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Carter Druse
Carter Druse’s father is a wealthy Virginian and a Confederate officer in the Civil War. At the end of the story, Druse’s father is also revealed to be the eponymous horseman whom his son has shot down. Druse’s father is described as a man who believes in duty and has instilled such a virtue into his son. On the day that Carter Druse leaves to join the Union Army, Druse’s father tells him that although he is a traitor to his Virginia homeland, he should go and do what he feels is his duty to the best of his ability, and that should they both live to see the end of the war, they will speak again. Druse’s father is heartbroken at the parting of ways with his son and clearly loved and respected him very much. Druse’s father comes to exemplify the horrors of the Civil War in two ways. There is the obvious tragedy of a son and father pitted against each other in war. After the shot has been fired and Druse’s father and his horse are falling through the air, he is mistaken for a supernatural warrior, a horseman of the apocalypse by the wandering officer. Druse’s father thus also becomes a vessel for the author’s oft-used supernatural imagery and the implications of near-biblical violence and devastation of the war.
Druse’s Father Quotes in A Horseman in the Sky
The A Horseman in the Sky quotes below are all either spoken by Druse’s Father or refer to Druse’s Father. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 2 Quotes
“Well, go, sir, and whatever may occur do what you conceive to be your duty.”
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Druse’s father gave this admonition on the morning that Druse left to join the Union army. This statement not only conveys Druse’s father’s concept of duty, which he has instilled in his son, it also becomes the refrain that ultimately helps Druse to decide he must kill his father. Before he pulls the trigger, his father’s words echo in his memory like a “divine mandate” and give him the assurance that although what he is doing is horrific, it must be done. By killing his father, Druse also obeyed his last and final command to him. Though ending his life, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiore
The duty of the soldier was plain: the man must be shot dead from ambush—without warning, without a moment’s spiritual preparation, with never so much as an unspoken prayer, he must be sent to his account.
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Although the first-time reader of the story does not yet know that the horseman is Druse’s father, Druse himself does. Moments before Druse takes his shot, he reflects on the penultimate tragedy of the situation. When he left his father in Virginia to go soldiering with the opposing army, he must have known that it was possible he and his father might someday fight. This was a painful reality, but a necessary one for Druse to accept. However, to shoot his father in ambush is another matter. Druse mourns the suddenness of it all; his father will have no warning Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a
Druse withdrew his eyes from the valley and fixed them again upon the group of man and horse in the sky, and again it was through the sights of his rifle. But this time his aim was at the horse … Duty had conquered; the spirit said to the body: “Peace, be still.” He fired.
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Carter Druse, upon learning that the horseman is his own father, falters for only a moment. Remembering the admonition of his father to do his duty above all else and at any cost, he resolves to shoot him down. Even with this decision, however, Druse shifts the aim of his rifle from the horseman to the horse, who is standing on the cliff’s edge. Rather than kill his father by his own bullet, he elects to let the fall kill him instead. In this manner, Druse removes himself, by a small degree, from the killing. By letting gravity and fate Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaqu
Part 4 Quotes
“Did you fire?” the sergeant whispered.
“Yes.”
“At what?”
“A horse. It was standing on yonder rock—pretty far out. You see it is no longer there. It went over the cliff.”
The man’s face was white, but he showed no other sign of emotion. Having answered, he turned his eyes away and said no more. The sergeant did not understand.
“See here, Druse,” he said after a moment’s silence, it’s no use making a mystery. I order you to report. Was there anybody on the horse?”
“Yes.”
“Well?”
“My father.”
The sergeant rose to his feet and walked away. “Good God!” he said.
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This is the final moment of the final scene of the story. Bierce has concealed the fact that the horseman is Druse’s father until the last possible moment, although Druse himself knew. With the realization that Druse’s crisis of duty and morality has also been the pain of killing his only surviving family member, the entire story takes on a far darker and more cynical tone and straddles the territory of American Gothic, which Bierce was fond of exploring. Druse’s behavior in the aftermath is also interesting; his white face implies that he is internally torn, but he is also Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Opt
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Druse’s Father Character Timeline in A Horseman in the Sky
The timeline below shows where the character Druse’s Father appears in A Horseman in the Sky. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 2
Druse’s father solemnly replied, “Well, go, sir, and whatever may occur do what you conceive to be...
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...Druse takes aim again, but this time aims at the horse rather than the rider. Druse’s father ’s admonition, “Whatever may occur do what you conceive to be your duty,” echoes in...
(full context)
Part 4
...emotion. When the sergeant inquires who was on the horse, he reveals that it was Druse’s father.
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