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Theme Of Hatred In Les Misérables And A Tale Of Two Cities

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Revolution nurtures a spirit of hatred, and therefore, retaliation within the people. This theme reoccurs in Les Misérables and A Tale of Two Cities as both authors investigate the nature of this hatred. According to Daniel Gordon, sovereignty should be significant in investigating how revolutions manifest. In its simplest form, the sovereign kings steal free will from its society leaving everyone else powerless (Gordon 3). Therefore, the citizens view the revolution with enthusiasm as citizens were rising up in revolt and overthrowing old aristocratic traditions (Glancy 4). Hugo introduces “The Friends of the ABC,” a revolutionary group known for initiating the insurrection of 1832, and their leader, the uncompromising Enjolras. Hugo exhibits Enjolras’s significance in the novel through his tough leadership and complete selflessness. Rather than being …show more content…

Madame Defarge takes part in planning the revolution with her husband Monsieur Defarge, owner of the Defarge wine house. She leads the revolution and resolves the many sorrows of the poor. She delineates the significance of the work they have done to plan the revolution when her husband admits his discomposure that the revolution will not come in his lifetime. His wife responds with “How long demanded madam, composedly, ‘does it take to make and store the lightning?”(Dickens 152), underlining that even though she may not live to see the revolution in action, she took part in spawning its spirit. Dickens juxtaposes Madame Defarge’s initial appearance with her illustration during the revolution to emphasize the intensity of her hatred. Initially, Madame Defarge is a silent witness in her knitting (Glancy 38), which masks her thirst for vengeance. As the revolution begins, she embodies characteristics such as trustworthiness and strong leadership

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Madame Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz both complement and contradict one another with the beliefs of the societal norms that are presented throughout the novel. The function assigned by the addition of foils in The Awakening in support of the theme are represented by the effects upon others characters, such as Madame Pontellier, and the choice activities that are available to them. The idea of how women cannot obtain societal norms without the elimination of their independence is strongly represented in the novella, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, by foil characters.

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Dickens again is describing darkness, indirectly describing Madame Defarge for the second time, that is encompassing people in France. All in all, Dickens uses the motif of darkness with the character Madame Defarge to show that she is the antagonist in the

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