Talk:Thaddeus Campbell/@comment-92.13.124.114-20130126180003/@comment-27202257-20130126213411

1. Ostracism is not an uncommon practice. Back in the day, the Athenians made a formal practice of expelling people who they feared would disrupt order in the city. Marking someone as an outcast also isn't uncommon--have you ever read The Scarlet Letter, or heard about the Stars of David that Jewish citizens had to wear in Germany in the lead-up to WWII?

Also, that's really an oversimplification of the ritual. The idea is that if someone betrays the ideals of the Abbey, they can no longer be trusted and must be cast out--it doesn't matter who they are if they have betrayed the Abbey. The "who branded them" doesn't really come into play because it's assumed that if they were branded, it's sanctioned by the Abbey. While that wasn't the case with Campbell's branding, it was probably recognized for a variety of reasons--including the fact that he's blackmailing a lot of people, and they probably jumped at the chance to be rid of him.

As for being hated forever, think about how pervasive the Abbey of the Everyman is in society. If it weren't such a powerful organization it might be different, but because the Abbey is apparently recognized as the official religion of the Empire, to be cast out of the Abbey is to be cast out of society. The Abbey is also quite obviously aggressive, burning people they deem heretics and razing entire towns, so lifetime exile for traitors seems par for the course.

2. He knew Corvo branded him because, by the time Corvo reaches the Flooded District, Havelock has already announced to the city that Corvo is the masked assassin.

3. So he wouldn't draw attention to what he was doing. If Corvo doesn't switch the glasses, allowing Curnow to die, Campbell will wait until he has passed and then make a big show of being horrified. He'll say that an assassin killed Curnow, and call for the Offices to be locked down as he runs for his secret room. If he'd already had the place locked down, it would have been incredibly suspicious and make it difficult to get Curnow alone. That, and as soon as Curnow was dead, it would not have been nearly as easy to play off.