Darkness at Noon

Darkness at Noon

by

Arthur Koestler

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Professor Kieffer Character Analysis

A famous historian of the Revolution, and once No. 1’s closest friend, Kieffer was also quite close to Rubashov. He works on No. 1’s biography for ten years, but when certain changes are required and he’s asked to change some of the facts, he refuses. Kieffer is an intellectual and, while he believes in the Party and the Revolution, he thinks that the cause is best served by truth—a belief that turns out to be woefully old-fashioned, as Kieffer too is imprisoned and executed.

Professor Kieffer Quotes in Darkness at Noon

The Darkness at Noon quotes below are all either spoken by Professor Kieffer or refer to Professor Kieffer. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Ideology and Contradiction Theme Icon
).
The Third Hearing: 3 Quotes

“Rubashov laughed at my father, and repeated that he was a fool and a Don Quixote. Then he declared that No. 1 was no accidental phenomenon, but the embodiment of a certain human characteristic—namely, of an absolute belief in the infallibility of one’s own conviction, from which he drew the strength for his complete unscrupulousness.”

Related Characters: Hare-lip (Young Kieffer) (speaker), Nicholas Salmanovitch Rubashov, Professor Kieffer
Page Number: 208
Explanation and Analysis:
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Professor Kieffer Quotes in Darkness at Noon

The Darkness at Noon quotes below are all either spoken by Professor Kieffer or refer to Professor Kieffer. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Ideology and Contradiction Theme Icon
).
The Third Hearing: 3 Quotes

“Rubashov laughed at my father, and repeated that he was a fool and a Don Quixote. Then he declared that No. 1 was no accidental phenomenon, but the embodiment of a certain human characteristic—namely, of an absolute belief in the infallibility of one’s own conviction, from which he drew the strength for his complete unscrupulousness.”

Related Characters: Hare-lip (Young Kieffer) (speaker), Nicholas Salmanovitch Rubashov, Professor Kieffer
Page Number: 208
Explanation and Analysis: