Edmund Burke In Tale Of Two Cities

Reflection of Burke in Tale of Two Cities

The novel Tale of Two cities, is a historical context which author Charles Dickens illustrates the french revolution and it’s many concepts expressed through many characters such as Madame Defarge, a revolutionist and the Evrémonde family, aristocrats. In “Reflections on the Revolution in France”, philosopher Edmund Burke expresses his concerns of the french revolution, and how without proper organization chaos would surely ensue. Within Tale of Two Cities Dickens develops Edmund Burke’s concepts from “Reflections on the Revolution in France” which include the revolutionists thirst of violence and power but he also challenges Burke’s ideas of aristocracy. This can be seen in multiple excerpts in

This can be seen through the Monseigneur, who represents aristocrats in the novel. Throughout the novel the Monseigneur is perceived to be a very unkind, pampered and heartless man. In the novel it states, “He took out his purse. "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." 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!(139)” . This shows the indecency and heartless compassion that the Monseigneur and essentially the aristocrats lack towards the lowered minorities. To not even think twice about killing a young boy but to rather just throw a coin, and ask if his horses are okay are the deepest form of indecency that the aristocrats showed towards the lower minorities. Burke claims that the aristocrats are “good people” and are primarily are what’s needed for the sake of the country. But this can be contradicted in the novel based on Monseigneur’s character who is anything but. In the novel, Monseigneur is being pampered and being feed chocolate by four men, “Monseigneur was about to take his chocolate. Monseigneur could swallow a great many things with ease, and was by some few sullen minds supposed to be rather rapidly swallowing France; but, his morning's chocolate could not so much as get into the throat of Monseigneur, without the aid of four strong men besides the Cook. Yes. It took four men, all four ablaze with gorgeous decoration, and the Chief of them unable to exist with fewer than two gold watches in his pocket, emulative of the noble and chaste fashion set by Monseigneur, to conduct the