Dear Eagles:
In a previous entry, I explained how Dickens uses a Greek allusion to the Three Furies. I forgot to mention one other allusion to Greek Mythology. That is an allusion to the Gorgon's Head. The Gorgon's Head was a vicious monster with sharp fangs. Her power was so strong that anyone who looked at her would turn to stone.
Dickens uses this allusion to describe the Marquis de Evermonde. As mentioned previously, this character is extremely evil. Dickens really went out of his way to come up with an evil character to represent the aristocracy. But he was trying to make a point about the role of the aristocracy and how their irresponsible behavior led the peasants to revolution. And by making him so evil, he makes the nephew, Charles Darnay, husband of Lucie, seem like a really nice guy. Additionally, by making him so evil early in the book, he sets us up for the climax of the story, duirngwhich the marquis' previous evil behavior is revealed.
I hope I am making the case that we have to pick up on Greek and biblical allusions when reading literature.
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