The Stories Behind The Characters

Dr. Libertas, also known as Dr. L, is Memphis’s guide throughout this story. His first name was inspired by Marcus Aurelius, the ancient stoic philosopher and emperor of Rome. Libertas, the Roman goddess 7 personification of liberty, was the inspiration for Dr. Libertas’ last name. Interestingly, the Latin root word ‘Liber’ is both associated with the word ‘free’ and the word ‘book’. Dr. Libertas represents the path to Memphis’s freedom through education. In Latin, ‘educare’ means to lead out from. In our story, Dr. Libertas leads Memphis out of the darkness of ignorance (demonstrated in the first scene, when Memphis first opens his eyes and is nearly blinded) into the light of knowledge.