Justice is one of the main theme from this book, as each character tries to get justice. In this book we see the distress and agony that Madame Defarge suffers with. Mainly because of her sister’s deaths and family suffering, due to the Evremonde brother’s, Charles Darnay’s father and uncle. Ever since that happened she’s wanted justice for her and her family. The justice that Madame Defarge wanted later turn into retribution, which lead her to a path of darkness, making her wanting the death of Charles Darnay and his family. At the same time, she was fighting for justice for France, which made her want more lives to be dead for the good of her people. those dead are my dead, and that summons to answer for those things descends to me!’… “Then tell Wind and Fire where to stop,” … “but don’t tell me.” (Dickens 339) Many readers might portray her as the “villain” of this book, but she really is not. All she wanted is justice for what was done
Madame Defarge is portrayed as the condemner of death; she lurks the corners, as she continues to knit an endless kill list of all who have exasperated her. Dickens reveals Madame Defarge’s true intentions when Monsieur Defarge mentions, “To be registered, as doomed to destruction,”(p.7). Furthermore, Monsieur Defarge declared that Madame Defarge will never forget who is on the kill list. Madame Defarge holds an undeniable grudge against Charles’ father, thus meaning that Charles poses a threat to the Defarges, due to the fact that he is guilty by association. In Madame Defarge's eyes, murder is a virtuous necessity, in order to clear out the hazardous individuals who have in any way “wronged” her.
Dickens’ Madame Defarge develops a vast amount of hatred towards the Evremonde Family after the atrocities committed by them on
These individuals with extreme power were defeated partially because of the lower-class females, a group of individuals who had never before taken control over the people, as they were viewed as incapable. Lastly, Madame Defarge’s constant obsession with killing all who have hurt her personally and her class, is repeated multiple times in the novel. As the novel progresses, Madame Defarge becomes more obsessed and blood thirsty until she reaches one man , who she believes is worth killing after she simply “[observes] his face”(263). She goes on to demand that her husband allow her to “take care of his face.”(263) It is clear that Madame Defarge has reached a point of hysteria that makes her an extremely bloodthirsty individual, constantly searching for victims. Dickens uses Madame Defarge once again, to explain the extreme amounts of killings that were due to a woman’s decision. Through Dickens’ repetition of these phrases however, the reader can understand the power that women were able to execute over other females and the men, as the idea of a powerful female is visited multiple times throughout the
This wasted potential is emphasized when both Darnay and Carton fall in love with Lucie Manette. Darnay, as the typical charming hero, is chosen over desperate, brooding Carton. As a result, Carton finds himself channeling his love and his physical advantage of being Darnay’s double into keeping Lucie safe and happy by way of rescuing Darnay from the guillotine. Thus, Carton is able to become the proverbial “good guy,” a role he saw for himself in his counterpart, Darnay. He also managed to thwart the Defarges’ plot to murder all those connected to the aristocracy in any way. In this way, Dickens is able to use the comparisons and contrasts between the two men to show how love is capable of victory over violence and vengeance.
Charles Dickens uses the ambiguity of Madame Defarge, Sydney Carton, and Charles Darnay to demonstrate how passion for something or someone can dictate our actions and ultimately bring about a new persona in his novel A Tale of Two Cities.
Madame Defarge, a very bold but cruel revolutionary, is very sadistic towards nobles, especially the Evrémondes, because of how the family had treated her family in the past. The woman who had been stolen away by the younger twin was Madame Defarge’s sister, so the Evrémondes tore her family apart. She had been waiting to get her revenge on the family her whole life, and once the revolution starts, she seizes her chance. The very kind and generous son of the older brother, Charles Darnay, travels back to France from England to try and save his employee, and she immediately takes the opportunity to put him into jail. After multiple trials he is found guilty and condemned to death via La Guillotine. Although Charles Darnay has never actually wronged her, “it was nothing to her, that an innocent man has to die for the sins of his forefathers; she saw not him, but them” (281). Madame Defarge is not satisfied by Darnay’s death, however, and wants to kill his wife, Lucie Manette, and their daughter. It was this inhumanity that leads to her death. Madame Defarge goes to the Manette’s home to try and find Lucie in the act of a Guillotine-worthy crime, mourning a Guillotine victim. Instead of finding Lucie, however, she finds her housemaid, Miss Pross. Miss Pross and Madame Defarge begin to fight because Madame Defarge wants to find Lucie, and eventually she draws a gun, but “Miss
A Tale of Two Cities, a book written by Charles Dickens in 1859, describes the situation of France and the French Revolution. At the end of Chapter Six, Dr. Manette, Lucie Manette, Charles Darnay, Sydney Carton, and Miss Pross are at a Tea Party. A turbulent storm occurs and incites an eerie mood within the characters. Charles Darnay starts telling a story about a paper he found. After telling the story, Dr. Manette begins to feel ill. Following this is a section which contains multiple literary elements. In Chapter Six, Dickens utilizes descriptive literary devices, such as imagery, personification, and anaphora, to foretell the French Revolution and set the mood of the passage.
