A Confederacy of Dunces

A Confederacy of Dunces

by

John Kennedy Toole

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Irene Reilly is the mother of Ignatius J. Reilly and the widow of Mr. Reilly. Irene is a well-meaning but easily flustered and somewhat shallow woman. She drinks too much and has an obsessive relationship with her son, whom she continually pesters, fusses over, and spoils. It is implied that Irene is an alcoholic (she keeps a bottle of wine in the oven from which she frequently drinks) and that she believes she has had a very hard life. Irene allows Ignatius to depend upon her financially until they are involved in a car crash and must pay off a large fine, spurring Irene to demand that Ignatius go out and get a job. During the novel, Irene meets and becomes friends with Patrolman Mancuso, Santa Battaglia and Claude Robichaux. It is implied that these are the first friends Irene has had in a long time (until now she has been preoccupied with Ignatius) and Irene allows Santa to set her up with Claude when she learns that Claude has a good pension and owns several properties. Although Irene cares about Ignatius, she is often embarrassed by his antics, and when he gets a job as a hot dog vendor she feels that he has disgraced the family. Irene, therefore, is a slightly shallow person, and hopes that Ignatius will do well for himself so that she can feel superior to her neighbors. Irene is easily confused and manipulated, first by Ignatius (who usually gets his own way with her) and then by Santa, who convinces Irene that Ignatius should be locked in an insane asylum. Although Irene clearly wants to do the right thing, she is exhausted by years of pandering to Ignatius’s whims, and eventually allows Santa to call up the mental hospital and ask them to take Ignatius away.

Irene Reilly Quotes in A Confederacy of Dunces

The A Confederacy of Dunces quotes below are all either spoken by Irene Reilly or refer to Irene Reilly. 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:
Medievalism, Modernity, and Fate Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1, Part 1 Quotes

“Is it the part of the police department to harass me when this city is a flagrant vice capital of the civilized world?” Ignatius bellowed over the crowd in front of the store. “This city is famous for its gamblers, prostitutes, exhibitionists. Antichrists, alcoholics, sodomites, drug addicts, fetishists, onanists, pornographers, frauds, jades, litterbugs, and lesbians, all of whom are only too well protected by graft. If you have a moment, I shall endeavor to discuss the crime problem with you, but don’t make the mistake of bothering me.”

Related Characters: Ignatius J. Reilly (speaker), Irene Reilly, Patrolman Mancuso
Page Number: 3
Explanation and Analysis:

“In addition, I am at the moment writing a lengthy indictment against our century. When my brain begins to reel from my literary labors, I make an occasional cheese dip.”

Related Characters: Ignatius J. Reilly (speaker), Irene Reilly, Patrolman Mancuso
Page Number: 6
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2, Part 1 Quotes

As a medievalist Ignatius believed in the rota Fortunae, or wheel of fortune, a central concept in De Consolatione Philosophiae, the philosophical work which had laid the foundation for medieval thought. Boethius, the late Roman who had written the Consolatione while unjustly imprisoned by the emperor, had said that a blind goddess spins us on a wheel, that our luck comes in cycles. Was the ludicrous attempt to arrest him the beginning of a bad cycle? Was his wheel rapidly spinning downward? The accident was also a bad sign. Ignatius was worried. For all his philosophy, Boethius had still been tortured and killed.

Related Characters: Ignatius J. Reilly, Irene Reilly, Patrolman Mancuso
Related Symbols: The Consolation of Philosophy
Page Number: 29
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2, Part 3 Quotes

“The ironic thing about that program,” Ignatius was saying over the stove, keeping one eye peeled so that he could seize the pot as soon as the milk began to boil, “is that it is supposed to be an exemplum to the youth of our nation. I would like very much to know what the Founding Fathers would say if they could see these children being debauched to further the cause of Clearasil. However, I always suspected that democracy would come to this.” He painstakingly poured the milk into his Shirley Temple mug. “A firm rule must be imposed upon our nation before it destroys itself.”

Related Characters: Ignatius J. Reilly (speaker), Irene Reilly, Patrolman Mancuso
Related Symbols: The Consolation of Philosophy
Page Number: 42
Explanation and Analysis:

“Ignatius, what’s all this trash on the floor?”

“That is my worldview that you see. It still must be incorporated into a whole, so be careful where you step.”

Related Characters: Ignatius J. Reilly (speaker), Irene Reilly (speaker)
Related Symbols: The Consolation of Philosophy
Page Number: 46
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3, Part 1 Quotes

“I refuse to look up. Optimism nauseates me. It is perverse. Since man’s fall, his proper position in the universe has been one of misery.”

Related Characters: Ignatius J. Reilly (speaker), Irene Reilly, Patrolman Mancuso
Related Symbols: The Consolation of Philosophy
Page Number: 59
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3, Part 5 Quotes

For the first time in my life I have met the system face-to-face, fully determined to function within its context as an observer and critic in disguise, so to speak.

