Gaspard A Tale of Two Cities description

Summary and Analysis Book 2: Chapter 15

Summary

The mender of roads who spotted the man under the Marquis St. Evrémonde's carriage accompanies Defarge to the wine-shop. In the garret where Doctor Alexandre Manette stayed, Defarge and Jacques One, Two, and Three listen to the road-mender describe what happened to Gaspard, the man who killed the Marquis. Gaspard, who murdered the Marquis for running down his child, went into hiding for nearly a year after the killing. The French authorities recently captured, jailed, and hanged him, and left his corpse dangling by the village fountain, with his shadow poisoning the atmosphere of the town.

Monsieur and Madame Defarge later take the road-mender to Versailles, where the splendor of the court dazzles him. Caught up in the emotion of the experience, the road-mender cheers the King, Queen, and other nobles. The Defarges commend his behavior, feeling that it will fuel the courtiers' arrogance and ignorance of the revolutionary movement. Additionally, the Defarges believe that the sight of such luxury and finery will supply the road-mender with a focus for his hatred and violence in the future.

Analysis

Gaspard's tortured death demonstrates how the cycle of violence in France is escalating: The Marquis killed Gaspard's child with no regret, Gaspard retaliated by killing the Marquis, and then the French government hunted down and executed Gaspard. As a result, Madame Defarge condemns the entire Evrémonde family to death in her register. From Dickens' perspective, violence can only lead to violence, and an uprising of the oppressed in France is inevitable.

As influential members of the revolutionary movement, the Defarges represent different aspects of the rebellion. Both are leaders, but Defarge focuses on organizing the Jacquerie while Madame Defarge records in her knitted registry the names of people marked for death. Defarge's actions so far reveal him to be a man who values fairness and justice. His principles, for example, caused him to risk his life presenting a petition to the King to save Gaspard. On the other hand, Madame Defarge shows little concern for anything but her register of death. The mender of roads fears her implacable demeanor, and when he asks her what she makes, she replies, "Shrouds."While Defarge seems to be working toward a system that will serve justice and save lives, Madame Defarge works single mindedly toward a system of revenge and death.

Glossary

crag a steep, rugged rock that rises above others or projects from a rock mass.

shroud a cloth used to wrap a corpse for burial; winding sheet.

Summary and Analysis Book 2: Chapter 7

Summary

A reception at the Parisian suite of Monseigneur, a French lord, showcases the excesses and superficiality of the French aristocracy. The Marquis St. Evrémonde angrily leaves the reception after being snubbed by the other guests and treated coldly by Monseigneur. As his driver carouses recklessly through the Paris streets, the carriage accidentally runs over a child. The Marquis shows no remorse for the child's death, and when Gaspard, the child's grief-stricken father, approaches the carriage, the Marquis throws him a coin. Defarge emerges from the crowd to comfort Gaspard, and the Marquis throws him a coin as well. The carriage begins to move on, and one of the peasants throws a coin back into the carriage. Angered, the Marquis threatens the crowd and then drives away.

Analysis

Dickens uses the Monseigneur's reception to display the extravagances of the French aristocracy and to emphasize how unnatural the members of the French upper class have become. Aristocrats such as the Monseigneur have become so immersed in the spectacle of the "Fancy Ball"that they have lost touch with reality. They place themselves at the center of the world, above God and above vocation. The Monseigneur spurns the supremacy of God, for instance, when he replaces "the Lord"with "Monseigneur"in the Biblical phrase "The earth and the fullness thereof are mine, saith the Lord"and when he removes his sister from a convent in order to gain money through her marriage to a wealthy member of the Farmer-General. Other aristocrats pursue an empty life of posturing and ignorance, especially in regard to their occupations. Gentlemen had no idea how to be military or civil officers, and women of the ruling class cared nothing for motherhood.

As with other characters throughout the book, Dickens uses physical appearance to represent the moral qualities of the French nobles. "The leprosy of unreality"disfigures the people attending the reception. Self-absorption and greed similarly disfigure their hearts and minds. The Marquis St. Evrémonde, with his attractive "face like a fine mask"that changes to look treacherous and cruel, represents all that is evil in the French aristocracy.

If the aristocracy does not care about God or about finding meaning in their lives, they certainly will give no thought to the lives of the lower classes. The incident with the Marquis and the child illustrates this disregard for the common people. By believing he can pay for a child's life like a piece of merchandise, the Marquis reveals himself to be heartless and supremely arrogant. Meanwhile, the silent challenge offered by Defarge and Madame Defarge at the scene suggests that the people's tolerance for such cruel treatment is near the breaking point.

Glossary

escutcheon the shield on which a family displays its crest.

the merry Stuart who sold it Charles II.

a Farmer-General a member of a rich organization that made a living off of high taxes.

Convulsionists members of a religious group with physical practices similar to the Shakers or the Holy Rollers.

cataleptic having a condition in which consciousness and feeling seem to be temporarily lost and the muscles become rigid: the condition may occur in epilepsy, schizophrenia, and other such conditions.

finger post a sign post.

Dervishes members of any of various Muslim religious groups dedicated to a life of poverty and chastity. Some dervishes practice whirling, chanting, and the like as religious acts.

Palace of the Tuileries where the French king and queen lived in Paris.