Animosity In A Tale Of Two Cities
In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens’s descriptions and mentions of fountains demonstrate the increasing animosity of the rich by the poor, thereby foreshadowing revolution. Fountains are mentioned several times and are associated with a primary cause of the French Revolution: the poor treatment of the lower classes by the rich. It is near a fountain that Monsieur the Marquis’s carriage runs over a child (Dickens 135). It is also near a fountain that Monsieur the Marquis stops in town (Dickens 140). Furthermore, when he arrives at his château and climbs up the steps the only sound that can be heard is “the falling of a fountain into its stone basin” (Dickens 145). Considering that fountains were common gathering places during the French
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For example, “The waters of the fountain ran, the swift river ran, the day into the evening, so much life in the city ran into death according to rule” (Dickens 137). In this case, the fact that death occurs at such a high rate demonstrates the chaos of the time, hinting that discontent is stirring and revolution is near. Later, the flow of the water is compared to the flow of time: “The fountain in the village flowed unseen and unheard—both melting away, like the minutes that were falling from the spring of Time—through three dark hours. Then, the gray water of both began to be ghostly in the light, and the eyes of the stone faces in the château were opened” (Dickens 156). Water runs to its final destination with time, which parallels the terrible events that, with time, lead the poor to finally instigate insurrection. The water of the fountains is also compared to blood: “In the glow, the water of the château fountain turned to blood” (Dickens 156). This comparison further highlights how the fountains foreshadow revolution as this quote implicitly reveals the bloodshed that will occur. By associating the fountains with Monsieur the Marquis and comparing water’s inevitable course with the inevitability of revolution, Dickens foreshadows the French
For example, “The waters of the fountain ran, the swift river ran, the day into the evening, so much life in the city ran into death according to rule” (Dickens 137). In this case, the fact that death occurs at such a high rate demonstrates the chaos of the time, hinting that discontent is stirring and revolution is near. Later, the flow of the water is compared to the flow of time: “The fountain in the village flowed unseen and unheard—both melting away, like the minutes that were falling from the spring of Time—through three dark hours. Then, the gray water of both began to be ghostly in the light, and the eyes of the stone faces in the château were opened” (Dickens 156). Water runs to its final destination with time, which parallels the terrible events that, with time, lead the poor to finally instigate insurrection. The water of the fountains is also compared to blood: “In the glow, the water of the château fountain turned to blood” (Dickens 156). This comparison further highlights how the fountains foreshadow revolution as this quote implicitly reveals the bloodshed that will occur. By associating the fountains with Monsieur the Marquis and comparing water’s inevitable course with the inevitability of revolution, Dickens foreshadows the French