Vengeance, Vendetta and Vanity the Women of a Tale of Two...

Vengeance, Vendetta and Vanity: The women of A Tale of Two Cities In this world, there are many things that men may possibly never understand. Time travel†¦ gravity transcendence†¦ and over everything, women, to name a few. In Dickens’ novel, we see just how complex (and simple) women can be. In this paper I will be defending J.F. Hamilton’s â€Å"Of Weaving and Knitting†. When reading A Tale of Two Cities, it is easily discernible that Lucie Manette and M. Defarge are opposites. Lucie is British. M. Defarge is French. Lucie has golden blonde hair. M. Defarge has black hair. One may even say that their relationship is complicated as the novel in which they appear. When thinking of the two, Robert Frost’s 1920 poem â€Å"The Road Not Taken† comes†¦show more content†¦Lucie’s goddess counterpart Athena alludes to that of Madame Defarge, Kali, an Indian goddess, referred to as â€Å"the bad mother†. For obvious reasons, M. Defarge has a vendetta against the Evermonde family – they killed her family. This, in part, justifies M. Defarge’s longing for retribution. A woman may be angry, but Defarge takes it too far. When Dr. Manette comes to mind, you think of a fragile man who occasionally lapses into schizophrenia and cobbles. He was imprisoned by the Evermonde family for eighteen years. Yet, he does not want to kill Charles Darnay. Contrarily, Madame Defarge not only knits the name of Charles Darnay into her register, but also the names of his wife and child. She wants he and his family killed, which, (when compared to Dr. Manette) is completely ridiculous and maniacal. It’s important that we understand the dichotomy of Lucie Manette and Madame Defarge. Both are separate, complex (and in some cases, simple) creatures. The most obviously identifiable similarity between the two is that they are women. Lucie, feminine, sensitive, and kind is in complete antithesis to the dark, mas culine Madame Defarge. Lucie recalls men to life and Madame Defarge sentences them to death at â€Å"La Guillotine†. Works Cited Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. New York: Bantam Books, 1981. Novel. Frost, Robert. Mountain Interval. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1920. Book. Hamilton, J.F. â€Å"Of Weaving and Knitting.† Explicator 53.4