Who was the man under the Marquis carriage and what has happened to him?

Summary and Analysis Book 2: Chapter 8

Summary

Table of Contents Show

Summary and Analysis Book 2: Chapter 8
Summary and Analysis Book 2: Chapter 15
Original Text
Modern Text
Who was the man under the carriage in A Tale of Two Cities?
What was the fate of the man who was under the carriage and murdered the Marquis?
Who killed Monsieur the Marquis?
What did the carriage of Monsieur the Marquis do?

As the Marquis travels from Paris to the Evrémonde country estate, he rides through a landscape of sparse and withered crops. When his carriage stops in a village near his home, the Marquis questions a road-mender who claims he saw a man riding under the carriage, but the man is no longer there. Having alerted the village official, Gabelle, to be on the lookout for the mystery man, the Marquis drives on. Before he can reach his estate, however, a grief-stricken woman stops him at the graveyard and begs him for a marker for the grave of her dead husband. Ignoring her pleas, the Marquis continues on to his chateau. When he arrives, he asks if "Monsieur Charles"has arrived from England yet.

Analysis

The bleak setting through which the Marquis rides testifies that the irresponsible habits of the ruling class starve the land as much as they starve the common people. Reminiscent of the spilled wine smearing the faces and hands of the people of Saint Antoine, the setting sun bathes the Marquis in a crimson light, symbolically covering him in blood. Whether the blood represents that of the dying peasants, the child he just killed, or his own bloody death is uncertain. What is certain is that, like many other members of his class, the Marquis concerns himself only with his own well-being and can't be bothered with the fate of the people who rely upon him for their lives. He is very interested, for example, in the whereabouts of the man the road-mender spotted beneath his carriage but is indifferent to the plight of the widow at the graveyard.

Glossary

fagged up a steep hill toiled up the hill slowly and strenuously.

the heavy drag a brake used to slow the carriage down as it descended the hill.

a forest for the chase the wood where hunting took place.

the chain of the shoe a chain beneath the carriage, attached to the brake.

flambeau a torch.

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.

