The Cone Gathers - duror

Duror Discussion

1. To what extent do you consider Duror to be an evil person? How much sympathy do you have for him?

Evil due to his deceitful behaviour:

• Avoids kissing Peggy and uses the excuse of washing his hands
• Avoids Peggy’s company by using the excuse that he needs to attend to his dogs
• He told Captain Forgan that he’s had a disturbed night when in fact he’d slept well
• Lied to Effie (Mrs Morton) about Calum exposing himself in the woods
• Spends his time spying on Neil and Calum
• He aims his gun at Calum while hiding in the darkness
• He enters the hut without permission
• He persuades LRC not to let them stay in the beach hut
• He plans to ensnare Neil and Calum and humiliate them in the deer drive

Evil due to his thoughts (narrative perspective):

• The deer drive – ‘an idea suddenly occurred to him, simple, obvious, likely to be approved by his mistress, yet to him a conscious surrender to evil.’
• His approval of war crimes being perpetrated by Hitler on ‘idiots and cripples’
• His desire to kill the cone gatherers – ‘He saw himself returning, kicking open the door, shouting at them his disgust and then blasting them both to everlasting perdition. He felt an icy hand on his brow as he imagined that hideous but liberating fratricide.’
• Duror is haunted by demons and dreams of evil things.

Evil due to other characters’ perceptions of him:

• Mrs Lochie highlights his neglect and cruelty to his wife: ‘It’s a pity she doesn’t die and leave you in peace’ … ‘He did not deny her insinuation’
• The doctor is observant and notices unsavoury qualities in Duror – ‘The doctor, with professional interest, glanced…