V For Vendetta | Characters & Character Analysis

V For Vendetta Characters

V

V is a man who lives alone and wears a black cloak, hat, wig and mask all the time. The reader never sees who the man is under the mask. There are a few reasons V wears the costume. One is that he is so badly burned from an old accident that he does not want to show himself. Another reason, and an important one, is that V is a highly theatrical individual. He is well educated, whether formally or self-taught is not known, but he comes off as an intellectual. In Book 1, Chapter 1 where he makes his entry to save Evey from the Fingermen, the first words out of his mouth are from Shakespeare's Macbeth. He quotes from various literary works throughout the story.

Another reason for the costume, and one that relates to the end of the book, is that although he is a man, he represents an idea. The idea is one of freedom and justice and does not need to be associated with one person. He considers himself "everyman."

Highly skilled in martial arts, V has a personal vendetta against the individuals that tortured him in the years after the war that involved England. While the reasons for his imprisonment at the Larkhill Resettlement Camp are never revealed, the reader is exposed to the inhuman treatment he received while there. During his confinement, he learned how to make homemade explosives and how to garden rare flowers (violet Carsons.) Once he escapes from Larkhill, he sets out for his revenge against those who held him captive. Those same people are now in high government positions.

V is also bent on straightening things...
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