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 Dr. Talc’s office, a young girl tells him that she loves his course and his approach to history. Dr. Talc is flattered and considers asking the girl out for a drink. He thinks she is much nicer than most of his female students and remembers Myrna Minkoff with a shudder. Dr. Talc wonders whether she married Ignatius Reilly, who used to gang up with Myrna against him in class. After a few moments, however, the girl asks what happened to an essay she handed in a couple of months ago. Dr. Talc realizes that she wants to know her grade and is not interested in him.
Dr. Talc clearly wants sexual attention from his female student but realizes that she only flatters him because she wants her essay back. Although Ignatius and Myrna view each other as enemies, their argumentative demeanors make them seem similar and make people think that they must be attracted to each other because they are so alike. In this sense, the reader can see why Ignatius and Myrna had a “platonic” affair even if they weren’t romantically interested in each other and continue to intellectually spar with each other via letters.
Themes
Dr. Talc begins to root through his filing cabinet, searching for the girl’s essay. As he does this, a paper plane slips loose from one of his folders and falls on the desk beside the girl. She quickly unfolds it and reads the note. It accuses Dr. Talc of crimes against knowledge and says he should be strung up by his genitals. It is signed “Zorro.” Before Dr. Talc turns around, the girl slips the note into her bag.
The girl takes the note because she thinks, in future, she may be able to use it against Dr. Talc to get her own way. The note is clearly from Ignatius, who has signed it “Zorro” because he views himself as a heroic crusader for knowledge, battling against the ignorance of the modern world.
Themes