Original Text	Modern Text
But for the latter inconvenience, the carriage probably would not have stopped; carriages were often known to drive on, and leave their wounded behind, and why not? But the frightened valet had got down in a hurry, and there were twenty hands at the horses’ bridles.	If eth ersohs nahd’t pdoteps, teh igerarca bolyrabp luwod haev etpk ggion. aiersrgCa oentf verod on dna ftle beidnh mwhrveoe hety adh hrut. nAd hyw tno? Btu teh fehgiendrt rdievr dah tngoet dnow ukcqliy off eht otp of het hacco, and ten epopel ldhe the sshroe’ riedlsb.
“What has gone wrong?” said Monsieur, calmly looking out.	“hWat’s wrgon?” adis het anm isnedi. He ymllac eodkol uot of eht gcairrea.
A tall man in a nightcap had caught up a bundle from among the feet of the horses, and had laid it on the basement of the fountain, and was down in the mud and wet, howling over it like a wild animal.	A lalt man agrewin a cgianpth adh pdeikc up a bnleud fmro dneur hte ssoerh’ feet nda ldia it on het seba of hte futinnoa. He was egnkniel onwd in teh etw umd, ghownil nad gyinrc liek a diwl nlaaim.
“Pardon, Monsieur the Marquis!” said a ragged and submissive man, “it is a child.”	“seExuc me, nuomreis eht mqsriua!” disa a emek mna in eragdg hilogctn. “It is a dichl.”
“Why does he make that abominable noise? Is it his child?”	“hWy is he hoiwlgn keli htat? Is it hsi lcdih?”
“Excuse me, Monsieur the Marquis—it is a pity—yes.”	“sxcuEe me, nomeirsu teh masuqir. It’s a hemsa, tub yes, it is.”
The fountain was a little removed; for the street opened, where it was, into a space some ten or twelve yards square. As the tall man suddenly got up from the ground, and came running at the carriage, Monsieur the Marquis clapped his hand for an instant on his sword-hilt.	ehT otnifnau wsa a etiltl est ffo orfm eht erttes, rfo het tertes peoden tnio a acpes of obtua nte or vlteew qeuars radys. The lalt nma sdeyndlu got up rfom hte udrnog adn anr wadtro eth graecira. suireMon the mqiausr ercaehd for the anlhde of sih sodwr.
“Killed!” shrieked the man, in wild desperation, extending both arms at their length above his head, and staring at him. “Dead!”	“He’s eenb ilekld!” eaemrdsc hte amn, xdtngiene tobh smar ervo shi hade elteedprsay. “He’s aedd!”
The people closed round, and looked at Monsieur the Marquis. There was nothing revealed by the many eyes that looked at him but watchfulness and eagerness; there was no visible menacing or anger. Neither did the people say anything; after the first cry, they had been silent, and they remained so. The voice of the submissive man who had spoken, was flat and tame in its extreme submission. Monsieur the Marquis ran his eyes over them all, as if they had been mere rats come out of their holes.	Teh ocdwr eaetdrgh roduna nad kdooel at sroeminu eht uaqrsim. yehT lyno eokldo at him fureyllac nad eeyrlag, withtuo yan canmee or genra. No noe idsa ytnghain. tfrAe the rftis cyr htye hda lal detays cpeeytlmlo slneti. heT iecvo of the keem nma asw tfal adn tame with onmssuibis. The usiqmar dokeol at mhte lal as if tehy reew tars htat adh tjus meoc otu of rheti ehols.
He took out his purse.	eTh rmusaqi ootk uto sih surep.
“It is extraordinary to me,” said he, “that you people cannot take care of yourselves and your children. One or the other of you is for ever in the way. How do I know what injury you have done my horses. See! Give him that.”	“I’m zaadem ttha uyo pepleo acn’t teka arce of vseouesryl nda uyro lchniedr. Oen or oeatrhn of uyo is wyaasl teggtin in teh yaw. hoW okswn who alybd uoy’ve rtuh my sshoer? eHer! ievG mhi ttha.”
He threw out a gold coin for the valet to pick up, and all the heads craned forward that all the eyes might look down at it as it fell. The tall man called out again with a most unearthly cry, “Dead!”	He odsets a gldo cino on eht gdnruo ofr hte drierv to kcip up, adn vernoeye nalede drrfoaw to htwca it as it lelf. Teh tall anm cderi tou aigan eaedytepslr, “He’s aded!”
He was arrested by the quick arrival of another man, for whom the rest made way. On seeing him, the miserable creature fell upon his shoulder, sobbing and crying, and pointing to the fountain, where some women were stooping over the motionless bundle, and moving gently about it. They were as silent, however, as the men.	Aehtron nam, ofr ohmw oeyvenre eesl mdea ayw, rardeiv ylicuqk nad epdotps mih. On sgeien htsi alte corme, eht eemk anm flel toon sih lehrsuod, bsbngio adn nrgyic and itnnogip to eht ouaftnni wheer oems omwne wree tbne oevr eht tnosesliom edlunb. ehTy demvo udnaor it netgyl, tleylocpme lniest, as erew hte emn.
“I know all, I know all,” said the last comer. “Be a brave man, my Gaspard! It is better for the poor little plaything to die so, than to live. It has died in a moment without pain. Could it have lived an hour as happily?”	“I onkw, I wnko,” disa eht nma who dah juts aierrvd. “Be abver, aasGrpd! It is rtteeb orf the ropo lcidh to edi shit wya thna to eivl. It sah iedd in an ainsntt itutwho rfsenfiug. uClod it eavh ildve oen horu as lahpyip?”
“You are a philosopher, you there,” said the Marquis, smiling. “How do they call you?”	“uoY aer a oriepohhlsp,” disa het sqmirau, gsliinm. “ahtW is yrou anem?”

Who was the man under the carriage in A Tale of Two Cities?

The Marquis St. Evrémonde appears in the two following chapters "Monseigneur in the Country" (when he is told by a road worker that a dust-covered figure was hanging on to the bottom of his carriage) and "the "Gorgon's Head" (dining with his nephew, Charles Darnay).

What was the fate of the man who was under the carriage and murdered 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.

Who killed Monsieur the Marquis?

Answer and Explanation: In A Tale of Two Cities, the Marquis St. Evremonde was killed by Gaspard. Gaspard, a peasant, killed the Marquis in retaliation.

What did the carriage of Monsieur the Marquis do?

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.