An American Nightmare Served With a Smile
Evaluating one of Rockstar Games’ most complex villains
Dutch Van der Linde, the notorious outlaw and leader of the Van der Linde Gang, features as Red Dead Redemption (RDR) and its sequel’s most compelling antagonists.
Dutch’s extravagant and charismatic persona explains how he succeeded in unifying such a mixed band of rogues and misfits and convinced them to terrorize the Old West for several decades, all while skillfully evading capture by the authorities.
Dutch, at first, comes across as a compassionate and altruistic leader who shelters society’s most downtrodden. He discovered many gang members as adolescents, taking them under his wing. There, he has acted as a mentor, teaching them the valuable skills of reading, writing, hunting, and shooting. However, this is just one of his two faces.
The origins of Dutch’s evil, the circumstances preceding his downfall, and his true intentions all remain points of fascination for players.
His Motivation
‘ Who made you the messiah to these lost souls you’ve led so horribly astray ?’
Dutch’s mission is defined by a romantic dream of preserving the Old West and fierce opposition to the Federal Government and modernization. This results in various confrontations with big-city gangsters, leading industrialists, and even the military across both games.
His means of accomplishing this mission is where his darker nature emerges. Beneath his twisted, self-made Robin Hood image lies the reality that Dutch only ‘saves’ impoverished and marginalized people in return for their undying allegiance to his delusional cause of founding an independent American utopia, (something about farming mangoes, apparently).
This becomes disturbingly more transparent as RDR2’s narrative unravels. Dutch’s agenda solely exists to disguise his insatiable and sadistic appetite for violence, evidenced by a lifetime spent committing countless acts of armed robbery and murder.
‘ The power, the kingship we seek, it is in us, and if we deny it, then we make others our Lord .‘
— Dutch reciting the writing of Evelyn Miller in RDR2
This passage aptly summarizes the power dynamic between Dutch and his gang, in particular, the part: ‘…and if we deny it, then we make others our Lord.’
Ironically, the source of Dutch’s strength stems from each gang member’s denial of their autonomy. By instilling into them they should invest their absolute faith in him as an omniscient leader, the gang surrenders all sense of individuality and free thought. They blindly obey Dutch’s every word - clouding the distinction between a cult and a criminal gang.
His Inspiration
‘ He’s like one of those nature writers from back East, only he takes things a tiny little step too far .’
Dutch’s radical ideology is heavily influenced by the fictional in-game author and naturalist, Evelyn Miller. Yet, his vague and puzzling application of Miller’s theories demonstrates how he misconstrues them, (‘I HAVE A PLAN’, anyone?)
Miller is a disgraced academic who retreated into the countryside to become closer to nature. His published texts, The American Inferno and An American Eden are widely regarded as definitive guides to opposing the apathy and decadence he alleges characterize modern American society.
Miller’s literature unquestionably fuels Dutch’s inflated sense of self-importance, confirming there is nothing more dangerous than a narcissistic fool weaponizing philosophical teachings into revolutionary dogma.
Interestingly, there are notable similarities between Miller and Dutch, underlining how closely Dutch based his rhetoric on his hero.
They Are Both Frauds
Miller openly labels himself a fraud, having previously reaped the benefits of mingling within high society despite advocating a naturalistic lifestyle. This unsettling truth troubles Miller so much so that he works himself to death while residing at his forest cabin.
The same is true for Dutch. He is a hypocrite and a despot who preaches equality, but meanwhile enjoys a lavish lifestyle of fine clothing, casual sex, cigars, and listening to classical music, (very loudly in camp).
It’s his followers who endlessly fight and labour to ensure the gang’s survival. Had Dutch existed during the 1960s, he would most certainly have manifested as a Manson-esque ‘hippy’ commune leader. Further testament to this is the unsettling discovery during RDR2’s epilogue that Dutch has secretly been accumulating a fortune worth tens of thousands of dollars over several years - demonstrating his readiness to abandon his nihilistic crusade and companions.
