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The Prisoner
An authoritarian leader and inventor of the apparatus, the old Commandant is dead at the outset of the story but at one point had the power to command the respect of the entire penal colony. The old Commandant was very close to the officer, making him his right-hand man and enlisting the officer’s help in constructing the apparatus. The old Commandant also conferred the power of judge, jury, and executioner to the officer, who remains worshipful of the old Commandant even after his death. The old Commandant represents systems of justice that are dehumanizing and have no regard for the rights of individuals. This is in contrast to the new Commandant, who does not approve of the old Commandant’s ways and is slowly decommissioning the use of the apparatus and the officer’s power. The old Commandant’s gravestone, which claims he will rise again and tells his followers to have faith, has a messianic quality that strengthens the story’s suggestion that religion has a part to play in authoritarian systems of power.
The Old Commandant Quotes in In the Penal Colony
The In the Penal Colony quotes below are all either spoken by The Old Commandant or refer to The Old Commandant. 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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In the Penal Colony
Quotes
“For I was the former Commandant's assistant in all-penal matters and know more about the apparatus than anyone. My guiding principle is this: Guilt is never to be doubted. Other courts cannot follow that principle, for they consist of several opinions and have higher courts to scrutinize them.”
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“He has calculated it carefully: this is your second day on the island, you did not know the old Commandant and his ways, you are conditioned by European ways of thought, perhaps you object on principle to capital punishment in general and to such mechanical instruments of death in particular…”
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Here rests the old Commandant. His adherents, who now must be nameless, have dug this grave and set up this stone. There is a prophecy that after a certain number of years the commandant will rise again and lead his adherents from this house to recover the colony. Have faith and wait!
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The Old Commandant Quotes in In the Penal Colony
The In the Penal Colony quotes below are all either spoken by The Old Commandant or refer to The Old Commandant. 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:
).
In the Penal Colony
Quotes
“For I was the former Commandant's assistant in all-penal matters and know more about the apparatus than anyone. My guiding principle is this: Guilt is never to be doubted. Other courts cannot follow that principle, for they consist of several opinions and have higher courts to scrutinize them.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
“He has calculated it carefully: this is your second day on the island, you did not know the old Commandant and his ways, you are conditioned by European ways of thought, perhaps you object on principle to capital punishment in general and to such mechanical instruments of death in particular…”
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Explanation and Analysis:
Here rests the old Commandant. His adherents, who now must be nameless, have dug this grave and set up this stone. There is a prophecy that after a certain number of years the commandant will rise again and lead his adherents from this house to recover the colony. Have faith and wait!
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