Breaking Gender Stereotypes in A Tale of Two Cities
The men and the women of A Tale of Two Cites are violent, loving, cowardly, brave, and ruthless. Some people are weak and spoiled, while others are badly treated and vindictive. Many contrasts between men and women can be found within this story.
A Tale of Two Cities clearly portrays very distinct divisions in the behavior of men. The aristocrats, or upperclassmen, rule and control all of France. The members of the aristocracy never have to undergo hardships; they always have everything presented to them on a silver platter. They do whatever they want with total disregard for the peasants. On the other hand, the peasants always have to work hard for everything in life. Due to the aristocracy, the peasants are constantly starving, enough as to drink spilt wine from a filthy street (24-26). They loathe the wealthy people who have created these horrible living conditions. This drives the peasants to revolution, and the decapitation of the aristocrats via the guillotine. They have a mob mentality and kill everyone who they believe is the enemy. Neither the aristocrats nor the peasants show any compassion toward the other social class.
Some men in A Tale of Two Cities contrast greatly. Sydney Carton is a drunk who works for an unappreciative lawyer. He has no family; he is "a disappointed drudge who cares for no man on earth, and no man cares for him" (75). He is referred to as "the Jackal" who is necessary in society, but not welcomed or wanted (77). Sydney loves Lucie Manette, but he is not ...
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...l of men. The oppressed male peasants join together to form a group of Jacques, or soldiers, to overthrow the aristocracy. The Jacques use The Defarge's wine-shop as a meeting place. Throughout the story, Madame Defarge is either murdering someone or knitting. She is always "sitting in her usual place in the wine-shop, knitting away assiduously" (162). Her friends are a twisted as she. Her closest confidant is known as The Vengeance. Both Madame Defarge and the Jacques fight until the end.
In A Tale of Two Cities, all gender stereotypes are broken. Women can be ruthless murderers and men can be passive cowards. La Guillotine is the sole authority in Paris, it is fueled by a mob mentality that recognizes class distinctions, not gender.
Like the Good Other Woman, the Evil Other Woman often spends much of her life hidden away in the castle, secret room, or whatever, a fact suggesting that even a virtuous woman’s lot is the same she would have merited had she been the worst of criminals. The heroine’s discovery of such Other Women is in the one case an encounter with women’s oppression-their confinement as wives, mothers, and daughters-and in the other with a related repression: the confinement of a Hidden Woman inside those genteel writers and readers who, in the idealization of the heroine’s virtues, displace their own rebellious
Charles Dickens stereotypes many of his Characters in A Tale of Two Cities. Among these stereotyped characters are The Marquis D' Evremond,
Essentially, the rural bourgeoisie attempted to shift social hostility away from issues of wealth and land, but rather focuses such hostilities towards individuals and the aristocratic “caste”. “[The rural bourgeoisie] exaggerated the importance of genealogy; it caricatured the pride and insolence of the noble, which were no doubt a crueler torture for the bourgeois than for the peasant; it criticized the ways in which the aristocracy strove to maintain social distance; and it sought to persuade peasants, who also hated the aristocracy, that the nobility’s arrogance was the chief source of social conflict.” Although anti-noble attitudes existed long before the Revolution, the rumors started by the rural bourgeoisie began to remind the peasantry of the caste system that was in place under the First Republic. The fear that resulted in this believed renewal of the caste system only strengthened the peasantry’s anti-noble ideology into hatred. Corbin argues that the importance of rumor was imperative to the murder of Monéy claiming, “they highlight the contrast between the depth of the social tensions, the intensity of the anxiety, and the restraint of violence.” It is no surprise then that with such heavy issues weighing on the minds of the peasantry, that there was such a surge of violence with
Monsieur Defarge is a revolutionary disguised as a mere bartender. He communicates secretly with his fellow revolutionaries in the bar and helps to orchestrate the plot to overthrow the French aristocracy. Despite the power he holds, he is overshadowed by his ruthless wife, Mrs. Defarge. Mrs. Defarge is a very powerful woman with a lot of influence, and she is ultimately the driving force behind the revolution’s plot. She decides who to kill and knits their name into a coded list. Monsieur Defarge is cooperative and submissive to her, as seen when he agrees with every part of the story she tells without being prompted. Monsieur Defarge is a masculine character with a lot of influence, but his relationship with his wife is not reflective of what was typical during the time period of the French revolution. This is used by Dickens to show that society’s attitudes towards masculinity and femininity are
The Attitudes Toward Marriage in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Jane Austin wrote the novel Pride and Prejudice in 1813. The novel provides a great deal of information and gives us a detailed insight to the different attitudes towards marriages at the time. Pride and Prejudice is focused and written about the lifestyles among "gentry". The "gentry" was the middle to upper class citizens in England. In the novel Jane Austin shows us that social status is a very important factor and that is was essential to have connections with people higher up in the gentry.
