# Mr. Scogan — Crome Yellow character guide > Mr. Scogan in Crome Yellow by Aldous Huxley. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Scogan, Jenny, Mary, Ivor **First appearance:** 0000-i ## Snapshot A dry, saurian intellectual whose fluty monologues dissect love, progress, and humanity with the cheerful cruelty of a man who has outlived illusion. ## Who they are Henry Wimbush's schoolfellow and exact contemporary, Scogan looks like an extinct lizard and talks like a one-man symposium, cornering guests with theories they never asked for. He treats other people's passions as specimens and his own as an experiment, which makes him both the party's sharpest wit and its coldest presence. His pronouncements frame the book's satirical view of romance and modernity, giving Denis's pangs a mocking chorus. ## Relationships ### [Denis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/characters/denis) _psychological_ Denis is intellectually dominated and often manipulated by Mr. Scogan's cynical, philosophical provocations. ### [Anne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/characters/anne) _social_ Anne and Mr. Scogan engage in witty, intellectual banter as fellow guests at Crome. ### [Gombauld](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/characters/gombauld) _social_ Gombauld and Mr. Scogan exchange sharp, intellectual opinions as fellow guests. ### [Henry Wimbush](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/characters/henry_wimbush) _friendship_ Henry Wimbush and Mr. Scogan share a long-standing intellectual companionship and mutual respect. ### [Priscilla Wimbush](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/characters/priscilla_wimbush) _social_ Mr. Scogan tolerates Priscilla's occult enthusiasms with amused detachment. ### [Denis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/characters/denis) _psychological_ Denis is intellectually dominated and often manipulated by Mr. Scogan's cynical, philosophical provocations. ### [Denis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/characters/denis) _psychological_ Denis is intellectually dominated and often manipulated by Mr. Scogan's cynical, philosophical provocations. ### [Anne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/characters/anne) _social_ Anne and Mr. Scogan engage in witty, intellectual banter as fellow guests at Crome. ### [Gombauld](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/characters/gombauld) _social_ Gombauld and Mr. Scogan exchange sharp, intellectual opinions as fellow guests. ### [Anne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/characters/anne) _social_ Anne and Mr. Scogan engage in witty, intellectual banter as fellow guests at Crome. ### [Henry Wimbush](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/characters/henry_wimbush) _friendship_ Henry Wimbush and Mr. Scogan share a long-standing intellectual companionship and mutual respect. ### [Gombauld](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/characters/gombauld) _social_ Gombauld and Mr. Scogan exchange sharp, intellectual opinions as fellow guests. ## In the story ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/iii) Cynically mocks Denis's novel, accurately summarizing its plot; described as bird-lizard-like with dry, abrupt movements. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/iii) Earnest and out of breath; defends artists' mentality and blushes when called a 'femme supérieure'. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/iv) Referenced by Denis and Jenny; Denis accuses Anne of treating him like Scogan would, and Jenny mentions Scogan called Mary a 'femme supérieure'. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/v) Delivers a discourse on dissociating love from propagation via technology, predicting state incubators and the end of the family system. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/v) Shocked by the sow's fourteen piglets, attempts to argue birth control but is silenced by Mr. Scogan's speech. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/vii) Expresses fear of sexual repression and dreams of falling down wells; debates the merits of Gombauld and Denis as potential partners. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/vii) Mentioned as one of the three unattached intelligent men in the house, but dismissed by Mary as too much of a genuine antique. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/viii) Sits beside Denis, having decided he is safer than Gombauld, and asks about his poetry with bright gravity. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/viii) Delivers a satirical scheme for turning clergy's clothes back to front and discusses military uniforms. ### [X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/x) Breaks from dancing with Mr. Scogan to interrogate Denis about his reading and his favorite contemporary poet. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xi) Delivers a monologue on eccentricity and aristocracy, praising Sir Ferdinando's privy theories and warning of a post-revolution world without refuges for oddity. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xii) Puzzled and distressed by Denis's flippancy, she seeks intellectual engagement with Gombauld but is rebuffed. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xiii) Remarks that his own family history would not exist after the second generation. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xiv) Holds forth on the library's dummy books, praising Knockespotch and criticizing realistic fiction. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xiv) Disagrees with Scogan's dismissal of serious reading. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xv) Engages in a debate about historical attitudes toward sex, advocating for a return to jovial frankness over scientific seriousness. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xv) Passionately argues that sex is a serious matter, disagreeing with Mr. Scogan's lighthearted view. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xv) Arrives dramatically with a cloud of dust and a horn, then joins the conversation, describing love as an endlessly engaging occupation. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xvi) Leads the conversation, speculating on the Caesarean potential of each person at the table and reflecting on the nature of sympathy and suffering. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xvi) Mentioned as a potential Caligula; later jumps up eagerly to join the ladies. ### [Chapter XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xvii) Returns from the garden with Mary after watching the moon rise; plays the piano evocatively and sings a French song about shepherds and kisses. ### [Chapter XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xvii) Returns from the garden with Ivor, excitedly discussing the moon, meteorites, and their wide-ranging conversation; later visits Anne's room, relieved that Anne's absence was innocent. ### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xviii) Departs early for Roman Catholic Mass in his lemon-yellow car, punctilious in his devotions. ### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xviii) Accompanies Ivor to the Roman Catholic service, curious about the experience. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xix) Insists Henry must read something and listens to the history. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xix) Whispers commentary on spirit sketches, complains about the heat, and decides to sleep on the eastern tower. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xix) Decides to sleep on the western tower but finds the leads hard and sleep elusive. ### [XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xx) Engages in a literary debate with Denis, mocking his romanticism and urging him to get to the point. ### [XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xx) Departs Crome in his yellow sedan, leaving behind a poem in the visitors' book. ### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xxii) Lies in wait for Denis in the hall and delivers a monologue on sanity, madness, and the Rational State, arguing that men of reason must harness the forces of insanity. ### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xxii) Playing bowls with Henry Wimbush on the terrace. ### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xxiii) Accompanies Denis; critiques the portrait and delivers a monologue on art and nature. ### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xxiv) Found pensively by the swimming pool, distressed by Ivor's postcard from Gobley which combines a romantic poem with a mundane request for razor blades. ### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xxiv) Mentioned via his postcard to Mary from Gobley, containing a romantic quatrain and a prosaic request for razor blades. ### [XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xxv) Delivers a philosophical monologue on the nature of holidays, arguing they are inherently disappointing due to human limitations. ### [XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xxv) Agrees to look after children's sports and defends the seriousness of psychical research against Gombauld's levity. ### [XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xxvii) Disguised as Sesostris, the Sorceress of Ecbatana, he delivers terrifying and suggestive prophecies to villagers. ### [XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xxvii) Directs children's sports with immense energy; discusses birth control with a villager. ### [XXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xxviii) Trots around the dance floor with a village beauty. ### [XXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xxviii) Dances with a young farmer of heroic proportions, talking seriously to him. ### [XXIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xxix) Sleeping on the tower roof as a ritual of fidelity to Ivor; she wakes to find Denis in crisis, comforts him, and confesses her own heartbreak over Ivor's inconstancy. ### [XXIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xxix) Encountering Denis in the hall, he offers philosophical consolation about life's pointlessness, but Denis is unreceptive; later he goes to bed. ### [XXX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xxx) Interrupts Denis and Anne on the terrace to resume his monologue about the cosmos, then later teases Denis about his worries. ### [XXX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/chapters/xxx) Acts as the enforcer of Denis's plan, reminding him to send the telegram and urging him to catch the train, displaying her practical and earnest nature. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/characters/mr_scogan - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/crome_yellow_se/characters