Originally a television series, Neil Gaiman did not think that the story of Neverwhere had gotten enough time to shine. He wrote the book to be able to flesh out his story. Written in the comedic British style that immediately invites readers, it covers the story of London-dwelling Richard Mayhew. A regular “Joe Shmoe”, his world is changed when he stumbles across a girl named Door from the underworld of London, a place full of crooks and rats and optical illusions. He finds himself journeying to help Door escape the two assassins that are after her.

Full of wit, this book seemed a great place to take apart a few quotes and consider my opinions on them. These are not opinions placed for you to simply agree with. I hope that they cause you to think more about a few, small statements that could easily be glossed over. Form your own opinions and share them with me as well.

“When angels go bad they are worse than anyone else. Remember Lucifer used to be an angel.”

Part of Richard and Door’s journey involves the angel Islington, punished for being the cause of the sinking of Atlantis. In his attempt to escape, he has killed all of Door’s family and is using this to manipulate her into giving him the key. He has sunk very low morally, being willing to do such horrible things just to get a simple key. This brings up an interesting thought. Are wrongs worse if they are done by people who are supposed to be right?

When we look at this question at face value, there is an easy answer. Every action’s level of wrong or rightness does not change depending on who commits the action. We cannot make right and wrong subjective concepts. They must remain written in stone or society crumbles.

I do not necessarily disagree with this statement. It is very true that right and wrong in many cases (although not always) are black and white. However, I will suggest that a person who keeps up a record of doing good is compromising their integrity when they do something with evil in mind. This is an added wrong to the one they are already committing. Since a person used to being bad does not have the integrity to compromise, they cannot have this problem arise. So while a person’s actions themself might not be worse, their fall can certainly be more tragic and heartbreaking than one who does not have further to fall. I deem this quote TRUE.

“I have always felt that violence was the last refuge of the incompetent, and empty threats the last sanctuary of the terminally inept.”

Two evil henchmen, Mister Vandemar and Mr Croup, make frequent appearances in the book. They are the slime of the earth, sneaky and sinister and all the unpleasant adjectives one could think of. Door and Richard Mayhew become some of many of their unfortunate targets. They hide out in abandoned hospitals, practice throwing knives religiously, and do not make many friends with their slippery smiles and terrible tongues.

Are they merely incompetent? Is it simply a lack of preparation for the real world? They are admittedly quite talented at the things they are asked to do. They can intimidate (or assassinate) quite effectively. There is talent and skill involved even in doing wrong or hurting. But there are other things that they are certainly incompetent at. Sacrifice is a practiced skill. Selflessness is something that we have to exercise.

And so, when assessing this quote, I think you have to decide how you define incompetent. Typically I look at those descriptions as regarding one’s particular trade. A carpenter is not incompetent because he struggles to play the piano. Nor is a piano player inept because he struggles to build a chair. I would venture to suggest that some very competent people use violence or threats to get what they want. It is impossible to claim ignorance or lack of knowledge on behalf of someone cruel and bent on evil. I would say this quote is FALSE.

“What a refreshing mind you have, young man. There really is nothing quite like total ignorance, is there?”

Now this one amuses me. It is a bit of a comedic quote, I admit. While it has some subjective themes, I feel I would not be refreshed by ignorance. Ignorance is an age-old problem. Generations of people have grown up and lived entire lives, not knowing the basics of how our solar system works. Typically, the destruction of peace comes at the hands of ignorance. People offend each other because they do not know much about each other or do not see each other’s perspectives. Closed minds hold many people in difficult places, trapping them.

I find ignorance, or feigned ignorance at least, very tiring. I think this quote is meant to describe more of naivety, however. A lack of corruption is quite refreshing in a world of agendas. Everyone wants your money, your admiration, or your attention. Meeting someone who does not have ulterior motives is certainly a nice thing, even if you have an evil plan in store for them. I believe this quote is FALSE but the sentiment it expresses is TRUE.

I hope these quotes have given you some food for thought. Feel free to comment about your opinions on the quotes, it would interest me greatly. There is a truth in every lie, so it is super valuable to take apart quotes or concepts suggested by authors even if you do not agree with them. Please let me know if there are more quotes you would like to see explored.