A Tale of Two Cities Week 2

In the beginning of this week's reading, we are introduced, when Mr. Lorry goes to visit the Manettes, to Miss Pross who is Lucie's sister. It's very evident that she's jealous of Lucie. Mr. Lorry believes that she is a different type of jealous woman, though because she is willing to cling to "beauty she never had and accomplishments she never gained." Basically, she believes that she should be the one getting the attention that Lucie gets, even though she doesn't fully deserve it. Miss Pross even goes so far as to say that Lucie should have married Brother Soloman who was a "heartless scoundrel" because she didn't want her sister to be happy. However, I don't think anything good could have come from this because Lucie still would have receieved the same attention.

Further on into the conversation with Miss Pross and Mr. Lorry, Dr. Manette is brought up. It's stated that he will not talk about his time in prison, and even though he's gone back to work, he is putting up a front to how he really feels. But is this any surprise? He was locked away for so many years he has every right to continue feeling scared and oppressed. He even sleep-walks because he relives his experience every night. One thing that strikes me, though, is that we don't actually know the true reason why he was put in jail to begin with. Mr. Lorry inquires about it, but we never really find out.
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"The corner had been mentioned as a wonderful corner for echoes." This is not the first time that echoes have been brought up in the chapter, and I would like to know what they mean. It sounds like they're just footsteps, but what does an echo in a corner symbolize?
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As the chapter continues on, it appears that the Manettes are having some sort of a visitation. (Are they currently considered the "it" elite people?) They appear to be different than the rest of the elitists of the time because they're actually humane and kind to those around them. Or is it really just an act? My guess is probably not, but I have to throw it out there.

Of course, Mr. Darnay has come to visit Miss Manette. (I wonder what he wants...wink wink!) The conversation that they then have is somewhat out of character for somebody who is trying to make a girl fall in love with him, though. He makes mention of being at the Eifel Tower and workmen digging up a forgotten dungeon with the word DIG on it. Now, why does Dickens keep having his characters talk about things being burried and dug up? What is he trying to say??? Regardless of what Dickens is trying to say, it must be noted that Dr. Manette became faint while talking about the dungeon. This clearly ruffles his past memories and this very dungeon could be from his past.

On a completely different note, though, I did notice that when Darnay came into the room, Miss Pross began to twitch and had to leave the scene. I think she's in love with Darnay and that's the reason why she wanted Lucie to marry that Soloman guy. So now we have a love square going!

As the day continues, Mr. Carton drops in to visit Lucie as well, but it's clear he feels awkward and envious around Mr. Darnay. Darnay is sitting right beside Lucie, while Carton is standing up against a window. I can only imagine what the poor guy's thought process is! It's too bad that he has yet to tell Lucie how he really feels about her...Maybe he'll get drunk one night and tell her.

The next chapter, Monseigneur in Town, begins with the introduction of Monseigneur - one of the great lords in power at the Court. We see him eating lots and lots of chocolate which I think is meant to parallel his character. The chocolate they eat in France is very bitter and I think that his mass consumption of it shows that he is a bitter man.

The description of Monseigneur continues by giving us a little bit of a background on his life. He goes to the balls and operas. But most importantly, he took his sister from a convent because it wasn't the high life and forced her to marry a rich man so he could gain respect! One line that really gets to me about his character is this: "The leprosy of unreality disfigured every human creature in attendance upon Monseigneur." People hate him, yet he is so powerful, he has the right to sway peoples thoughts and make them believe that nothing horrible is going on in the world.

There is also another character involved toward the end of this chapter, Monsuier the Marquis. He comes across as just as bad, if not worse than, Monseigneur. He calls the lower class people "dogs" and says he would gladly run over each of them had he known who threw the coin back. What an arrogant power driven man he is. I think this could be taken as foreshaddowing / irony, though because don't the people eventually rebell against the people of power? He's got it coming to him.

As the section of reading progresses, we are taken to Monseigneur's home where he is drinking bordeaux and awaiting the arrival of his nephew, Darnay. It's kind of interesting that everything he does, such as the wine he drinks, is a symbol of his power. The people in the earlier chapter are sipping cheap wine from the street, yet he just sits at home drinking his bordeaux like there's nothing major about it.

The chapter moves on and we are taken to a conversation with Darnay. We find out that Darnay is the heir to the family fortune, but his disagreement with the family about government leads him to believe that he's going to give it up once he inherits it. I had a difficult time understanding what the rest of the conversation was about. Once again, Dickens has left me wondering at the end of a chapter. Partly because of mystery and partly because I just don't get it. Frustrating!!