# Mars Dugal' McAdoo — The Conjure Woman character guide

> Mars Dugal' McAdoo in The Conjure Woman by Charles W. Chesnutt.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mars Dugal, ole Mars Dugal' McAdoo, Dugal, Dugal' McAdoo

**First appearance:** 0000-the-goophered-grapevine

## Snapshot

Julius's old master, a Cape Fear planter whose easy generosity with other people's labor—and other people's lives—sets the conjure stories in motion.

## Who they are

Mars Dugal' McAdoo owns the plantation where Julius was raised, and his name surfaces in tale after tale of the old slavery days. He is not a monster in the stories so much as a weather system: he lends Sandy out to relatives until the man has no home, trades wives for boot, and treats his people as property to be shifted and swapped. His casual authority is the pressure that makes conjure necessary—and the reason Julius's stories carry a shadow even when they make Annie laugh.

## Relationships

### [Lonesome Ben](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/lonesome_ben)

_professional_

Lonesome Ben is a slave owned by Mars Dugal', often tasked with difficult labor and subject to his whims.

### [Tenie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/tenie)

_professional_

Tenie is a slave owned by Mars Dugal', valued for her skills but treated as property.

### [Solomon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/solomon)

_professional_

Solomon is a slave under Mars Dugal', often subjected to harsh labor and discipline.

### [Dave](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/dave)

_professional_

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

### [Sandy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/sandy)

_professional_

Sandy is a slave owned by Mars Dugal', often exploited for his labor and personal circumstances.

### [Annie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/annie)

_social_

Annie knows of Mars Dugal' through her husband's stories and views him as a typical antebellum slaveholder.

### [Uncle Julius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/uncle_julius)

_professional_

Uncle Julius was formerly a slave of Mars Dugal', and later tells stories about him to the narrator.

### [Mistah McLean](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/mistah_mclean)

_social_

Mars Dugal' and Mistah McLean are neighboring plantation owners who interact socially and in business.

### [Tenie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/tenie)

_professional_

Tenie is a slave owned by Mars Dugal', valued for her skills but treated as property.

### [Lonesome Ben](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/lonesome_ben)

_professional_

Lonesome Ben is a slave owned by Mars Dugal', often tasked with difficult labor and subject to his whims.

### [Sandy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/sandy)

_professional_

Sandy is a slave owned by Mars Dugal', often exploited for his labor and personal circumstances.

### [Mistah McLean](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/characters/mistah_mclean)

_social_

Mars Dugal' and Mistah McLean are neighboring plantation owners who interact socially and in business.

## In the story

### [The Goophered Grapevine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/chapters/the-goophered-grapevine)

The owner of the vineyard who hires Aunt Peggy to goopher the vines to stop slaves from stealing grapes.

### [The Gray Wolf's Ha'nt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/chapters/the-gray-wolf-s-ha-nt)

Mentioned as the former owner of Dan, the enslaved man in Julius's story.

### [Other Julius Tales](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/chapters/other-julius-tales)

Featured in the goophered grapevine story as the master who uses conjure to protect his vineyard.

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

Dave's owner who initially allows him to preach but later permits his punishment.

### [Tobe's Tribulations](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conjure_woman_se/chapters/tobe-s-tribulations)

Mentioned as Julius's former master who owned Tobe.

## Links

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