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Meronym
Rufus Sixsmith is a supporting character in two stories, keeping up correspondence with Robert Frobisher in “The Zedelghem Letters,” then, many years later, acting as a source for the journalist Luisa Rey in “Half-Lives.” None of Rufus’s letters to Robert appears in the novel, although Robert occasionally references Rufus’s replies in his own letters. Rufus seems to worry about his friend Robert, but there’s nothing he can do to stop his friend from dying by suicide. Later in life, Rufus continues to be cautious, and he is one of the few people at Seaboard Power who realizes the danger of a proposed new nuclear plant. Rufus risks his own life to pass on this information to Luisa, and as a result, he ends up getting assassinated by Bill Smoke. Rufus’s life demonstrates how it is noble—but also dangerous—to put ideals ahead of greed.
Rufus Sixsmith Quotes in Cloud Atlas
The Cloud Atlas quotes below are all either spoken by Rufus Sixsmith or refer to Rufus Sixsmith. 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:
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Chapter 2 Quotes
A telegram, Sixsmith? You ass.
Don’t send any more, I beg you—telegrams attract attention!
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She plays with that birthmark in the hollow of my shoulder, the one you said resembles a comet—can’t abide the woman dabbling with my skin.
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Chapter 3 Quotes
Robert Frobisher mentions a comet-shaped birthmark between his shoulder blade and collarbone.
I just don’t believe in this crap. I just don’t believe it. I don’t.
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He yanks the wheel sharply, and metal screams as the Beetle is sandwiched between his car and the bridge railing until the railing unzips from its concrete and the Beetle lurches out into space.
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Chapter 10 Quotes
Time cannot permeate this sabbatical. We do not stay dead long. Once my Luger lets me go, my birth, next time around, will be upon me in a heartbeat. Thirteen years from now we’ll meet again at Gresham, ten years later I’ll be back in this same room, holding this same gun, composing this same letter, my resolution as perfect as my many-headed sextet. Such elegant certainties comfort me at this quiet hour.
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Rufus Sixsmith Character Timeline in Cloud Atlas
The timeline below shows where the character Rufus Sixsmith appears in Cloud Atlas. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
29TH—VI—1931—A letter from a man named Robert Frobisher (R.F.) addresses Rufus Sixsmith and comes from “Château Zedelghem, Neerbeke, West Vlaanderen” (in Belgium). The letter is the...
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...of losing. Robert knows he’s the only one responsible for his problems, but he asks Rufus to bear with him and keep reading.
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6TH—VII—1931—Robert scolds Rufus for sending him a telegram, since telegrams attract attention (specifically from debt collectors). He then...
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In the postscript to his letter, Robert asks Rufus for a loan. He says he can’t ask anyone else because otherwise news would get...
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14TH—VII—1931—Rufus sends Robert some money, which Robert thanks him for in his next letter. That day,...
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...son, starts on the 99th page and ends mid-sentence about 40 pages later. He asks Rufus if he can track down the rest of Adam’s journal, then he sends Sixsmith a...
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29TH—VIII—1931—Robert references a letter from his father’s “solicitor” that Rufus sent him, saying he found it boring. He says he will leave Zedelghem to go...
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...goes into town to meet the “solicitor,” but it’s actually the bookseller that he and Rufus have been communicating with, and Robert has brought along some valuable books. After confirming there...
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Chapter 3
...On a balcony in California where disco music is blaring from next door, the 63-year-old Rufus Sixsmith consider what would happen if jumped over the ledge and fell to the sidewalk....
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3. As Luisa goes to take the elevator, Rufus holds the door for her with his cane. As they go down, the power suddenly...
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5. Luisa tells Rufus about her encounters with Hollywood people like Hitchcock, who was witty but distant. 6. Rufus...
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...reporting on untruthful stories. Instead, she proposes a story she heard from an inside contact (Rufus) about how a new nuclear reactor on Swannekke Island isn’t as safe as it’s supposed...
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...10. Joe Napier watches several security cameras, including one where Li has a visitor (Luisa). Rufus is a whistleblower, and it’s Napier’s job to track him down.
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...During her interview, Luisa pretends to leave to for the restroom, then tries to find Rufus’s office. The office door is open, and when she finds someone looking through Rufus’s notebooks....
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13. Rufus places a call to Hawaii while watching Grimaldi and Lloyd on TV. He expects to...
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15. Rufus hides a binder in a locker at the airport. He tries to book an immediate...
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17. At his hotel, Rufus reads some old letters that his old friend Robert Frobisher wrote almost 50 years ago....
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...a Spyglass meeting, Luisa reads the newspaper and is shocked to see an article about Rufus’s death, which gets classified as a suicide. Luisa tells a skeptical colleague that she believes...
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...in the Seaboard cover up. Luisa, however, points out that something strange is going on: Rufus left a typed suicide note, even though he didn’t have a typewriter with him, and...
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...black Chevy past Luisa’s apartment building, but she doesn’t notice. She rereads Robert’s letters to Rufus and is surprised when Robert references a comet-shaped birthmark. Luisa’s super tries to tell her...
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...channeling public outrage is one of the only ways protesters can wield power. Hester knows Rufus and is shocked to learn that Rufus wrote a report condemning the new nuclear plant....
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28. Isaac Sachs sits at the Swannekke Hotel, thinking of Rufus’s death and imaging what might happen if he were to betray Seaboard. He sees Luisa...
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34. Li comes to Luisa’s hotel room alone, searching for Rufus’s report, since oil companies will pay a lot for a document that discredits atomic energy....
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Chapter 9
...back to life. She struggles to get out of the vehicle before she realizes that Rufus Sixsmith’s report is still in the car. She goes back to get it and pulls...
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41. On an airplane, Isaac Sachs wonders whether he did the right thing by giving Rufus’s report to Luisa. A suitcase in the plane’s baggage area holds enough C-4 to blow...
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...it away to save Napier. Napier says that, for Luisa’s sake, she should forget about Rufus’s report and leave town. He adds that Grimaldi doesn’t even know he’s with her. He...
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59. The note is from Rufus. In the note, Rufus explains that he heard about possible danger to his life, so...
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...Luisa cleanly in the head and dispose of the body. Li goes to claim the Rufus report, but when she opens the drawer it seems that Bill Smoke set up a...
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...Napier says he’s taking Luisa to see someone who just flew in. 66. Megan Sixsmith (Rufus’s niece) just got into town from Hawaii. She and Luisa meet at a modern art...
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...a table. Luisa does so. She asks the man if he’s Bill Smoke, who killed Rufus.
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...item of mail: a package from Megan containing the eight remaining letters that Robert sent Rufus.
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Chapter 10
10TH—X—1931—Robert Frobisher writes to Rufus Sixsmith that Vyvyan Ayrs has been in a morphine haze for three days. Robert focuses...
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24TH—X—1931—Robert curses Rufus for not replying. Robert wants to get rid of Belgium, since if it never existed,...
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In a postscript, Robert reassures Rufus that he’s feeling fine. He also mentions that when he was leaving, he just so...
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...of the mouth with Ayrs’s gun in about 45 minutes. He says he actually saw Rufus at his hotel, although Rufus didn’t see him. In fact, Robert had to move to...
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...suicide a bad name, but the Japanese were right to consider suicide courageous. He tells Rufus not to blame his suicide on love, which would be ridiculous, given how briefly he...
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