Similarities Between Sydney Carton And Madame Defarge

The Woman and Man of No Delicacy

“Sadly, sadly, the sun rose; it rose upon no sadder sight than the man of good abilities and good emotions, incapable of their directed exercise, incapable of his own help and his own happiness, sensible of the blight on him, and resigning himself to let it eat him away,” (Dickens). This is written to describe a man of the name Sydney Carton from the historical fiction novel A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. However, this can also describe the revolutionary character, Madame Defarge. In the trilogy about the horrifying French Revolution, the Darnay family battles to stay alive throughout the bloody, destructive uprising. Hidden beneath the canopy of the story, however, Dickens knits many parallels to France and England as a warning to his country that it could someday face a

Revealed in their personality, motives, and backstories, their analogy becomes pronounced as the novel develops. The comparison of Sydney and Madame Defarge is most evidently shown in their personality traits. Both characters present a determined, secretive identity yearning to release their emotions and both metaphorically embody biblical personas. For example, Madame Defarge displays her persistent nature when asked by Monsieur Defarge when the revolutionaries will stop their killing. She replies “At extermination… tell the Wind and Fire where to stop, but don’t tell me,” (353-354). Madame Defarge will not stop her fight until all of the oppressive upper-class, known as bourgeoisie, in France are annihilated and equality is restored. Although, Dickens eventually makes it clear that her real intentions are to destroy the last of the Evremonde family and she will not stop unless her goal is fulfilled or she dies trying. Sydney Carton also demonstrates this tenacious behavior when saving Charles Darnay’s life. Creating his intricate plan to take the place of Darnay at the guillotine,