“Now, Heaven defeat the fancy of Lucie Darnay, and keep these feet far out of her life! For they are headlong, mad, and dangerous; and in the years so long after the breaking of the cask at Defarge’s wine-shop door, they are not easily purified once stained red.”(pg 230 Echoing Footsteps)
This passage shows the picture of Lucie Darnay and her family. Dickens clearly clues in that her family will be in danger if they travel to France or if the revolution carries over to England. For now she is safe because the “footsteps” or the travel of the Jacquerie are far away from her but it is clear that she will be in danger soon. It is made clear to the reader when Dickens talks about the footsteps being stained red and that they are not easily purified. He is saying that the revolutionists are bloodthirsty and once they have started killing, which they have, they will want even more revenge and “justification” and that it will not be easy for them to stop once they have started. I think that this is a great passage because it leaves the reader hanging. Dickens makes the reader like Lucie and her family so now that he has foreshadowed danger in her life it leaves them worried and wondering what will happen to her.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I journaled on this quote, and i agree with your interpretation of it. Something that i find interesting regarding the passage though, is that this is just after the death of Monsieur Defarge. Defarge represented the more moderate of the Jacques, although he was concerned with vengeance, he valued his personal connections to Dr. Manette, (and by extension Charles Darnay). The death of Defarge represents the death of that view of people as individuals as opposed to evil or good. While it is not so easy to draw the line between the two, the Jacquerie has lost all of its humane rationalism in the death of Defarge. When Defarge died, one becomes much more concerned for Lucy and her family.
I journaled on this quote too, but i am a little confused at your comment Corrina, that Monsieur Defarge died. I think that he is still living, as we see him in the next chapters.
I didn't see this one before I commented on Kristin's post, but this is the passage I used for my journal since I couldn't find anything about doubles, but I completely agree with your analysis! If you would like to see why, go check out the blog entry above this one :]
disregard my previous comment i misunderstood the passage
sorry :)
Post a Comment