Related Characters: Ignatius J. Reilly (speaker), Irene Reilly
Page Number: 74
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7, Part 1 Quotes

She described to Ignatius the courage of Patrolman Mancuso, who, against heavy odds, was fighting to retain his job, who wanted to work, who was making the best of his torture and exile in the bathroom at the bus station. Patrolman Mancuso’s situation reminded Ignatius of the situation of Boethius when he was imprisoned by the emperor before being killed.

Related Characters: Ignatius J. Reilly, Irene Reilly, Patrolman Mancuso
Related Symbols: The Consolation of Philosophy
Page Number: 160
Explanation and Analysis:
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Irene Reilly Quotes in A Confederacy of Dunces

The A Confederacy of Dunces quotes below are all either spoken by Irene Reilly or refer to Irene Reilly. 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:
Medievalism, Modernity, and Fate Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1, Part 1 Quotes

“Is it the part of the police department to harass me when this city is a flagrant vice capital of the civilized world?” Ignatius bellowed over the crowd in front of the store. “This city is famous for its gamblers, prostitutes, exhibitionists. Antichrists, alcoholics, sodomites, drug addicts, fetishists, onanists, pornographers, frauds, jades, litterbugs, and lesbians, all of whom are only too well protected by graft. If you have a moment, I shall endeavor to discuss the crime problem with you, but don’t make the mistake of bothering me.”

Related Characters: Ignatius J. Reilly (speaker), Irene Reilly, Patrolman Mancuso
Page Number: 3
Explanation and Analysis:

“In addition, I am at the moment writing a lengthy indictment against our century. When my brain begins to reel from my literary labors, I make an occasional cheese dip.”

Related Characters: Ignatius J. Reilly (speaker), Irene Reilly, Patrolman Mancuso
Page Number: 6
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2, Part 1 Quotes

As a medievalist Ignatius believed in the rota Fortunae, or wheel of fortune, a central concept in De Consolatione Philosophiae, the philosophical work which had laid the foundation for medieval thought. Boethius, the late Roman who had written the Consolatione while unjustly imprisoned by the emperor, had said that a blind goddess spins us on a wheel, that our luck comes in cycles. Was the ludicrous attempt to arrest him the beginning of a bad cycle? Was his wheel rapidly spinning downward? The accident was also a bad sign. Ignatius was worried. For all his philosophy, Boethius had still been tortured and killed.

Related Characters: Ignatius J. Reilly, Irene Reilly, Patrolman Mancuso
Related Symbols: The Consolation of Philosophy
Page Number: 29
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2, Part 3 Quotes

“The ironic thing about that program,” Ignatius was saying over the stove, keeping one eye peeled so that he could seize the pot as soon as the milk began to boil, “is that it is supposed to be an exemplum to the youth of our nation. I would like very much to know what the Founding Fathers would say if they could see these children being debauched to further the cause of Clearasil. However, I always suspected that democracy would come to this.” He painstakingly poured the milk into his Shirley Temple mug. “A firm rule must be imposed upon our nation before it destroys itself.”

Related Characters: Ignatius J. Reilly (speaker), Irene Reilly, Patrolman Mancuso
Related Symbols: The Consolation of Philosophy
Page Number: 42
Explanation and Analysis:

“Ignatius, what’s all this trash on the floor?”

“That is my worldview that you see. It still must be incorporated into a whole, so be careful where you step.”

Related Characters: Ignatius J. Reilly (speaker), Irene Reilly (speaker)
Related Symbols: The Consolation of Philosophy
Page Number: 46
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3, Part 1 Quotes

“I refuse to look up. Optimism nauseates me. It is perverse. Since man’s fall, his proper position in the universe has been one of misery.”

Related Characters: Ignatius J. Reilly (speaker), Irene Reilly, Patrolman Mancuso
Related Symbols: The Consolation of Philosophy
Page Number: 59
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3, Part 5 Quotes

For the first time in my life I have met the system face-to-face, fully determined to function within its context as an observer and critic in disguise, so to speak.

Related Characters: Ignatius J. Reilly (speaker), Irene Reilly
Page Number: 74
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7, Part 1 Quotes

She described to Ignatius the courage of Patrolman Mancuso, who, against heavy odds, was fighting to retain his job, who wanted to work, who was making the best of his torture and exile in the bathroom at the bus station. Patrolman Mancuso’s situation reminded Ignatius of the situation of Boethius when he was imprisoned by the emperor before being killed.

Related Characters: Ignatius J. Reilly, Irene Reilly, Patrolman Mancuso
Related Symbols: The Consolation of Philosophy
Page Number: 160
Explanation and Analysis: