Revenge in a Tale of Two Cities
Revenge in a Tale of Two CitiesA Tale of Two Cities is a novel which takes place during the French Revolution. In this novel there are many characters who often have conflicts in their interactions. Sometimes these conflicts take place on a personal level and at other times they occur on a social level. There are many examples of revenge in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
Madame Defarge takes revenge on Charles Darnay for the acts of his father and uncle. Madame Defarge¡¦s main reason for trying to have Darnay convicted is because she holds his family responsible for the death of her siblings. When talking to Jacques Three, Madame Defarge says, ¡§[M]y husband has not my reason for pursuing this family to annihilation¡¨, which proves that she does not think that they are an enemy of the republic. Instead, she has a personal reason for bringing Darnay to trial (351). Monsieur Defarge, who plays as large a role in the revolution as Madame Defarge, does not, for Lucy¡¦s sake, want to see Darnay harmed. When he says this to his wife, she replies, ¡§Her husband¡¦s destiny . . . will lead him to the end that is to end him¡¨ (186). Madame Defarge is so revengeful that she even pursues Darnay¡¦s wife and child. She personally delivers a note to Lucy so that she can see them and ¡§[t]he shadow attendant on Madame Defarge and her party seem[s] then to fall, threatening and dark, on both the mother and the child¡¨ (265). Lucy and Little Lucy are forced to flee for their lives before they are denounced.
During the French Revolution, the commoners take revenge on the aristocrats. The commoners¡¦ revenge is apparent in the second half of the book. The Jacquerie is a major source of the revolutionary trouble. One of the...
To view the complete essay, you be registered.