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The horseman, though he exists as a threat to the safety of Carter Druse’s fellow soldiers, is used in the story as an existential target to represent the moral cost of doing one’s duty. The horseman, revealed in the last moment to be Druse’s father, never acts aside from a small turn of the head. Even so, he causes Druse great moral anguish and consternation. The decision of whether or not to kill the horseman is ultimately the decision between doing one’s duty to a cause versus the moral imperative to protect one’s family. When Druse makes his decision, he notably shoots the horse rather than the rider. The horseman is removed from his view and dies from the fall. In the same way, Druse has allowed his moral obligation to his family to be removed from his vision for the sake of duty.
The Horseman Quotes in A Horseman in the Sky
The A Horseman in the Sky quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Horseman. 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 3 Quotes
Filled with amazement and terror by this apparition of a horseman in the sky—half believing himself the chosen scribe of some new Apocalypse, the officer was overcome by the intensity of emotions; his legs failed him and he fell.
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After Druse has shot the horseman—revealed later to have been his own father—a Union officer below sees the man and his horse falling through the air. Bierce here uses his strongest supernatural imagery and directly links it to biblical images by describing it as “apocalyptic.” The use of a scribe of the apocalypse is a direct parallel to the book of Revelation in the Bible, in which John the prophet (or scribe) witnesses the end of the world, the judgment of sins, and the birth of a new world. That the wandering officer’s mind is so immediately open to the 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. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in.
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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The Horseman Symbol Timeline in A Horseman in the Sky
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Horseman appears in A Horseman in the Sky. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 2
...valley. Druse’s first reaction is admiration for the great aesthetic quality of it all. The horseman is framed against the open sky, making him appear massive in size. The afternoon sun...
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...Druse back to the reality of the situation. Druse knows that he must kill the horseman to keep the regiments hidden from their enemies. He readies his rifle, still lying hidden...
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The horseman turns his head so that Druse can see his face, though the horseman cannot see...
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Druse regains his composure, sure that he must kill the horseman. He knows that he cannot possibly capture the scout, and though he briefly entertains the...
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Part 3
...trees and the cliff, and sees the horse and rider falling from the cliff. The horseman is still astride his mount, sitting upright, and the horse’s legs are flailing in such...
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...wandering officer is both amazed and terrified. He firmly believes that it is a flying horseman and does not realize it is an enemy soldier falling to his death. In his...
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The wandering officer is so convinced that it was truly a flying horseman that he sets off in search of the man as if he had glided diagonally...
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