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
In the Levys’ home, Mrs. Levy lies on her exercise board and allows herself to be mechanically massaged. Mr. Levy comes home early, and his wife is surprised and disappointed to see him. Mr. Levy tells her bitterly that he spent all day at the factory and had to fire Ignatius. Mrs. Levy complains that Mr. Levy never did care about the factory, and Mr. Levy thinks that although he is never there, the factory is a source of constant stress for him.
Mr. and Mrs. Levy both feel imprisoned by their circumstances. Although Mrs. Levy leads a life of leisure, her reliance on commodities, such as the exercise board (which exercises her body for her and, therefore, removes her freedom and autonomy from this process entirely) makes her feel trapped. Mr. Levy also feels trapped by his job: even when he avoids the factory, it is his responsibility and he cannot easily escape from it.
Themes
Mrs. Levy asks why Ignatius was fired and Mr. Levy tells her about the protest. Mrs. Levy says that her husband underpays and overworks his staff. She has received a letter from their daughters, who are away at college, and who write that they will not return home until Mr. Levy improves conditions at the factory. Mr. Levy is deflated by this, but Mrs. Levy says it is his own fault.
Although Ignatius arranged the riot for a selfish reason, it is true that the workers at Levy Pants are underpaid. This demonstrates the legacy of slavery in New Orleans, as white employers can clearly get away with paying their black staff less. Although black people were ostensibly protected by civil rights laws by the 1960s, a long history of racism and discrimination in the South means that these laws were often ignored or worked around.
Themes
Mr. Levy knows that Mrs. Levy will write to their daughters and will portray him as a heartless monster who has fired a “young idealist.” Mr. Levy tries to explain to his wife that Ignatius was strange, and was wanted by the police, but Mrs. Levy says that Mr. Levy thinks everyone who has “character” and “integrity” is strange. Mr. Levy loses his patience with Mrs. Levy and tells her to shut up. Mrs. Levy is offended and accuses Mr. Levy of having never cared about her.
Mrs. Levy immediately takes Ignatius’s side and decides that her husband fired Ignatius for helping the workers. This is ironic because, of course, Ignatius only organized the protest to gain an upper hand with Myra. Similarly, Mrs. Levy wants an excuse to bully her husband and justifies her own frustration with him by taking Ignatius’s side.
Themes
Mrs. Levy says that Mr. Levy has many psychological complexes which need attention. She says that he has treated Miss Trixie appallingly and Mr. Levy is confused. Mrs. Levy says that Mr. Levy has destroyed her ideals and hemmed her in with material comfort, which does not fulfil her. She demands that she be allowed to bring Miss Trixie to the house, so that she can rejuvenate her, or Mrs. Levy will write to their daughters and tell them what a monster Mr. Levy is.
Mrs. Levy pretends that she wants to help Mr. Levy but really only wants to help herself. Mrs. Levy claims that Mr. Levy has repressed emotional problems, but it seems that Mrs. Levy is the person with the most pent-up frustration, and her attacks upon Mr. Levy give her an outlet for this and allow her to justify her own behavior. She pretends to help her husband—and, by extension, Miss Trixie—so that she can feel better herself.
Themes
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Mr. Levy says that they should let Miss Trixie retire, but Mrs. Levy is adamant that retirement would kill Miss Trixie. Mr. Levy disagrees, and Mrs. Levy says that she should have married “a doctor, somebody with ideals” instead. She pleads with her husband to see a therapist because she feels he has repressed emotional problems. Finally, Mr. Levy relents and says that Mrs. Levy can invite Miss Trixie to the house.
Mrs. Levy is deeply unhappy, although she lives a life of leisure and is free to do whatever she wants. Mrs. Levy projects her idea of freedom, which is to have a fulfilling career (something she’s never had) onto Miss Trixie. This disregards Miss Trixie’s feelings and demonstrates that Mrs. Levy has a dictatorial approach to helping others, rather than a democratic one. Mrs. Levy clearly wants a project to keep herself entertained rather than to actually help Miss Trixie.
Themes
