In book 6, V decides to put Evey through a series of “tests” in an attempt to set her free. He sets up a very realistic situation in which he not only mentally tortures her(solitary confinement), but physically as well (shaving her head, dunking her in water, etc). He breaks her down to her most vulnerable state in order to show her the power and freedom that is available once you have nothing left to lose, but still have something to live for. This is V’s definition of true freedom that he feels he has reached and wants Evey to experience as well so that she can understand his mission and purpose. Initially after finding out that V was behind her torture, Evey is overwhelmed with anger and disappointment. She feels V has betrayed her and cannot believe he was able to go through with harming her this way. Eventually V convinces her that this experience has made her stronger and has “set her free”. It takes her a while but she eventually admits that she does feel free.

Alan Moore is making an important point by including this message in the book. Moore is saying that true freedom is letting go of all of your possessions, the things that you think make you you, until you have nothing left to lose. By doing this, you make yourself invincible to the world; you take away any power they may have previously had over you because there is no longer anything to threaten you with. There is nothing to hold over your head if you have no fear. Using this definition of freedom means to alleviate any fear.

Although I understood V’s motive for putting Evey though this, I don’t believe that he had the right to do this to her. This does not mean that it was not successful because even Evey herself admitted that it was, but was V right in taking matters in his own hands and forcing her to see things his way? I say no. V is an extraordinary character with admirable amounts of skills and intelligence, but he also has some major flaws. He wants to be the judge, jury and executioner, and this is not right. It is constantly his way or the highway and no one is right all of the time.

V has gone though and incredible amount of pain during his time at the camps in which he was given inhumane treatment and this has made him into the person he is in this book. Evey similarly has gone through her share of troubles by losing her loved ones and being forced to live alone which has made her into the person she is in this book. Who is to say that V is handling his situation any better than Evey? Sure V seems to have his life together, but neither of these characters has attained peace. They are both restless in their own ways because neither of them has truly moved on from their situations. When we first meet Evey, she is awkward and confused but determined to try something new. V throughout the book is determined to get revenge on those who wronged him and set this government straight. Neither of them can ever sit still for very long. This leads me to the conclusion that since they are both restless and without peace, V doesn’t need to teach Evey in this area even though he tries to anyway. Setting Evey free is another way of saying he wants her to be at peace with her situation. V himself is not at peace with his situation, so how can he convince Evey?