Carton And Defarge- Compaing And Contrasting Essay, Research Paper
In the 16th century Charles Dickens wrote the unforgettable novel A Tale of Two
Cities. In it he created two of the most remarkable fictional characters of all
time. One is the bloodthirsty Madame Defarge, and the other is the selfless
Sydney Carton. Madame Defarge is a peasant who seeks revenge on all aristocrats
who cross her path. In contrast, Sydney Carton is a man who is willing to do
anything for the love of his life. While the actions of these two characters
clearly delineate their differences, the underlying forces that drive each
character are quite similar.
>From Madame Defarge’s actions, it is clear that she is the evil antagonist in
the novel. Even in the manner that she is physically described, she is presented
as “dark” and therefore she is seen as evil. She is as evil as she is because
when she was younger the D’Evremonde brothers killed her whole family. Now the
purpose of her life is to procure revenge on the D’Evremonde family and every
other aristocrat. Even when told by her beloved husband she has gone to far, she
does not stop. Instead her repartee to him was, “Tell the wind and fire where to
stop; not me”. In it she evidently expresses how she will never forget what was
done to her family and how the D’Evermondes are deserving of what they will
receive. The actions she performs in her daily life demonstrate her evilness. In
the novel it seems as though she is the “bad guy” who is starting up all the
trouble. It is her need for revenge, in the book, that starts the revolution.
While Dickens presents Sydney Carton as a worthless drunk, in contrast to Madame
Defarge, he is the Christ-like noble figure of the novel. He appears to the
readers of A Tale of Two Cities as a worthless drunk and a man who has not
acquired any high social position in his life. Also, it seems as though his life
has resulted to nothing. At one point he says, “I care for no man on earth, and
no man on earth cares for me”, but that changes when he meets Lucie Manette. He
develops an undying juvenile-like love for her. Sydney is willing to do anything
for her and tells her so in a beautiful speech he made to her. In it he states,
“Think now and then that there is a man who would give up his life, to keep a
life you love beside you”. Although she does not marry him, he continues to love
her until the day he dies. While anticipating if he should give up his life for
her love Charles, he demonstrates his selflessness by saying, “Let the Doctor
play the winning game; I will play the losing one.” What Sydney is losing is his
life and that is in order for Doctor Manette to remain with his son in law and
for Lucie, her husband. Both men love Lucie and they know she will not be the
same without her husband, so Sydney offers his life to keep a life Lucie loves
beside her.
While the actions of these two characters symbolize good versus evil, the
driving forces that drive both Madame Defarge and Sydney Carton ironically are
very similar. Both Defarge and Carton live their lives passionately. Madame
Defarge passionately devotes her live to seeking revenge. She constantly knits a
list of those she wishes dead in order to fulfill that wish. She even attempts
to ruin the lives of people not on her list in order to ruin the lives of those
on her list. Sydney Carton is so passionately in love with Lucie Manette and not
willing to give up. He states, “It is a far, far better thing that I do, that I
have ever done; it is a Far, far better rest than I have ever known”. He is
speaking of how is life has resulted to nothing so what he will now do it better
than anything he has ever done before. Also, everything he does his for his
love, who he loves so passionately. Along with that, in his speech in which he
confesses his love for her, he speaks of how his love will continue till the day
he dies. He says, “In the hour of my death…that my last avowal of myself was
made to you”. In addition, both are very strong characters. The stand up for
what they believe in and will not give up. An example is Sydney Carton when
Lucie marries Charles Darnay. He does not end his love for her, instead, it
continues on until the day he dies. An example of Madame Defarge’s strength is
when she continues to search for another way to get Charles killed after he is
released from prison and she is successful due to that strength. A third
similarity is that both characters are exceedingly determined and have the
patience needed to reach their goals.
The contrast between Sydney Carton and Madame Defarge serves to develop a
reoccurring theme in the novel, man’s persistency to achieve his goal. Although
Madame Defarge and Sydney Carton seem to be such opposites, their underlying
forces are basically the same. With Defarge being so evil and Carton so good, it
is quite odd to think that they are similarly passionate, strong, and determined
to reach their goals. In reading A Tale of Two Cities one would think that there
is nothing alike between Madame Defarge and Sydney Carton, however, they both
carry out their lives with the same dedication and consecration in order to
fulfill their very different lifestyles.