The “Voice of Fate,” Lewis Prothero performs a crucial service for the Norsefire government. Every night, he reads the information printed by the Fate Computer, so that his voice is broadcast over every television and radio in England. Thanks to clever propaganda, the people of England don’t realize that Prothero exists: they believe that Prothero’s voice—supposedly a “magnificent” voice—is the voice of the computer itself. Beneath the magnificence of his voice, Prothero is a foolish and cruel man, who once worked as a guard at Larkhill Prison, the concentration camp where V was imprisoned, and seemed to have no qualms about murdering innocent people there. Prothero is known to have a vast, impressive collection of dolls—a fact that makes Roger Dascombe consider him highly “sensitive” (seemingly a euphemism for homosexual, though this is never explored). In the end, Prothero’s fondness for dolls signals the manner of his undoing: V burns his dolls, thereby driving him insane.
Lewis Prothero Quotes in V for Vendetta
The V for Vendetta quotes below are all either spoken by Lewis Prothero or refer to Lewis Prothero. 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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Book 1, Chapter 2
Quotes
They eradicated some cultures more thoroughly than they did others. No Tamla and no Trojan. No Billie Holliday or Black Uhuru. Just his master’s voice every hour on the hour.
Related Characters:
V (speaker), The Leader / Adam Susan, Lewis Prothero
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Lewis Prothero Character Timeline in V for Vendetta
The timeline below shows where the character Lewis Prothero appears in V for Vendetta. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1, Chapter 1: The Villain
...building was demolished at night to avoid traffic congestion. One man, Dascombe, points out Lewis Prothero, the man who reads the “Voice of Fate” over the radio.
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Book 1, Chapter 2: The Voice
On November 6, in the evening, Lewis Prothero, the Voice of Fate, is reading his messages over the radio, so that millions of...
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Dascombe argues cheerfully with Derek Almond. Dascombe points out that Prothero collects dolls—a strange habit for a man. He adds, wryly, that Prothero must be extremely...
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At 12:30 pm on November 6, a group of government workers, including Lewis Prothero, sit in a train. Prothero loudly brags about having fought in the military, collecting dolls,...
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As Prothero tells his stories, his colleagues notice a strange figure jumping onto the train. Suddenly the...
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Book 1, Chapter 3: Victims
...colleague, Dominic, climb aboard the train, which is now a crime scene. Finch walks to Prothero’s train car, where he finds a strange symbol: a V surrounded by a circle, carved...
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Lewis Prothero wakes up in a strange arena, wearing an old military uniform. He sees a sign...
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...The Leader acknowledges that V has been successful in attacking his government’s credibility: with Lewis Prothero kidnapped, there will have to be a new Voice of Fate. This will be disastrous,...
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Book 1, Chapter 4: Vaudeville
V goes into a different room of the Shadow Gallery, where Lewis Prothero is standing in his uniform, very confused. Suddenly, V cries out, ”Good morning, campers!” Prothero...
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V continues with his torture of Prothero. He drags him to a model of “Room V.” Prothero seems to understand what this...
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...his broadcasting office. Mr. Almond knocks and tells Dascombe that the fingermen have found Lewis Prothero. Officers lead Lewis Prothero into the room: his face has been painted white, like a...
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Book 1, Chapter 6: The Vision
...for another mission. He takes a rose, identical to the one he left for Lewis Prothero, and leaves, reciting William Blake’s poem “Jerusalem” to himself.
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Book 1, Chapter 8: The Valley
...carved onto the walls. Finch notices a rose, identical to the one left for Lewis Prothero. As Finch inspects the building, Dominic informs him that the music V was playing was...
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Book 3, Chapter 4: Vestiges
...Finch confesses that he’s taken drugs. Delia nods and points him toward two men, Lewis Prothero and Anthony Lilliman. They lead Finch into the depths of the camp, promising to fill...
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