V for Vendetta

V: “Remember, remember, the fifth of November, the Gunpowder treason and plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder treason should ever be forgot.”

Evey: “Oh. Oh. The houses of Parliament! They’ve…they’ve been…did you do that?”

V: “I did that.”

One of the novel’s most famous lines is also one of its only explicit references to Guy Fawkes. V’s destruction of Parliament is an allusion to the 17th-century Gunpowder Plot, in which Fawkes and other revolutionaries attempted to blow up Parliament and kill the king. V styles himself as Fawkes reborn; rather than ushering in a Catholic revolution, he wants to usher in an anarchist one.

Evey: “It…it’s unbelievable! All of these paintings and books…I didn’t even know there were things like this.”

V: “You couldn’t be expected to know. They have eradicated culture…tossed it away like a fistful of dead roses…all the books, all the films, all the music.”

The Interconnected Tools of Fascism that Norsefire uses to control Britain result in censoring and destroying culturally diverse artifacts. V collects these remnants of the past world in his Shadow Gallery. This line also foreshadows Valerie’s letter, in which roses are a symbol for cultural diversity.

“There were riots, and people with guns. Nobody knew what was going on. Everyone was waiting for the government to do something…but there wasn’t any government anymore. Just lots of little gangs. All trying to take over. And then in 1992, somebody finally did…it was all the fascist groups, the right-wingers. They’d all got together with some of the big corporations that had survived. ‘Norsefire’ they called themselves. They soon got things under control. But then they started taking people away…all the Black people and the Pakistanis…white people too. All the radicals and the men who, you know, liked other men. The homosexuals. I don’t know what they did with them all. Dad had been in a socialist group when he was younger. They came for him one morning in 1993.”

Evey recounts the tools of fascism that Norsefire uses in its pursuit of racial and ideological hegemony. Norsefire operates similarly to the German Nazis in World War II, who imprisoned and killed Jewish, Black, gay, Romani, and Catholic people—among many other persecuted groups—in concentration camps. Though a defining characteristic of Norsefire is their white supremacy, their goal is cultural and ideological sameness according to Norsefire’s principles. As such, they also imprison white people with diverse politics.

“I lead the country that I love out of the wilderness of the twentieth century. I believe in survival. In the destiny of the Nordic race. I believe in fascism. Oh yes, I am a fascist. What of it? Fascism…a word. A word whose meaning has been lost in the bleatings of the weak and the treacherous. The Romans invented fascism. A bundle of bound twigs was its symbol. One twig could be broken. A bundle would prevail. Fascism…strength in unity. I believe in strength. I believe in unity. And if that threat, that unity of purpose, demands a uniformity of thought, word and deed then so be it. I will not hear talk of freedom. I will not hear talk of individual liberty.”

The Leader is a proud fascist. While the Fascist Salute is also called the Roman Salute, there is little actual evidence for the allusion the Leader makes to ancient Rome, apart from the fact that “fasces” is Latin for “bundle of twigs.” The myth of the Roman origin of fascism was propagated by Mussolini, the true originator of fascism. By connecting this ideology to a celebrated and mythological past, Mussolini sought authority for his movement.

“You are no longer my Justice. You are his Justice now. You have bed another. Well, two can play at that game! ‘Sob! Choke! Wh-who is she, V? What is her name?’ Her name is Anarchy, and she has taught me more as a mistress than you ever did! She has taught me that justice is meaningless without freedom. She is honest. She makes no promises and breaks none.”

V personifies the statue of Justice, as well as other ideological principles such as Anarchy. Because Norsefire also uses the rhetoric of justice, V has realized that justice itself is not an ideology but is manipulated by ideologies. Therefore, V has switched his allegiance from justice to anarchy, which advocates freedom and autonomy.