little, if nothing at all based on a good love match. This can be seen
The protagonists, The Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, consider it their life’s ambition to sadistically control and dominate those around them through sexual intrigue. These two villains are indeed locked in psychological combat to see who can actually ‘out-do’ the other in stalking, capturing and destroying the souls of others. Taking absolute pleasure in ripping any virtue from the hearts of their prey, Merteuil and Valmont wave their accomplishments in front of each other like spoils of war. The less the chance of surrender, the more relentless is the pursuit.
“A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of” (Austen). The bluntness of this quote fully encompasses the main theme of an advantageous marriage for the English novelist, Jane Austen. Her realism, biting irony and social commentary have gained her historical importance among scholars and critics (Southam). Austen’s major novels, including Pride and Prejudice, were composed between the years 1795-1815. During those twenty years England was at the height of its power facing many historical landmarks (Thomson). It is no coincidence that Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice, coincides directly with the historical events of this time period.
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice In 1796 Jane Austin wrote a classic novel named Pride and Prejudice. She wrote many novels but they were not published. In 1813 the novel was published.
...rcy have negative first impressions of each other, but they each learn from the other and humble themselves. Elizabeth bases all of her judgments against Mr. Darcy on what other people have let her know of his character. He also lets his sheltered upbringing obscure his idea of what really matters and it creates a certain difficulty with his emotions for Elizabeth. Together, they help each other to realize their faults and the book ends in the expectation of their marriage. The two main characters are both able to connect with the modern generation of today. Their romance paves the way to young women today. They look up to Elizabeth because of her ability to speak her mind. Darcy also portrays an image of what adolescents girls believe their husband should be like. Both Darcy and Elizabeth showcase many traits that allow them to have a successful and happy marriage.
single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife'.
seen this type of marriage before in her time so she would have a good
Since Mr. Bennett has no sons, his heir is to be the closest male to the family. This turns out to be a man named Mr. Collins. Collins is a priest who is very arrogant. He marries Elizabeth's friend, Charlotte Lucas. Charlotte marries Collins to get away from he life, not for love.
Now this story probably stirred up many people because it is reasonably sound and shocking. However looking beyond the surface, one notices subtle innuendoes about females, males, and violence. In this urban legend, females are portrayed as weak, frightful, and naïve. Jane in seeking help from a male, suggest that she is weak and needed a man to protect her. This deceptive portrayal of females is typic...
Relationships and marriages play a crucial role in the novel, Pride and Prejudice. Some of the important relationships shown in the novel are out of pure love while, most are together for the sense of security, money, and convenience for the both of the partners. Each character holds a different perspective on love and marriage. A handful of characters even become involved in each others’ “love life.” In this particular time period, the parents of the daughters purposefully try to marry them off based on money and looks. In this case, we see Mrs. Bennet play the role of the crazy mother who wants her daughter to be married off to any man with money. Mrs. Bennet does not care one bit if they do not love each other, her one care is money money money. Mr. Bennet doesn’t push the marrying off of his daughters because of the fact, that he feels indifferent about his marriage with Mrs. Bennet. The marriages in the book are either hits or misses.