Predetermined Fate In A Tale Of Two Cities

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The Theme of Predetermined Fate Charles Dickens was one of the best fictional writers of his time and wrote many books including, A Tale of Two Cities. He was determined, skilled, and ambitious, which led to his great literary success. His many books also won him great, unexpected poularity around the world. In A Tale of Two Cities, not only does he focus on the theme of the Revolution, but the fact that fate is predetermined. The theme of predetermined fate is supported throughout the book by the metaphors of the fountain/water, the echoing footsteps, and knitting.
The theme of predetermined fate is supported by the first metaphor of the water/the fountain through the characters, …show more content…

Madame Defarge is knitting a registry of people who are condemned to die. Anyone who crosses her path that she feels deserve to be killed will be killed. She is basically knitting their fate herself. Once their name makes it onto the list, there is no removing it. Their fate is determined, then and there and there is no changing it. As Dickens describes, “It would be easier for the weakest poltroon that lives, to erase himself from existence, than to erase one letter of his name or crimes from the knitted register of Madame Defarge” (132). One family in particular whose name made it onto the registry is the Evrèmondes. As a young girl, a majority Madame Defarge’s family, including her sister, unborn nephew, brother, father, and brother-in-law all died because of the Evrèmonde brothers. Since that time, she has been determined to kill his entire family. We learn that they are “To be registered as doomed to destruction,” returned Defarge …. The chateau and all the race,” retunred Defarge “Extermination” (132). She is officially knitting them into her registry and changing their fate forever. At this point, their fate has been decided and even though Darnay does actually escape, there is nothing the Evrèmonde family could have done to change the outcome of the rest of its members. In addition to her hate for the Evrèmonde family, Madame Defarge’s troubled past also makes her hate the aristocracy as a whole. Anyone she believes is a member will be immediately registered in her knitting and most likely sentenced to death. This is not uncommon at all. Just in one day, “Fifty-two were to roll that afternoon on the life-tide of the city to the boundless everlasting sea” (269). Fifty-two is not a high number of killings, its actually around the average number of people killed each day for being an accused member of the aristocracy. Just like the Evrèmondes, their fate

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