A Confederacy of Dunces

A Confederacy of Dunces

by

John Kennedy Toole

A Confederacy of Dunces: Chapter 13, Part 10 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Dorian Greene puts his apartment up for rent and finishes cleaning up after the party. Without Betty, Frieda, and Liz (who will be in jail for a while) there is no one to protect him or the property. Dorian thinks that if the girls had been nicer, someone would have warned them about Patrolman Mancuso, and they would not have attacked him. Dorian wonders if Ignatius is alright and thinks that he must feel terrible with all the negative publicity.
As a gay man, Dorian lives in opposition to conventional society and faces significant threats to his safety and freedom. Homosexuality was illegal in 1960s America, which this suggests that although the country prided itself on being a free society, people who did not conform to mainstream beliefs were targets of persecution and incarceration, even when their unconventional behavior did not hurt anyone.
Themes
Sexuality, Attraction, and Repulsion Theme Icon
Freedom Theme Icon
Hypocrisy and Self-Interest  Theme Icon