A Tale of Two Cities s5

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A Tale of Two Cities Book II Chapter 8

I. Notes

The bleak setting through which the Marquis rides testifies that the irresponsible habits of the ruling class starve the land as much as they starve the common people. Reminiscent of the spilled wine smearing the faces and hands of the people of Saint Antoine, the setting sun bathes the Marquis in a crimson light, symbolically covering him in blood. Whether the blood represents that of the dying peasants, the child he just killed, or his own bloody death is uncertain. What is certain is that, like many other members of his class, the Marquis concerns himself only with his own well- being and can't be bothered with the fate of the people who rely upon him for their lives. He is very interested, for example, in the whereabouts of the man the road- mender spotted beneath his carriage but is indifferent to the plight of the widow at the graveyard.

II. Terms

1. fagged up a steep hill- toiled up the hill slowly and strenuously.

2. the heavy drag- a brake used to slow the carriage down as it descended the hill.

3. a forest for the chase- the wood where hunting took place.

4. the chain of the shoe- a chain beneath the carriage, attached to the brake.

5. flambeau- a torch.

III. Questions

1. The setting sun's blush on the Marquis' face suggests what fate awaits him?

2. What accounts for the apathetic conditions of the crops, the village, and its people? 3. The reins on Monsieur’s coach “twined snake-like about [the horses] heads in the evening air, as if he came attended by the Furies.” How do you think this allusion is fitting?

4. In the last chapter the Marquis thought of the peasants as rats and dogs, and here he addresses the road-mender as "pig." Why is his rudeness ironic here?

5. How does this chapter confirm a connection between Charles and the Marquis?