Women In A Tale Of Two Cities

    The Wife of Bath's extraordinary prologue gives the reader a dose of what is sometimes missing in early male-written literature: glimpses of female subjectivity. Women in medieval literature are often silent and passive, to the extent that cuckolding is often seen as something one man (the adulterer) does to another (the husband). Eve Sedgwick argues in Between Men that in many literary representations, women are playing pieces or playing fields in struggles between male players. By default it seems, male writers cannot help but create shallow constructions of women; heroism occurs in male spheres of activity, while the wives and daughters make the background, and

“...one of those unselfish creatures found only among women who will for pure love and admiration, bind themselves willing slaves, to youth when they have lost it, to beauty that they never had, to accomplishments that they were never fortunate enough to gain and to bright hopes that never shined upon their own somber lives.” (Dickens 87) This quote is aiming towards Miss Pross who is very connected to Lucie because she was never beautiful and she is no longer young and does not have as many opportunities anymore and knows that Lucie has a bright future in front of her and wants to do everything she can to put her life in the right direction. Miss Pross needs to take care of someone like Lucie to make sure she could have everything Miss Pross might have not had. Miss Pross is an “unselfish creature” (Dickens 87) because she cares for Lucie out of admiration and love, she never hesitates to take things one step further in protecting her “ladybird”. (Dickens 215) Miss Pross has been shown to be quite the guardian throughout this novel by making many unselfish acts to protect Lucie and manages to keep her loyalty and devotion to Lucie’s family during the toughest times in the revolution, and never expects anything back from

reaction of wanting revenge. You can argue that madame defarge’s big part in the french

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.

Madame Defarge’s anger is generated because of the fact that her sister was raped and her brother was killed. The crimes committed against her family have little to do with helping the people even though she doesn't want to admit it. She feels the only way to relieve herself of this hatred is to kill all of them. “ my husband has not my reason for pursuing this family to annihilation, and I have not this reason for regarding this doctor with any sensibility. I must act for myself therefore” (Dickens 424). Madame Defarge explains that her anger is strictly taken out on the Evremonde family and no one else. The issue she has with the Evremonde family is

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

Women had very few of the opportunities men did. Since were expected to marry early, remain committed to one man and that man only, and cook and clean and take care of the kids, and portray herself as the subservient housewife, there was hardly time for school or to get an education for herself. That being said. It made it hard for women in the late eighteenth century to provide for herself and make money for herself if not born into a wealthy family. The majority of the time women were practically forced to marry into wealth if they themselves did not have the money to sustain life for themselves. Eliza Wharton, for example who is the main character unknowingly challenges the limitations in the patriarchal society which she is brought up into. Although this young woman has questionable morals throughout all of the story, she is the epitome of a feministic (bad ass) character to men

Everywhere we look, we see differences in race, gender, and status. Some people are held to a higher standard and are given more privilege than others. This inequality is seen today and was seen throughout the 18th century. Not many women have the courage to speak out about what happens, but two brave female authors have done so. Jane Austen wrote Northanger Abbey and Frances Burney wrote Evelina, and both novels bring to light the injustices women face. Both female authors used the negative aspect of gender roles that come along with growing up as female to show that an individual can surpass limitations and stereotypes through personal strength.

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.

She witnesses firsthand all of the hardships the French commoners are enduring and it fuels her rage and anger toward the nobility. Madame Defarge channels all of this anger into exacting her revenge, but we cannot help pitying her for her wretched childhood. We comprehend the reasons behind the madness, but that does not justify her actions.

A Tale of Two Cities, written by Charles Dickens, takes place during the French Revolution. The book centers on the heroic attempts of Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay. Sydney Carton puts on the façade of being insolent and indifferent, but his true nature is expressed in the book when he puts others first, defends Charles, and dies for the ones he loves. Charles Darnay is a once wealthy aristocrat whose attempts at heroism include going back to France, his financial sacrifice, and the noble way in which he was willing to face his death.

    One may infer that Dickens may have been attempting to acknowledge the birth of female freedom, due to the industrial revolution, by way of the female characters' actions within Great Expectations. Considering that he creates such verbal execution performed by many of the female characters within the novel suggests that women were usually treated as equals, this not being the case. By allowing these women to be verbally and physically abusive, Dickens may have been presenting the distorted idea toward female criminals and violent women.

Despite being under the rule of a female monarch, women faced many inequalities and suffering during the Victorian age. Examples of these inequalities include not having the right to vote, unequal educational and employment opportunities. Women were even denied the legal right to divorce in most cases. As the Norton Anthology states, these debates over women’s rights and their roles came to be known as the “woman question” by the Victorians. This lead to many conflicting struggles, such as the desire by all for women to be educated, yet they are denied the same opportunities afforded to men. While these women faced these difficulties, there was also the notion that women should be domestic and feminine. There was an ideal that women should be submissive and pure because they are naturally different. The industrial revolution introduced women into the labor workforce, but there was still a conflict between the two identities; one of an employed woman, and one of a domestic housewife.

Charles Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities in order to enlighten the average Briton about the events of the French Revolution. The novel compares and contrasts cities of London and Paris, which represent French and British society, through the eyes of Dickens’ human characters. The two cities play such a large part in the novel that they become characters themselves, and the contrasting societies of the two cities become a conflict. In Charles Dickens’ classic, A Tale of Two Cities, the individualistic society of London champions the first feudalistic and later socialistic society of Paris.