# Dave — The Conjure Woman character guide

> Dave in The Conjure Woman by Charles W. Chesnutt.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0008-dave-s-neckliss

## Snapshot

An enslaved man whose small theft—a ham—draws a punishment that follows him around his own neck and into the conjure stories.

## Who they are

Dave belongs to the world of petty hungers and harsh reckonings that runs through Chesnutt's tales: a stolen ham, a chained neck, a master's justice that is less about the crime than about reminding everyone who owns whom. Around him cluster the small economies of plantation life—food slipped from the big house, favors traded, dignity scraped together—and his fate shows how thin the line is between a minor transgression and a lasting mark.

## Relationships

### [Dilsey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/dilsey)

_family_

Dave and Dilsey are married and share a close, supportive bond as a slave couple.

### [Mars Dugal' McAdoo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/mars_dugal_mcadoo)

_professional_

Dave is a slave owned by Mars Dugal', often interacting with him as a worker and subject to his authority.

### [Hannibal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/hannibal)

_friendship_

Dave and Hannibal are fellow slaves who share a bond of mutual support and shared experience.

### [Dilsey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/dilsey)

_family_

Dave and Dilsey are married and share a close, supportive bond as a slave couple.

### [Hannibal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/hannibal)

_friendship_

Dave and Hannibal are fellow slaves who share a bond of mutual support and shared experience.

### [Mars Dugal' McAdoo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/mars_dugal_mcadoo)

_professional_

Dave is a slave owned by Mars Dugal', often interacting with him as a worker and subject to his authority.

### [Dilsey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/dilsey)

_family_

Dave and Dilsey are married and share a close, supportive bond as a slave couple.

### [Mars Dugal' McAdoo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/mars_dugal_mcadoo)

_professional_

Dave is a slave owned by Mars Dugal', often interacting with him as a worker and subject to his authority.

### [Hannibal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/hannibal)

_friendship_

Dave and Hannibal are fellow slaves who share a bond of mutual support and shared experience.

## In the story

### [Dave’s Neckliss](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/chapters/dave-s-neckliss)

Central figure of Julius's story; a literate enslaved man punished for a crime he didn't commit.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/dave
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters