Là-Bas · Character

Canon Docre

A renegade priest whose honeyed manners and cold appraising eye mark him as the novel's most unsettling figure — a man of the Church who serves something else.

supporting

Also known as Docre

First appearance: i

As a supporting figure in Là-Bas, Canon Docre is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Described by Des Hermies as a defrocked abbé and a genuine monster of Satanism.

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Docre appears in the Chantelouve household as a smooth, rotund man of affairs, pink cotton in his ears, capable of doing one a bad turn behind his pious smile. He speaks of saints and their filth with the same detached fluency he brings to everything else, and Durtal senses in him a cool unscrupulousness that the drawing-room setting only half conceals. He is the door through which the novel's occult underworld begins to open, and he knows exactly what he is doing.

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The fuller portrait of Canon Docre sits in Reading Lens — open the free preview to keep reading with notes on the page.

See Canon Docre in i

Character Web

11 connections

A slice of how Canon Docre sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Rivalry
Other

Character groups

Occult and Satanic Figures
Protagonist

+6 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This is the story's dramatic climax because it marks the emotional and psychological peak where Durtal decisiv…

Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.

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Relationships

Durtal
rivalry · negative
Canon Docre, a renegade priest and Satanist, is Durtal's antagonist, embodying the dark… How this plays out →
Des Hermies
rivalry · negative
Durtal
rivalry · negative
Canon Docre, a renegade priest and Satanist, is Durtal's antagonist, embodying the dark… How this plays out →
Des Hermies
rivalry · negative
Des Hermies
rivalry · negative
Durtal
rivalry · negative
Canon Docre, a renegade priest and Satanist, is Durtal's antagonist, embodying the dark… How this plays out →

Durtal
Canon Docre, a renegade priest and Satanist, is Durtal's antagonist, embodying the dark spiritual forces Durtal investigates.
Des Hermies
Canon Docre and Des Hermies are intellectual and spiritual adversaries, representing opposing occult traditions.
Durtal
Canon Docre, a renegade priest and Satanist, is Durtal's antagonist, embodying the dark spiritual forces Durtal investigates.
Des Hermies
Canon Docre and Des Hermies are intellectual and spiritual adversaries, representing opposing occult traditions.
Des Hermies
Canon Docre and Des Hermies are intellectual and spiritual adversaries, representing opposing occult traditions.
Durtal
Canon Docre, a renegade priest and Satanist, is Durtal's antagonist, embodying the dark spiritual forces Durtal investigates.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Canon Docre in i

In the story

Canon Docre appears across 9 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

V
Described by Des Hermies as a defrocked abbé and a genuine monster of Satanism.
Chapter IX
Described as a renegade priest who evokes the Devil, consecrates hosts to feed white mice, and has Christ tattooed on his heels to trample on the Saviour.
The Visit
Durtal speculates that Madame Chantelouve's behavior might be influenced by Canon Docre, a friend of hers, suggesting possible Satanic involvement.
XV
Canon Docre is discussed as a former confessor of Madame Chantelouve, accused of Satanism and celebrating the black mass; Durtal seeks to meet him.
XVI
Durtal hopes to learn more about him from Hyacinthe.
XVII
Mentioned as a master Satanist, former priest, and former lover of Madame Chantelouve.
XVIII
Identified as the officiant of the Black Mass Durtal will attend; Durtal considers him the only interesting occultist.
XIX
Presides over the Black Mass, delivering a blasphemous invocation to Satan and desecrating the host.
XX
Subject of criticism for his Black Mass and inferiority to Gilles de Rais.

Chapter companion notes

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See Canon Docre in i

See Canon Docre in V