# The MacQuern — Zuleika Dobson character guide

> The MacQuern in Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** MacQuern

**First appearance:** 0005-iii

## Snapshot

A proud Scottish undergraduate whose bristling sense of honor and readiness to take offense make him a volatile presence in Oxford's already charged social round.

## Who they are

The MacQuern moves through undergraduate society with a Scotsman's outsized dignity and a temper primed for slights, real or imagined. His pride puts him on a collision course with the Duke's own imperious manner, and his susceptibility to Zuleika's witchery sharpens the competition for her attention. He matters because he embodies the combustible male vanity that Zuleika's arrival ignites across Oxford, turning admiration into rivalry.

## In the story

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

A guest who joins the vow to die and cannily rushes downstairs to follow the Duke.

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

Glared reproaches at the Duke earlier and carried the malachite casket in procession.

### [The Concert and the Aftermath](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/zuleika_dobson_se/chapters/x)

Assists Zuleika after her performance, invites her to lunch, and yields to the Duke in a spiritual conflict over carrying her casket.

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

Referenced as the host of a lunch the Duke plans to attend with Zuleika.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/zuleika_dobson_se/characters/the_macquern
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/zuleika_dobson_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/zuleika_dobson_se/characters