V For Vendetta

V For Vendetta Quotes and Analysis

"Did you think to kill me? There's no flesh or blood within this cloak to kill. There's only an idea. Ideas are bulletproof.”

V, p. 236

In this passage, V tells Finch, who has just shot him four times, that he cannot be killed. The statement seems absurd on its face, particularly given the large pools of blood that follow V back to the Shadow Gallery. However, V's statement proves true when Evey takes up the V persona; in this way, V, as an idea, lives on.

"Admirable concern, Commander. Yet it’s deuced odd, isn’t it? How you can show so much concern for porcelain and plastic."

V, p. 33

In this quote, V exposes Lewis Prothero’s vulnerability by threatening his massive antique doll collection. V notes the irony that Prothero expresses more concern for lifeless hunks of plastic and stone than he did for the human beings whose deaths he oversaw at Larkhill concentration camp.

“You. You did this. To me. You did this to me. You did this to me. Yuh-you. Oh God. Oh God… 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…"

Evey, p. 167

In this passage, Evey is shocked at the realization that the tortures she had endured while imprisoned were actually carried out by V. She doesn't understand V's callousness, though she is on the precipice of understanding that he had a good reason. The moment proves pivotal for Evey, as she has purged her "old desires and motivations" and becomes fully committed to the cause of bringing down the Norsefire Party.

"I'm waiting for the man."

V, p. 223

After V reveals his flower- and explosives-filled train to Evey, she asks what he is waiting for before he puts his final plan into action. In his characteristic evasive fashion, he says he's "waiting for the man." Evey recognizes the line from the jukebox, as it is a Velvet Underground lyric. However, the quote also has a literal meaning, as it turns out that V is waiting for Finch's arrival at the underground station.

"So nice...so nice meeting someone. Do shake hands."

The Leader, p. 235

In this passage, the Leader has just allowed his motorcade to stop and he has opened his door to greet Rosemary Almond. Having been so long attached to Fate, his computer system, he discovers how nice it is to meet an actual person. His statement turns out to be quite ironic, as a moment later, Rosemary shoots him in the head.

"I didn't put you in a prison, Evey. I just showed you the bars."

V, p. 170

After Evey discovers the truth of V's mock imprisonment, she is horrified by his cruelty. V, however, insists that he was merely trying to help her escape the prison that years of living under the thumb of a totalitarian fascist government had built within her mind. By putting her in a fake prison, he helped show her the bars that already existed for her.

"This is where it started. This is where it ends."

Finch, p. 206

While standing before the gates of Larkhill Resettlement Camp, Finch narrates to his memory of Dr. Surridge his reason for coming. Since V was in some sense created at Larkhill, Finch believes that by returning there to investigate while on LSD, he steps into V's mindset. In thinking like V, he believes he can discover how to end V's campaign of terror.

"Poor dominoes. Your pretty empire took so long to build. Now, with a snap of history's fingers... Down it goes."

V, p. 208

After assembling a large V with a circle around it out of dominoes, V narrates an analogy. The dominoes represent the fascist empire that Norsefire built; by targeting various weak points within Norsefire, V is able to create a cascading collapse. With a flick of his fingers, V topples the entire structure.

"He's got access to Fate. He's had access to Fate since the beginning."

Stone, p.209

After piecing together V's otherwise unaccountable influence and knowledge, Stone runs to the Leader to tell him that V has access to Fate, the computer system to which the Leader has grown romantically attached. However, Stone puts the puzzle together too late: it is clear that V has been manipulating the Leader all along as well.

"I, uh... Do you know, I don't remember. Must be the drugs, eh?"

Finch, p. 240

In this passage, Finch pretends not to know where V's hideout is when questioned by Stone. The omission is notable, as it suggests that Finch has, through his discovery of his own mental prison, decided to let the V persona live on.