Character Study - Darryl Van Horne

Darryl Van Horne: Darryl Van Horne is the new neighbor in the small town of Eastwick. He catches the attention of the whole town, and especially the attention of Alexandra, Jane and Sukie. Some of them are interested in him because of what he is doing to the precious marshlands his home is on, and others (the three witch friends) are interested in him out of sexual desire.

When he first moves to Eastwick, Van Horne was always the center of the converstaion, but not much could be said about him. He was a mysterious man; he kept to himself, and never went out his first few weeks of living there. Later, he starts becoming more social but still remains a mystery and is hard to understand who exactly he is and what he is like. He has his own way of almost controlling each of the three witches, as if able to put a spell on them or something. Each woman is swooned by this man, and falls victim to his 'charm.' Eventually, he ends up seducing each of the women, having sex with all of them.

Darryl is described as a 'devil-like' character, and this can be seen at many points in the novel. One example, is his name. The 'D' in Darryl and 'V' in Van give his name the same sound as 'devil,' with both Darryl and devil starting with the letter d, ending with an l, and having two syllables. Also, his last name is Horne. This relates to horns on a devil, giving his name even more similarity to a devil.

Along with the close relations between the two names, Darryl also is like the Devil through his actions. In the Bible, the Devil seduces Eve by offering her fruit from the forbidden tree. He tempts her until she says yes, much like Darryl tempts the women until they consent to have sex with him. He is always seducing them by inviting them over, and gives them expensive alcohol to try when they come in hopes to make their decision making abilities a tad fuzzier.

It is without a doubt that Darryl Van Horne strongly symbolizes the Devil.