especially the French Revolution, begins by criticizing the aristocrats' treatment of the poor people of France. In the seventh chapter of book two, the Monsieur the Marquis had accidentally driven his carriage over a young child, killing him. Instead of worrying about the child's welfare, the Monsieur's reaction was to worry about his horses: "One or the other of you is for ever in the way. How do I know what injury you have done to my horses."(Dickens, 111) He deemed their lives inferior and insignificant, as illustrated when he threw a gold coin to the child's devastated father as compensation. The Monsieur the Marquis revealed his true sentiments to his nephew: "Repression is the only lasting philosophy. Fear and slavery, my friend, will keep the dogs obedient to the whip. . ."(Dickens, 123) Dickens makes it abundantly obvious that the aristocrats are to meet doom, with symbolic references to fate and death. For instance, as the Monsieur the Marquis rides through the country, a glowing red sunset appeared over him, signifying his bloody death. In the words of the author, ". . . the sun and the Marquis going down together. . ."(Dickens, 114) Madame Defarge's knitting is also a symbol of impending doom, as she records the names of all those who are to die when the revolution takes place.Dickens also expresses his disillusionment with some of the outcomes of the French Revolution. He believed that the people did not just liberate themselves, but also took vengeance towards the aristocracy. This is confirmed in the conversation between the revolutionaries: " Well, well, but one must stop somewhere. After all, the question is still where?' At extermination,' said Madame."(Dickens, 341) Madame Defarge embodies this attitude, as she wants to have Charles Darnay killed, not because he has done something wrong, but because he is related to the EvrMonde family, which killed her relative. Though "Dickens seems almost to regard violence as the ...
