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Hare-lip (Young Kieffer)
A famous historian of the Revolution, and once No. 1’s closest friend, Kieffer was also quite close to Rubashov. He works on No. 1’s biography for ten years, but when certain changes are required and he’s asked to change some of the facts, he refuses. Kieffer is an intellectual and, while he believes in the Party and the Revolution, he thinks that the cause is best served by truth—a belief that turns out to be woefully old-fashioned, as Kieffer too is imprisoned and executed.
Professor Kieffer Quotes in Darkness at Noon
The Darkness at Noon quotes below are all either spoken by Professor Kieffer or refer to Professor Kieffer. 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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The Third Hearing: 3 Quotes
“Rubashov laughed at my father, and repeated that he was a fool and a Don Quixote. Then he declared that No. 1 was no accidental phenomenon, but the embodiment of a certain human characteristic—namely, of an absolute belief in the infallibility of one’s own conviction, from which he drew the strength for his complete unscrupulousness.”
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Hare-lip has been brought in by Gletkin, presumably after having been tortured, in order to rehearse an accusation against Rubashov. Rubashov has been in something resembling Hare-lip’s position before: Rubashov falsely betrayed Arlova, and now he himself has been falsely accused. As the center of his story, Hare-lip uses a meeting between Rubashov and Hare-lip’s father, Profssor Kieffer, who was executed for refusing to change the history books in response to changing “necessities” of the Party. Rubashov, in this anecdote, comes across as a pragmatist—he is willing to laugh and roll his eyes at No. 1, at least among friends, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque o
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Professor Kieffer Character Timeline in Darkness at Noon
The timeline below shows where the character Professor Kieffer appears in Darkness at Noon. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Third Hearing: 3
...Hare-lip says. Now the mists clear and Rubashov says that he initially didn’t recognize Professor Kieffer’s son. Rubashov thinks of his friend Kieffer, the great historian of the Revolution who was...
(full context)
...mood. Gletkin reminds Hare-lip that three months later, his father’s crimes would be discovered, and Kieffer would be executed three months after that. Gletkin asks Hare-lip if, at that time, Kieffer...
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...that the two men talked scornfully about the present state of affairs of the party. Kieffer had laughed at Rubashov’s decision to make a declaration of loyalty to No. 1, and...
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...was alone with Rubashov, the instigation took place. Rubashov smiles, realizing that the idea that Kieffer would have been present for such a plot was too absurd even for this group.
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The Grammatical Fiction: 1
...Prosecutor’s speech, Wassilij turns to the wall and dozes, waking up as she reads about Kieffer’s stammering attempt to throw guilt onto Rubashov entirely. Then she reads Rubashov’s final speech, which...
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