A Tale of Two Sydney Cartons

Sydney Carton has been a difficult character to comprehend since the first prosecution of Charles Darnay. We have seen his lowest lows, and now his highest highs. I believe that Carton is the most symbolic characters of Dickens', A Tale of Two Cities.

As Carton first describes himself, "I am a disappointed drudge, sir I care for no man on earth, and no man on earth cares for me" (Dickens 89). This first personality of Sydney Carton portrays as having little affect on the world, with no value to life. From the first scene of prosecution of Charles Darnay, Carton has been my favorite character. To me he has shown secretive intelligence, which was very underground, and to me, cool. He was able to save Darnay's life twice, but a different person both times.

By Chapter Eleven of Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, the Grimm reality of death has sunk into the Darnay/Manette Family. Lucie fainted on the floor, Dr. Manette in peril and despair, which Phoenix can raise from the ashes but Sydney Carton. "'his life was thrown away or wasted' ... 'Yes. He will perish; there is no real hope" (Dickens 350). When first reading this passage I thought that Carton was grieving about the inevitable fate of Charles Darnay with the others. But to my great surprise Carton was speaking of himself and unveiling one of his new master plans.

The difference between the reasoning for Carton's Savior- like actions are changed. I believe the change in Carton's motives for helping Charles Darnay is Lucie. Referring back to the ironic chapter titled, "The Fellow of No Delicacy" Carton states, "... think now and then there is a man who would give his life, to keep a life you love beside you" (Dickens 159).

From this passage we are able to conclude that Carton really does care about Lucie Manette and he finds his value in life by saving hers.  

Knitting, Knitting, Redemption

                Chapters fifteen (Knitting) and sixteen (Still Knitting) from A Tale of Two Cities, portray Madame Defarge and the underground rebellion she leads. For this blog post, I’d like to discuss the symbolism of Madame Defarge’s knitting.  Madame Defarge has been seen knitting at different times in the story, often in the background at important events. For example, when the Marquis St. Evremonde’s carriage ran over Gaspard’s son,“… the wretched father was groveling on his face on the pavement in that spot, and the figure stood beside him was the figure of a dark stout woman, knitting” (Dickens 117). This passage illustrates Madame Defarge at the scene of the “Monsieur the Marquis in Town”. She is the figure in the background knitting. At that point in the book, little is known about Madame Defarge except for the fact that she is the wine keeper’s wife. Now (chapter twenty-two; book two), we know much more of who Madame Defarge is. 

                We were able to conclude that Madame Defarge has a robust position in this ‘underground uprising’ on page 183 when she tells her husband, in response to the news that a new spy is in St. Antoine, “’It is necessary to register him …  ‘Barsad,’ said Defarge” (Dickens).  When John Barsad (Aristocrat Spy), enters the wine shop, and begins a conversation with Madame Defarge, ironically, she is adding his name to the hit list. Even as Madame Defarge knits Barsad’s fate, she is still able to outsmart everybody with her knitting.

                Up to this point in the book, Madame Defarge has been a character of mystery, embedded and set upon the goal of a French revolution. Her knitting not only represents a physical register of oppressors, but I also believe it is a symbol of stealth and the underground uprising.  It’s a symbol of stealth because she is able to organize a hit list, while under the constant supervision of the aristocrats. Her knitting is also a symbol of the uprising because it’s both a peasant’s hobby as well as a symbol of organization. An issue I face with Madame Defarge is her motivation for her harsh ideas. The background context implies very little about her rationale for the position she holds in the movement. I thought that for a person to hold a burden of the risk of being in the uprising, they must have a strong reason. Yet the mystery is still continuing, and we continue to learn more and more about these characters.