The Vengeance

Dear Decathletes:

Let's talk about a minor character of A Tale of Two Cities. That character is The Vengeance.

Whenever I think of the French Revolution I always think about the above famous painting. It's called Liberty Leading the People.

When I think of our own American Revolution I always think about the participation of males, and how they led the revolution and the fighting. But when it comes to the French Revolution I always think of women participating; maybe that's because of this famous painting. But after reading A Tale of Two Cities I will think even more so about the participation of women, primarily because of the characters of Madame Defarge, and The Vengeance. Defarge is a cold, calculating woman, but in my opinion, The Vengeance represents the out of control passion of the mobs. These two characters work together in a couple of scenes in the book.

The Vengeance shows up in another scene with another strange character--the Wood-sawyer. Let me draw your attention to the Wood-sawyer beginning on page 281. In this section of the book, Lucie attempts to see her imprisoned husband from the street; she hopes to see him when he is next to the prison window. As she waits on the street, she eventually talks with the Wood-sawyer, who explains to her that his saw is named "My Little Guillotine," and that he pretends that when he saws the wood the logs fall like heads chopped off by a real guillotine. "And off her head goes" We later find out he has also named his saw "Little Sainte Guillotine."



He certainly is a creepy character!! (I guess another reason I think of women and the French Revolution is because the Guillotine is always referred to as a female. They addres it as a "her, or as 'the great sharp female.'" Did anyone notice that?)



The Wood-sawyer appears even creepier when Lucie sees him dancing with the Vengeance and many other peasants, as they dance the Carmagnole. See this web site to find out more info on this dance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmagnole. That whole Carmagnole is equally creepy. It's like a scene where the crazies have taken over the world. What do you think? Am I wrong?



You can also go to this web site to see a YouTube video called The Carmagnole. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UexdWkqkrp0

Any thoughts on the purpose of the Wood-sawyer character, or the scene with peasants dancing the Carmagnole?