“May 17th [...] Hormone research is almost useless when rats or rabbits are used, and this is a heaven-sent opportunity to learn something positive. I start next week, all being well. May 23rd: Prothero has picked the subjects…four dozen of them. And I’ve got to inspect them this afternoon. They’re so weak and pathetic you find yourself hating them. They don’t fight or struggle against death. They just stare at you with weak eyes. They make me want to be sick physically. They’re hardly human.”

This excerpt from Delia’s diary reveals her opinion of her human test subjects. Later, Delia is horrified by how she treated these people, but her assessment of them reveals how fascist regimes train their citizens to maintain the hierarchical structure that keeps fascists in power. One must always resent and dehumanize the humans below them, seeing them as subhuman, like Delia sees her test subjects. This system of disempowerment keeps the very top of the hierarchy safe from rebellion from within its ranks.

“The first motive is revenge. He escapes from Larkhill and vows to get even with his tormentors. The Parliament and the other stuff is just a smoke screen. The whole exercise was an elaborate, chilling vendetta [...] The second motive is more sinister. Like I said, everyone who could have identified him is now dead. What if he’s just been clearing the ground? What if he’s planning something else? You see, this diary that we found…it was in full view on the doctor’s writing bureau [...] if his vendetta is really over…why did he care whether we knew or not? He’s playing games with us. He’s playing games that are just as elaborate as the design on the floor of Room Five, and just as mad.”

Finch’s accounting of V’s motives subtly foreshadows his ideological shift. Finch calls the Larkhill employees “tormentors,” demonstrating sympathy for V’s torture at their hands. He doesn’t reduce V to a “terrorist” like other Norsefire officials. Rather, he understands V as a complex individual.

“There’s a policeman with an honest soul that has seen whose head is on the pole and he grunts and fills his briar bowl with a feeling of unease [...] While his master in the dark nearby inspects the hands with brutal eye that have never brushed a lover’s knee but have squeezed a nation’s throat...And he hungers in his secret dreams for the harsh embrace of cruel machines. But his lover is not what she seems and she will not leave a note [...] There’s a girl who’ll push but will not shove and she’s desperate for her father’s love. She believes the hand beneath the glove may be the one she needs to hold. Though she doubts her host’s moralities she decides that she is more at ease in the land of doing-as-you-please, than outside in the cold.”

V’s song, “The Vicious Cabaret,” reveals the inner motivations of key characters and foreshadows their development. The policeman, Finch, is growing increasingly suspicious of his own government; he will choose to leave Norsefire. The Leader’s cruel ideas and embrace of machines estrange him from the people he claims to rule; he will be killed by a citizen. Though traumatized by her father’s imprisonment, Evey believes she can find comfort with V; she will eventually adopt his anarchist principles and become him.

“When you’re a widow, the world looks different. You step through a curtain and you’re in a place where people treat you differently. A bleak place. You’re done, Derek…and I’m alone. And Derek, where I am, it’s cold and frightening. And this world is so dangerous. You’re naked in the rain. Everything’s been taken away…all the security and the warmth and the shelter…and you’ll try any refuge. Any refuge at all.”

Though Almond was abusive, Rosemary feels endangered and alone without the security he provided. Her plight reveals how few options women have under Norsefire. The only sure avenue is the protection of a man—a flawed avenue, as that unconditional overreliance easily leads to abuse.

“You have encouraged these malicious incompetents, who have made your working life a shambles. You have accepted without question their senseless orders. You have allowed them to fill your workspace with dangerous and unproven machines. You could have stopped them. All you had to do was say ‘no.’ You have no spine. You have no pride. You are no longer an asset to the company. I will, however, be generous. You will be granted two years to show me some improvement in your work. If at the end of that time you are still unwilling to make a go of it…you’re fired.”

When V hacks the Mouth to broadcast to the country, he scolds the citizens for submitting to Norsefire rather than resisting. By allowing Norsefire’s actions, they have enabled them. By encouraging them to stand up to Norsefire, V is priming them for the self-governance anarchy demands.

“I’m finished boys. I’ve had it. They’ve done me mam and I’m next [...] You’re sorry! I’m sorry! Everybody’s sorry! We shouldn’t have to live like this! [...] You know what I wish? I wish the bastard bomb had ‘it bastard London! That’s what I wish. I wish we were all dead! It’d be better!”

Gordon’s friend Robert’s outburst characterizes the simmering tension that V taps into to foment his rebellion. People have long watched their friends, families, and loved ones be stolen away by the government. Norsefire’s authority should not be mistaken for competency, and the people’s silence should not be mistaken for contentment. Simmering under the surface is great unrest.

“It’s small and fragile and it’s the only thing in the world that’s worth having. We must never lose it, or sell it, or give it away. We must never let them take it from us. I don’t know who you are, or whether you’re a man or woman. I may never see you. I will never hug you or get drunk with you. But I love you. I hope that you escape this place. I hope that the world turns and that things get better, and that one day people have roses again.”

Valerie’s letter is key in both V and Evey’s ideological shifts. Her letter describes how while Norsefire can take everything from you, you should never let them have your dignity. V and Evey eventually work to honor Valerie, seeking to literally and symbolically return “roses” to the world again, per her wish.

Evey: “Yuh-you hit me, and, and you cut off my hair…it was you. It was just you all this time…You…tortured…me…oh, you tortured me.”

V: “Because I love you. Because I want to set you free.”

Evey: “Because…? Set me free? D-don’t you realize? Don’t you realize what you did to me? You nearly drove me mad, V.”

V: “If that’s what it takes, Evey.”

Evey: “I hate you. I hate you because you just talk junk and you think you’re so good that you don’t have to make any sense! Nothing you say means anything. You say you love me, and you don’t because you just frighten me and torture me for a joke…You say you want to set me free and you put me in a prison…”

V: “You were already in a prison. You’ve been in a prison all your life.”

To trigger her radicalization, V imprisons and tortures Evey like he was tortured at Larkhill. These are V’s most morally questionable actions in the novel. Evey ultimately forgives V and embraces anarchy. However, for many readers, V’s actions here will determine whether they see V as a villain or an antihero, as well as decide what they think about the True Nature of Anarchy.

“Almost four hundred years ago tonight, a great citizen made a most significant contribution to our common culture. It was a contribution forged in stealth and silence and secrecy, although it is best remembered in noise and bright light. To commemorate this most glorious of evenings, her majesty’s government is pleased to return the rights of secrecy and privacy to you, its loyal subjects. For three days, your movements will not be watched…your conversations will not be listened to…and ‘do what thou wilt’ shall be the whole of the law.”

Posing as the Voice of Fate in a broadcast to the British public, V alludes to Guy Fawkes for the second time, showing how the Perseverance of Ideas and Symbols of someone like Fawkes can change society. He suspends Norsefire’s surveillance tools to provide the citizens with a taste of the freedoms they’ve been long denied.

Evey: “All this riot and uproar, V…Is this anarchy? Is this the Land of Do-As-You-Please?” [...]

V: “No. This is only the Land of Take-What-You-Want. Anarchy means ‘without leaders’; not ‘without order.’ With anarchy comes an age of ordnung, of true order, which is to say voluntary order. This age of ordnung will begin when the mad and incoherent cycle of verwirrung that these bulletins reveal has run its course. This is not anarchy, Eve. This is chaos.”

V distinguishes between anarchy and chaos, debunking a common misconception about the nature of anarchy. Anarchy is not about chaos or lawlessness; it is about liberating people from the oppression and hierarchies often used to enforce order, allowing them to self-determine instead.

“Poor dominoes. Your pretty empire took so long to build, now, with a snap of history’s fingers…down it goes.”

The interconnected nature of Norsefire’s fascist regime means that it controls all aspects of British life. However, it also means that toppling one aspect leads to the fall of the rest. V compares the regime to dominoes. He also decenters himself in the fall of fascism: Anarchy does not have leaders. Instead, history will judge what Norsefire has done.

