A very interesting, if contentious, article here, arguing that Duke Wayne and Ethan Edwards are analogous figures:
“… The Searchers was an elegiac Western for the ages that made it clear in the years to come that ‘The Duke’ didn’t have to deviate all that far away from his own personality to embody Ethan Edwards.
“The grizzled veteran feels increasingly lost in a world that isn’t the one he once recognised, and as a result, it’s made him increasingly distant, bitter, and prone to rage-fuelled outbursts. He also carries deep-running prejudices against anyone and anything that doesn’t adhere strictly to the code or worldview he’s lived his life by before coming to the realisation that a peaceful existence in a modernised society is something he’ll never be cut out for. The final shot of him walking away is one of the most famous ever captured on-camera, and it’s reflective of Wayne turning his back on what Hollywood was becoming…”