Question

Discuss the role that Duncan plays in The Edible Woman.

Accepted Answer

Duncan’s role in The Edible Woman might be to bring Marian closer to reality. While neither normal Peter nor quirky Duncan treat Marian so great, at least Duncan helps Marian cast off her “layers” and start to figure out her true identity and feelings.

Answer

Authors who write fiction, drama, and poetry may make use of a "foil," which is a literary device employed to compare and contrast one thing to another. In this case, Duncan is a foil—most likely to Peter.
Duncan is not nearly as together as Peter is. He is unnaturally thin (Marian actually describes him as "cadaverously thin") and appears to be completely engrossed in his own wants and needs. He does not have much of a sense of direction for where he wants his future to go, and he is not as attractive as Peter. He's also quite manipulative, and even though he lies easily, he convinces Marian that he is adventurous, exciting, and seeking something real. Marian can't resist being drawn to him.
Peter is the complete opposite of Duncan. A handsome, accomplished attorney, Peter and Marian are engaged, and Peter loves to parade Marian around like she's a prize. He dictates what she wears, how she styles her hair, and how she should behave when she's on his arm. Peter has concrete aspirations, goals, and expectations, and Marian begins to feel as though her identity is being trampled by Peter's expectations of her.
Duncan, acting as Peter's polar opposite, is the one who pulls Marian back to herself. He challenges Marian's traditional ideas of romance, masculinity, and even family. Duncan's world is playful and adventurous, making Peter's seem harsh and unforgiving. Duncan is the one who empowers Marian to eventually stand up to Peter and show him that his expectation of perfection is snuffing out Marian's identity, and Peter leaves angrily while Marian goes to meet with Duncan.

Answer

In Margaret Atwood's novel The Edible Woman, Duncan stands in contrast to Marian's fiance, Peter. He also serves as a reality check to Marian.
Peter is a young lawyer who seems to have everything together. He has goals and standards, clear likes and dislikes, and firm expectations, especially of Marian. In fact, after the two become engaged, Peter begins acting like he owns Marian. He displays her to his friends as if she were a prize. He determines what she should wear, how her hair should look, and how she should behave. Marian feels like she is becoming just an accessory to Peter rather than a person in her own right, and in her stress and upset, she stops eating a whole range of foods that she has always enjoyed before.
Duncan, on the other hand, is rather a mess. He's a moody, neurotic, unconventional graduate student, but Marian takes an interest in him, comforted by the fact that Duncan seems to be only marginally interested in her. Unlike Peter, Duncan does not have his life together, and he says he is looking for something “real.” Marian seems real to him even though she is feeling less and less real to herself the more she falls under Peter's control. Duncan at least appreciates Marian for who she is and does not want to change her.
In fact, Duncan is the one who helps Marian recover herself. After their night in the hotel, Duncan tells Marian that she must confront her problems. She has to think herself out of the world she has inserted herself into if she is ever going to eat again. Marian knows that he is right, and she bakes the woman-shaped cake and confronts Peter with it, having finally realized that Peter is devouring her and her identity. After Peter leaves in anger, Marian eats the cake and shares it with Duncan when he arrives. Duncan declares that she is finally “back to so-called reality.”

Answer

Duncan’s role in Margaret Atwood’s novel The Edible Woman might be to contrast Marian’s fiancé Peter. Peter is relatively confident and self-sufficient. He’s an emerging lawyer with his own apartment. Duncan, meanwhile, still lives with his parents. Duncan does not want to be anything that could be considered practical (like a lawyer). 
Another role for Duncan might be to confront Marian with reality. With Peter, it’s like Marian is around someone who’s constantly performing a normative version of masculinity. She compares him to beer commercials and scorns his superficial magazines and detective novels. Duncan, on the other hand, stays away from such imputed shallowness. He tells Marian, “I’d like something to be real.” While Duncan reads a lot as well (he is supposedly studying English), Duncan engages with what might be called more serious, intellectual reading material, like that of Dr. Samuel Johnson.
The idea that Duncan’s main role is to help Marian confront reality is furthered when he critiques Marian’s “layers and layers of woolen clothes.” Here, the layers of clothes might symbolize all of the various pretenses and feigned feelings that Marian has adopted to fit in and to please people like Peter. In a sense, getting Marian to remove her clothes becomes a way for Marian to locate her true feelings and identity.

Answer

If Marion's fiance Peter is the confident, well put together, organized, perfectionist - than Duncan is his opposite.
I think what you have so far is a pretty accuate description of him - but let's analyze.  Here is a woman who does not exactly know what she wants, and is drawn to two completely opposite men.  Both men represent the two sides of what most women want in companionship.  On one hand, Peter represents the confidence, stability, and consistency that women look for when thinking about a worry-free future.  Duncan on the other hand, represents spontanaiety, inconsistency, and that laid-back approach to life that says, "I take things as they come."
What Marion really needs is a balance between the two.  As in most cases however, Peter is not enough.  In fact, he is a  bit shallow - and Marion begins to not only realize this, but that Peter  wants her to evolve into perfection for him.  Duncan on the other hand, is not enough either.  He is enticing and fun.  In fact, he helps Marion discover who she really is because at first, she wishes to impress him (perhaps be more "real" like him) but when she realizes he is just as shallow as Peter, she starts to understand what she really wants and needs, based on what these men aren't.

The Edible Woman

Discuss the role that Duncan plays in The Edible Woman.

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