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One of the novel’s main antagonists, Botticelli is an elderly rat who lives in the dungeon; he’s Roscuro’s best friend and mentor. He always carries a locket stolen from a prisoner, hung on a rope made of mouse whiskers. Botticelli tries very hard to get Roscuro to behave as rats should—he tries to convince Roscuro that Roscuro doesn’t care about light and beauty, and instead that Roscuro should focus on causing people pain, fear, and suffering. Hope and love, in Botticelli’s opinion, are only useful in that they sometimes give his mouse victims better flavor—mice who die hopeful and in love, he suggests, taste better. Ultimately, Botticelli is unsuccessful in getting Roscuro to be a proper rat, and he loses interest in eating Despereaux after witnessing “too much forgiveness,” which ruins a mouse’s flavor.
Botticelli Remorso Quotes in The Tale of Despereaux
The The Tale of Despereaux quotes below are all either spoken by Botticelli Remorso or refer to Botticelli Remorso. 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:
).
Chapter 17
Quotes
“A rat is a rat is a rat. End of story. World without end. Amen.”
“Yes,” said Roscuro. “Amen, I am a rat.” He closed his eyes. He saw, again, the red cloth spinning against the backdrop of gold.
And he told himself, reader, that it was the cloth that he desired and not the light.
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Chapter 19
Quotes
And the little princess! How lovely she was! How much like light itself. Her gown was covered in sequins that winked and glimmered at the rat. And when she laughed, and she laughed often, everything around her seemed to glow brighter.
“Oh, really,” said Roscuro, “this is too extraordinary. This is too wonderful. I must tell Botticelli that he was wrong. Suffering is not the answer. Light is the answer.”
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Chapter 51
Quotes
And the smell of soup crashed through his soul like a great wave, bringing with it the memory of light, the chandelier, the music, the laughter, everything, all the things that were not, would never, could never be available to him as a rat.
“Soup,” moaned Roscuro.
And he began to cry.
[…]
“Kill me,” said Roscuro. He fell down before Despereaux. “It will never work. All I wanted was some light. This is why I brought the princess here, really, just for some beauty…some light of my own.”
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Botticelli Remorso Quotes in The Tale of Despereaux
The The Tale of Despereaux quotes below are all either spoken by Botticelli Remorso or refer to Botticelli Remorso. 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:
).
Chapter 17
Quotes
“A rat is a rat is a rat. End of story. World without end. Amen.”
“Yes,” said Roscuro. “Amen, I am a rat.” He closed his eyes. He saw, again, the red cloth spinning against the backdrop of gold.
And he told himself, reader, that it was the cloth that he desired and not the light.
Related Characters:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19
Quotes
And the little princess! How lovely she was! How much like light itself. Her gown was covered in sequins that winked and glimmered at the rat. And when she laughed, and she laughed often, everything around her seemed to glow brighter.
“Oh, really,” said Roscuro, “this is too extraordinary. This is too wonderful. I must tell Botticelli that he was wrong. Suffering is not the answer. Light is the answer.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 51
Quotes
And the smell of soup crashed through his soul like a great wave, bringing with it the memory of light, the chandelier, the music, the laughter, everything, all the things that were not, would never, could never be available to him as a rat.
“Soup,” moaned Roscuro.
And he began to cry.
[…]
“Kill me,” said Roscuro. He fell down before Despereaux. “It will never work. All I wanted was some light. This is why I brought the princess here, really, just for some beauty…some light of my own.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