When terrible things happen to good people there are two paths that can be traveled: forgiveness can be offered, or vengeance can be pursued. Madame Defarge from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, takes the latter of these two options and religiously lives by it, seeking revenge on the cruel heartless aristocracy plaguing France with famine, poverty, and oppression; however, the reasons behind her malice force the reader to understand why she performs such hateful acts during the French Revolution. Madame Defarge, though intelligent, is consumed by her hatred and has transformed into something just as bad, if not worse, than the members of the aristocracy.
In Charles Dickens’, A Tale of Two Cites, the theme is prominent that sacrifice culminates in life and vengeance in death. Entwining the letter of Dr. Manette’s dark and frayed past, Madame Defarge skillfully and ardently weaved with revenge the malicious pattern for the denouncement and death of Charles Darnay, in recompense for his uncle’s transgressions against her sister. Ending, this design of hate led to the near ruination of Darnay and Carton’s demise.
“As the dialogic counterpart to willing sacrifice, which rehabilitates broken familial relationships and fractured societies in Dickens' work, the concept of unwilling sacrifice marks the degeneration of society on both the microcosmic and macrocosmic level.” Unwilling sacrifice occurs in the novel when the revolutionaries force people to die. Unwilling sacrifice brings down society because you are forcing things to happen which are not natural. On the macrocosmic scale, the revolutionaries are going against nature and laws that would also bring them down and everything together down. On the microcosmic scale, the revolutionaries are ruining the Manettes lives. Madame Defarge causes many unwilling sacrifices that deteriorate society and contributes to its downfall. The unlawful injustice of Madame Defarge against Darnay deteriorates society. Darnay was an unwilling sacrifice that didn’t deserve to be sentenced to death as he tried to right the wrongs of the aristocrats. Dr. Manette was significantly impacted by Darnay’s unjust trial. Dr. Manette was recalled to life by his daughter, Lucie, from his traumatic past in the Bastille. Dr. Manette could not handle the trauma of his son in law dying and thus reverts briefly back to who he once was. Dr. Manette is a herioc character who tries to help society, but was denied help in retunr to save his son in law. The unequal balance of light and dark degenerated society. Every person that dies unwillingly contributes to the fall. To Madame Defarge the end defines the mean. For things to change not only do the executors must change, but also the nature of the sacrifices. Unwilling sacrifices manifest the darker aspects of humanity. Dickens used the idea of unwilling sacrifices in France has a warning to England not to repeat France’s mistakes as those began to define the French revolution.
In A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, revenge plays a crucial role in the motivations of some of the characters, such as Madame Defarge and Gaspard. In fact, Madame Defarge’s entire motivation for her participation in the French Revolution is out of want for revenge for her family (Dickens 445), not true justice. This is known because had justice been her true goal, Madame Defarge would not have attempted to kill everyone in the Evremonde family by marriage or blood, just Darnay - a direct descendant to Monseigneur the Marquis. Had Madame Defarge’s family not been killed by the Evremondes, she would not have been vengeful and would not be calling for the death of all of the aristocrats; Madame Defarge would be satisfied with the death
While the Victorian people called for romantic intrigue and petty drama in the literature of their time, Dickens’ added complexity to his novels not to satisfy the frivolous needs of Victorians but to further the theme of irony in his novel. In A Tale of Two Cities, irony is an ever-present theme and is woven into the plot seamlessly by author Charles Dickens. Coincidence is a complementary theme to irony in this novel. Dickens’ constant implementation of situations of coincidence and chance leads to a greater sense of irony throughout this book. Dickens adds complexity to the plot and further enforces the theme of irony in the novel through circumstances of coincidence, including the indictments of Charles Darnay, the life and associates of Dr. Manette, and Madame Defarge’s need for and path to revenge.
The French Revolution mainly took place in the city of Paris during the late 1700’s. The Revolution did not only affect the people of France, but also the citizens of England as well. The French Revolution is known as one of the most brutal and inhumane periods of history. If one studied the beliefs and views of the people involved at the time, one would see a reoccurring theme of “ being recalled to life”. Born from the world of literature, Charles Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities takes a deeper look at the culture of the late 1700’s, in both England and France. Dickens uses the character of Lucie Manette to further examine one of the major themes presented in the novel, consisting of the belief of one being
Throughout the course of the novel A Tale of Two Cities, numerous comparisons and contractions can be made between the main characters. The showcased women, Lucie Manette and Therese Defarge, differ exceedingly for their response to opposition but relate strongly for their definitive influence on others. Compassionate, humble, and raised as an orphan, Lucie Manette is depicted as a strong young woman who became a savior to her. Madame Defarge distinctly contradicts Lucie’s state of mind for she feeds off of revenge. The author, Charles Dickens, presents them in part to reflect the prevalent theme of resurrection, characterizing them through actions, attitudes, desires, and values. Breaking down their characteristics and relation to the