Friday, February 24, 2012

How are Lucie Manette and Madame Defarge different in A Tale of Two Cities?

Although neither Lucie Manette nor Madame Defarge are well-developed as characters in themselves, both are symbols of opposing forces in The Tale of Two Cities.  Lucie is lovely, golden-haired, and good, a symbol of light.  Although she herself is not complex, by her very presence she draws people together and brings them to find the best in themselves.  She enables Dr. Manette to return to health and peace, and inspires Sydney Carton to find redemption for his degenerate living in the ultimate sacrifice of his life.  Madame DeFarge, on the other hand, is symbolic of evil and the uncontrollable forces of the coming French Revolution.  Driven by the ravages of the aristocrats to an inconsumable hatred, she sits, patient and sinister, knitting the names of the tormentors soon to be doomed.

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