They Lie To Everyone, Including Themselves
Both men further attempt to justify and excuse their behaviour. Miller remarks: “I can’t fight my own nature…none of us can.”
Dutch paraphrases this statement on two occasions during the missions Favoured Sons and And The Truth Will Set You Free, alluding to his veiled self-awareness of the futility of his feud with the state and indeed anyone else who dares to oppose him. Still, he refuses to remedy his behaviour.
They Draw Their Strength From Others’ Weakness
Another connection between Dutch and Miller concerns their relationship with marginalized communities. Miller is an outspoken supporter of ethnic minorities, namely the Native American plight.
As noted previously, Dutch routinely aligns himself with so-called socially inferior peoples as they are easier for him to manipulate and convince into joining his cause as an attractive alternative to existing within a prejudicial society.
This is more explicitly witnessed in RDR where the majority of Dutch’s new gang is formed of disaffected Native Americans, reiterating his opportunistic and brazen recruiting strategy alongside his gross violation of Miller’s humanitarian endeavours.
Debunking A Popular Theory
One prominent explanation for Dutch’s increasingly destructive behaviour across RDR2’s campaign is that this is the result of him sustaining a head injury and subsequent brain damage following a trolley car crash during the mission, Urban Pleasures.
When the Italian mobster, Angelo Bronte, provides Dutch with false intelligence regarding a large stash of money being stored at a trolley station, the gang raid the property only to be caught in a massive police ambush, staged by Bronte. This leads to their collision after fleeing the scene.
Dutch’s personality then escalates towards becoming more impulsive and volatile. However, these traits are already ingrained in him, with such events only serving to foreground his true nature.
The humiliation resulting from Bronte’s betrayal deeply impacts Dutch’s enormous ego and accelerates his transition to barbarity. He contradicts his mantra of ‘revenge being a fool’s game’ by brutally murdering Bronte, for no other purpose than to heal his wounded pride. His association with Bronte further highlights the dangers he routinely imposes on his followers through his arrogance.
Moreover, the reason behind Dutch’s clash with Bronte and every other conflict he initiates, including the bloody Blackwater Massacre predating the events of RDR2, relates to his innate fear of being overshadowed by men of real power and influence. This is coupled with his awareness surrounding the inconsequential role he has within an advancing society that is the harbinger for the extinction of his lawless kind.
These points are reinforced during a discussion between his former associates, John Marston and Sadie Adler, where John, one of Dutch’s oldest friends, maintains that Dutch was always inherently evil.
Conclusion
‘ He [man] is the destroyer of all. Of nature, of course, of his brothers…and finally of himself .’
— Evelyn Miller in The American Inferno in RDR2
By the time of Dutch’s eventual demise, he closely personifies Miller’s observations. He dedicated an entire lifetime to wreaking havoc on a land he swore to cherish; he alienated and betrayed his most loyal followers, before lastly, destroying himself.
Stripped of his flamboyant appearance, his charming capacity for persuasion, and his outlandish beliefs, all that remains is a broken, hollow reflection of someone who was once a feared gunslinger.
‘ Wanting is all that matters. Not loving, not being, not having, but wanting .’
— Evelyn Miller in The American Inferno in RDR2
Greed and the thrill of danger propelled Dutch’s lifestyle, although he was never capable of enjoying the rewards. During RDR2’s final epilogue mission, American Venom, after unexpectedly executing the treacherous Micah Dutch abandons his immense personal fortune, his only legacy, for John and Sadie to claim.
While this signifies the last semi-decent act Dutch ever commits, the fact he cannot properly seek forgiveness and apologize to John, both here and during their final encounter in RDR, confirms that his toxic narcissism continues to overrule his better judgement, consequently making him irredeemable.
Dutch’s character excels in presenting a strong and multi-dimensional antagonist who players actively loathe and also regard with empathy. Perhaps if Miller had survived to read of Dutch’s exploits, he would have revisited his philosophy and produced an amended text warning of the dangers of misinterpretation. Perhaps he would have called this piece, ‘An American Nightmare’.
