In Chapter 7 of Book the Second, A new character Monsieur the Marquis is forced into our lives and drilled into our brain as the most terrible and self-centered person ever. Dickens introduces us to him on page 113, "He was a man of about sixty, handsomely dressed, haughty in manner, and with a face like a fine mask." Right off the bat I noticed he uses the word Haughty when describing Monsieur. I didn't have a clear idea of what the word meant so I looked it up. Haughty means disdainfully proud or snobbish. This is a personality trait we come to learn and despise real fast.
As the chapter continues Marquis is riding in his carriage through the town. Dickens notes that the driver of the carriage had been known of driving as if he were charging an enemy. Monsieur's carriage is dashing through streets sweeping around corners and overall disturbing the peace of the community. Sure enough Marquis is rattled by a rather large bump to cause the entire carriage and horses to come to halt, which is also said to rarely ever happen.
Screams and sobbing of local townspeople are invading Monsieur's ears. One man says "...it is a child", the shrieks and yells of others say "Killed!" "Dead!" Soon after all this commotion, Monsieur the Marquis realizes what had been done. Looking to resolve the issue, he pulls out his purse, and continues to say "It is extraordinary to me that you people cannot take care of yourselves and your children... How do I know what injury you have done my horses?" In these few lines Monsieur the Marquis shows us that he thinks horses are more important than a child's life. Seriously? He then throws a coin down to Defarge hoping that it will cover the life of the deceased boy. He must have major issues if he thinks giving a single gold coin will make everybody forget and forgive what just happened. He feels as if he is more superior in this part of the chapter and that these people should be thankful that he even thought about giving them a coin. This is his Haughtiness.
What lines struck me the most this whole chapter was when he said "Be a brave man my Gaspard! It is better for the poor little plaything to die so, than to live." Did he just say "Plaything?" Does a childs life not mean anything more than just a plaything to this man? Something that if you're bored, you can get and play with, then just throw in the corner when you're done? He shows no respect for any of the townspeople and it truly shines in this part of the chapter.
Marquis opinion on people and life is very twisted. Nothing phases this mans emotions and it is very creepy and scary indeed. I feel as if he will be a very big character in the rest of the book and can't wait to find out.
Courtland: I like your comments at the start of your post on Dickens' physical description of the Marquis -- this is an important description that we weren't able to touch upon in class.
ReplyDeleteBut make sure you attribute the proper quote to the right character. Later on, you claim that the Marquis calls the dead child a "plaything." This is actually DeFarge who says this. Why might he use this word to describe the child?