# Eric Collinson — The Dain Curse character guide

> Eric Collinson in The Dain Curse by Dashiell Hammett.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Collinson, Eric, young Collinson

**First appearance:** 0003-i-eight-diamonds

## Snapshot

Gabrielle's earnest young fiancé, he telegraphs the narrator from a coastal town in a panic and pulls the whole case down the cliff road with him.

## Who they are

Collinson is the respectable, slightly stiff young man who loves Gabrielle and cannot understand what is happening to her, which makes him both sympathetic and easy to maneuver. His telegram from Quesada — urgent, secretive, insistent that Gabrielle must not know — is what drags the narrator out of San Francisco and into the second half of the book. He represents the ordinary life Gabrielle might have, and the plot keeps putting that life under threat.

## In the story

### [I: Eight Diamonds](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dain_curse_se/chapters/i-eight-diamonds)

Gabrielle's companion on Saturday night; employed by Spear, Camp and Duffy.

### [II: Long-Nose](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dain_curse_se/chapters/ii-long-nose)

Downplays Gabrielle's account of the time and describes the suspect as short and chunky.

### [IV: The Vague Harpers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dain_curse_se/chapters/iv-the-vague-harpers)

Anxious about Gabrielle's disappearance; visits agency twice; admits lying about their return time.

### [V: Gabrielle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dain_curse_se/chapters/v-gabrielle)

Anxiously joins the search for Gabrielle, helps retrieve her, but refuses to take her home, driving recklessly instead.

### [VI: The Man from Devil’s Island](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dain_curse_se/chapters/vi-the-man-from-devil-s-island)

Arrives with a bloody face, tries to shield Gabrielle from the scene, and is forced to stay by the police.

### [VII: The Curse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dain_curse_se/chapters/vii-the-curse)

Tries to calm Gabrielle and begs Mrs. Leggett to stop her tirade.

### [But and If](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dain_curse_se/chapters/viii-but-and-if)

Present at the inquests but not with Gabrielle; nods to the narrator.

### [X: Dead Flowers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dain_curse_se/chapters/x-dead-flowers)

Present at the murder scene, attempts to protect Gabrielle and suggests hiding the body.

### [XI: God](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dain_curse_se/chapters/xi-god)

Accompanies the narrator to the temple and helps revive Gabrielle.

### [Part III: Quesada](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dain_curse_se/chapters/part-iii-quesada)

Gabrielle's husband, whose murder is a key event in Quesada.

### [XIII: The Cliff Road](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dain_curse_se/chapters/xiii-the-cliff-road)

Sends a telegram and a note to the narrator; his body is found at the foot of a cliff, having been pulled from the water by the narrator.

### [XIV: The Crumpled Chrysler](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dain_curse_se/chapters/xiv-the-crumpled-chrysler)

The victim, found dead from a fall off a cliff; the Narrator recalls he had sent for help due to fear of the curse.

### [XV: I've Killed Him](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dain_curse_se/chapters/xv-i-ve-killed-him)

Found dead; the narrator believes he was murdered.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dain_curse_se/characters/eric_collinson
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dain_curse_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dain_curse_se/characters