V for Vendetta takes place in a dystopic vision of the future, in which the government has taken full control of knowledge. In this vision of England, most books, movies, and music have been taken and destroyed by the government, and anything that remains is considered highly illegal. The Norsefire party has taken control of the nation, and uses the computer Fate to monitor society through her system of microphones and cameras.
This image comes directly from V for Vendetta, and although there are many panels in this story that explore knowledge and especially its control, this moment is particularly revealing. It shows that V has had inner knowledge of the government throughout the narrative, and is yet another secret that he has been keeping from Evey. The government’s control of information is in direct opposition to V’s view that “knowledge, like air, is vital to life. Like air, no one should be denied it” (218), and he has therefore taken control of Fate from the outside as part of his mission to destroy Norsefire. Throughout this mission he has often had to withhold information from Evey, but would argue that it was being done for her own safety.
The only aspect in which laws in this country are almost surprisingly lenient is in regards to things like friendships, love, and sexual relationships; this is why Helen Heyer can have sex with a man that isn’t her husband in direct view of a camera, something that would be punishable by death in Gilead, the version of America portrayed in the Handmaid’s Tale. After controlling media and all access to knowledge, Norsefire feels less of a need to control the day-to-day actions of their people than the government of Gilead.
Related: The Handmaid’s Tale, 1984