# Scott McGregor — The Professor’s House character guide

> Scott McGregor in The Professor’s House by Willa Cather.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** McGregor, Scott

**First appearance:** 0003-book-i-the-family

## Snapshot

A painter and Kathleen's husband whose blunt good humor masks a sharp eye for the compromises other people make with money and comfort.

## Who they are

Scott McGregor is the Professor's neighbor and son-in-law, an artist who needles the Marselluses' new wealth while cheerfully refusing to be impressed by anyone. He treats St. Peter's stubborn attachment to the shabby old house as a joke, but his offhand remark that a man has a right to two houses if he wants them lands with unexpected weight. His easy irreverence gives the novel a counterweight to its quieter griefs, and his read on the family's shifting fortunes helps frame the Professor's growing detachment.

## Relationships

### [Louie Marsellus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_professor_s_house_se/characters/louie_marsellus)

_friendship_

Louie and Scott share a genial, social friendship, often engaging in business and family discussions.

### [Louie Marsellus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_professor_s_house_se/characters/louie_marsellus)

_friendship_

Louie and Scott share a genial, social friendship, often engaging in business and family discussions.

### [Louie Marsellus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_professor_s_house_se/characters/louie_marsellus)

_friendship_

Louie and Scott share a genial, social friendship, often engaging in business and family discussions.

## In the story

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_professor_s_house_se/chapters/ii)

Sulky and restless during the dinner, he mutters 'Outland, outlandish!' and later makes cynical remarks about Louie's announcement.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_professor_s_house_se/chapters/v)

Meets Lillian and goes to the Professor's lecture, then takes him swimming; discusses Sir Edgar Spilling and the naming of the estate, and reveals his own career dissatisfaction.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_professor_s_house_se/chapters/vi)

Mentioned as potentially blackballing Louie from the Arts and Letters club due to jealousy.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_professor_s_house_se/chapters/viii)

Mentioned as having laryngitis and writing prose poems about tending the furnace in cold weather.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_professor_s_house_se/chapters/ix)

Attends the dinner and later drives home with Kathleen, reflecting on Louie's mention of a bracelet and reaffirming his love for his wife.

### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_professor_s_house_se/chapters/xi)

Kathleen's husband, offers to contribute a hundred dollars toward Augusta's loss.

### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_professor_s_house_se/chapters/xiv)

Encounter on the train, notices St. Peter's exhaustion and resolves to tell Kitty they must look out for her father.

### [Chapter XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_professor_s_house_se/chapters/xvi)

Mentioned as having blackballed Louie from Arts and Letters, and as potential recipient of furniture.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_professor_s_house_se/chapters/iv)

Amused by the Professor's refusal to leave the old house, engages in a brief conversation about it.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_professor_s_house_se/characters/scott_mcgregor
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_professor_s_house_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_professor_s_house_se/characters