They let the bulls out of the cages one at a time, and they have steers in the corral to receive them and keep them from fighting, and the bulls tear in at the steers and the steers run around like old maids trying to quiet them down.
Jake explains the relationship between the bulls and the steers in simple terms. The bulls are the star performers, the cynosure of all eyes. The steers are there to look after them.
A steer is a bullock which has been castrated. If left intact, it would have grown to be a bull. The steers, then, represent those who take the passive, traditionally feminine role of caring for the dominant males.
The irony in Jake's group is that the one woman, Lady Brett Ashley, is the nearest among them to being purely a bull. Jake, who is unable to perform sexually due to...
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a war wound, is reduced to being a steer. The other two men are something in between. Robert Cohn behaves like a bull but is bullied and accorded a low status by the others. Mike Campbell is perhaps closer to being a bull but has to forgive Brett's infidelity with Robert. All three men are focused on Brett and, to some degree, look after her.
The bulls are potent, the steers, having been castrated, are not. The bulls are center stage in the sport of bull fighting, and are seen as noble and respected. The steers, on the other hand, exist to serve the bulls. They are put in the corrals with the bulls to
"...keep them from fighting, and the bulls tear in at the steers and the steers run around like old maids trying to quiet them down."
To be a steer is not a good thing; sometimes the bulls "go right after them and kill them." The steers' sole purpose is to "quiet down the bulls and keep them from breaking their horns against the stone walls, or goring each other." As Bill sardonically notes,
"It must be swell being a steer."
In Jake's group, Jake, having been rendered impotent in the war, is the steer. He and Brett seem to have a close tie, but because he cannot consumate their relationship, he is relegated to the role of the steer, forever trying to calm the men who can. Mike and perhaps Robert Cohn are the bulls, vying for the favors of the female, Brett Ashley, although I believe Robert Cohn can also be considered a steer, because when forced to confront Mike, he is sorely lacking in resolve and effectiveness. This relationship among Jake, Brett, Mike, and Robert Cohn, the steer(s), the female, and the bull(s), is representative of the values of the time among the "Lost Generation" because it illustrates that immediate gratification and physical satisfaction are more important than love. It is Jake whom Brett loves, or seems to love, but since he cannot have sex with her, she constantly seeks the company of other men more potent than him. Jake, on his part, can do nothing more than act the part of the steer, looking after Brett while others vie for and win her favors (Chapter 13).