Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Confederacy of Dunces, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Medievalism, Modernity, and Fate
The Legacy of Slavery
Sexuality, Attraction, and Repulsion
Freedom
Appearance, Identity, and Disguise
Hypocrisy and Self-Interest
Summary
Analysis
At Mr. and Mrs. Levy’s house, Mr. Levy glumly watches Mrs. Levy pamper Miss Trixie, who is asleep on the couch. Mr. Levy despairs of his wife. He is a nice, sociable man, and cannot wait until he can go away on another business retreat. Mrs. Levy has bought Miss Trixie false teeth and rubs face cream into her skin. Mr. Levy tells her to take Miss Trixie outside, but Mrs. Levy hisses that Mr. Levy would like to toss Miss Trixie out as though she were nothing. Mrs. Levy says that Miss Trixie is a symbol of everything at which Mr. Levy has failed.
Mr. Levy does not understand why Mrs. Levy works so hard to prove he is a bully, because Mr. Levy does not want people to be unhappy. Mrs. Levy tries to transform Miss Trixie with her makeover in order to metaphorically turn her into a new woman, a transformation that Mrs. Levy herself clearly wants to undergo and is merely projecting onto Miss Trixie. Mrs. Levy feels trapped in her marriage and blames Mr. Levy for this, although she does nothing to meaningfully change her situation.
Themes
Mr. Levy insists that Mrs. Levy’s behavior is pointless—Miss Trixie is old and wants to retire. In her sleep, Miss Trixie mumbles that she is a “very attractive woman,” and Mrs. Levy takes this as proof that Miss Trixie does not want to retire. Mrs. Levy begs Mr. Levy to have therapy, and Mr. Levy says that if he had any sense, he would sell Levy Pants. Mrs. Levy is horrified by this and screams at her husband. Miss Trixie wakes up and snarls at them both to be quiet—she swears that she will have revenge on them. Mrs. Levy tells her to shut up and Miss Trixie falls asleep again.
Mr. Levy is not fooled by Miss Trixie’s temporary transformation and can see that Miss Trixie is still just an old woman who wants to be free from work. Mrs. Levy cannot accept that the problem is with herself—she feels trapped and unfulfilled in her marriage—and not with Mr. Levy and Miss Trixie, both of whom just want to be left alone. Rather than taking responsibility for her own life, however, Mrs. Levy pretends that she wants to free Miss Trixie from Mr. Levy’s influence when, really, she wants to free herself.
Themes
Mr. Levy tells Mrs. Levy not to worry, since there is no one who would buy the factory from him. Mr. Levy goes upstairs to have a bath, and when he comes downstairs, finds Mrs. Levy putting a wig on Miss Trixie. Miss Trixie does not seem to like this and snaps and swears at Mrs. Levy, who ignores her and seems very pleased with Miss Trixie’s transformation. Mr. Levy is amazed: he thinks Miss Trixie looks like Mrs. Levy’s mother.
Mrs. Levy feels that she has succeeded in transforming Miss Trixie. However, Mr. Levy, who is not delusional like Mrs. Levy, easily sees through this temporary disguise. Mrs. Levy wants to believe that the transformation is a success because she thinks this will prove Mr. Levy wrong.
Themes