“These must be the ovens. Ovens for people. People ovens…No. No use: still can’t make it seem real. If I’d known this was happening, would I still have joined the party? Probably. No better alternatives. We couldn’t let the chaos after the war continue. Any society’s better than that.”

Finch realizes what the government he works for has done to maintain its power. The use of concentration camps like Larkhill is not public knowledge. Evey, for instance, knew Norsefire took people away but didn’t know where they went. Even Finch, head of the Nose, had never seen a camp. Finch is also brutally honest with himself. He admits that the stability Norsefire promised after World War III was too compelling to resist despite their violence. Fascist regimes like Norsefire rely on people thinking things like this to maintain power.

“How did I get here, to this stinking place; my job, my life; my conscience; my prison…The answer’s there, written on the floor for me to read, but I don’t understand it. And yes, it’s just the drugs, but…but he was drugged too, locked away to die, and he reached some understanding. Why can’t I? I look at this mad pattern, but where are the answers? Who imprisoned me here? Who keeps me here? Who can release me? Who’s controlling and constraining my life, except…me? I…am free. FREEEEEE!”

After pursuing V, Finch realizes that Norsefire controlled him because he let them. He embraces anarchy’s tenet of self-determination by deciding that he alone has the power to free himself. Though Finch is the first civilian who embraces anarchy via V’s influence, his conversion leaves hope that others will follow.

“Anarchy wears two faces, both creator and destroyer. Thus destroyers topple empires; make a canvas of clean rubble where creators can then build a better world. Rubble, once achieved, makes further ruins’ means irrelevant. Away with our explosives, then! Away with our destroyers! They have no place within our better world. But let us raise a toast to all our bombers, all out bastards, most unlovely and most unforgivable.”

V elaborates on what an anarchist society will look like. He foreshadows his own death; as a “destroyer,” he has no place in the new world. He also foreshadows Evey’s continuation of his legacy‚ her “toast” to him as she takes up his mantle to become a creator.

“Honestly, how would someone like Creedy hope to run a country? Re-open the football league? Put tits on page three of the Party Chronicle? Obviously he…no. Not now, Conrad. For now you can have a nice chocolate instead. Open up…there. As for the rest of the box…perhaps when you’re leader.”

Helen is extremely perceptive about the men around her. She knows that Norsefire men see women as sexual objects; while it disgusts her, she uses it to her advantage. Using suggestive innuendo, she uses the promise of sex to manipulate Conrad toward leadership.

“I talked to God, while colleagues laughed…but I was vindicated: God was real, embodied in a form that I could love. When I first saw her screens, her smooth unyielding lines…not as a woman with strange sweat and ugly body hair, but something cold; hard; sensual. We loved, my God and I. But then…she betrayed me. Now there’s nothing. Now I am alone…except for them, waving beyond the glass.”

The Leader sees his rule as divinely decreed, and he conflates God with the Fate supercomputer, whom he loves erotically. His love for technology and his ensuing isolation estranged him from the people he ruled. Though Rosemary kills the Leader, it is V who ended his life by taking over the Fate supercomputer.

“Did you think to kill me? There’s no flesh or blood within this cloak to kill. There’s only an idea. Ideas are bullet-proof.”

V is identity-less; he is no one and therefore everyone. Rather than developing a person-centric cult of personality, V uses his life to introduce Britain to a new idea. Fascist regimes attempt to squash diverse ideas, but the resilience of ideas will not allow for it.

“I didn’t even know he was there…and when he alerted me, pulling my gun out, I was so slow…I mean, he’s like greased lightning. He could have stopped me. He…he could have killed me.”

One of the many differences between V and Norsefire is that V has no ego and no desire for power. When he is arguably at his most powerful, he lets Finch kill him. He knows when to let go of the power he accrued to best serve the people.