In a past blog, I've written about the fact that no-one in the Prisoner uses the Prisoner's name, and strangely enough that includes the Prisoner-Number Six which is odd when a man like Number Six is so determined to maintain his identity and not to become a number. Take a look at No.8 in The Chimes of Big Ben when he invited her into his cottage for a night-cap.
"Genuine non-alcoholic Whisky sixteen work units, or if you prefer genuine non-alcoholicVodka twenty-four work units."
"Yes, I would prefer that Mister........
"Sorry no names. I am Number Six, you are Number Eight.'"
After Number Eight informs Number Six that she is Estonian and not Russian, she intemates that Number Two is a very charming man, and that she would expect his assistant to be the same.
"What about you Number Eight?"
"I am no Number Eight or no number anything else. My name is Nadia Rakovski, and I've ben interrogated enough for one day!"
And in truth that is how I should have though the Prisoner to have behaved when given his number, saying that he's no Number Six, my name is.......... But instead he gave the line "I am not a number, I am a person." Oh by the by, did you notice for a man who rejects his number, he's quick enough to tell Number Eight that he's Number Six when she said the line "Yes, I would perfer that Mister........" That was quite deliberate on the Prisoner's part I thought, so not to give his name away. It might be that Number Six was ashamed of his name, that it was something perculiar extraordinary, or embarassing because he had been named after someone or something, which might be the reason the Prisoner uses Number Six as his name in the Village because it's preferable to his own. After all, the Prisoner has been known to adopt different names in the past.
I'll be seeing you
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