontinence is not a medical issue, it is a willful act by a man demonstrating the divine authority of a commanding officer on his post. I believe there is a line from Gettysburg along the lines of "There is nothing quite like Hell on Earth as a commanding General in the field..." In this instance, Major Fambrough can do anything he pleases - including pissing in his pants - and nobody will do anything, specifically because he is a commanding officer. As reference, consider General Winfield Scott who was commander of US troops at the outset of the war and who was so old, fat and infirmed that he could no longer mount his horse. He was only removed because Lincoln (a new age man, like Dunbar) didn't care about his position or reputation or divine authority.
Despite his contempt and apparent disgust for Dunbar, Fambrough has sensed his defiance and recognized his disregard for the Major's "authority". Dunbar is the new "king", a modern and enlightened man who wants to come to the frontier, not escape from it. As such, Fabrough is aware that his reign is over.
As for the orders to Fort Sedgewick - and yes, only the Major knows of them - this is Dunbar's quest - a king's crusade - for his holy grail.
As reference, consider General Winfield Scott who was commander of US troops at the outset of the war and who was so old, fat and infirmed that he could no longer mount his horse. He was only removed because Lincoln (a new age man, like Dunbar) didn't care about his position or reputation or divine authority.