Love over Violent Revenge?

楊帆 梅璨

◆Abstract：Symbols abound in Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities， among which the symbols of “knitting” and “a golden thread” contrast each other， suggesting love over violent revenge in soothing hatred. But if we read closer， we will find the incarnation of violent revenge – “knitting” – ubiquitous in the novel， way more than that of “the golden thread” representing love， but we may come to the same conclusion.

◆Keywords：A Tale of Two Cities; Antconc; knitting; golden thread

1Introduction：

In Greek mythology， “knitting” is almost always associated with Moirai， the three goddesses who determine the fates of human beings by restlessly spinning， dispensing and cutting the “threads”. Likewise， knitting has its own symbolic meaning in the novel： The iron grip of the fates of all the enemies of French Revolution， and the discord foreshadowing violent revenge. While there is still another knitting weaving the “golden thread” of love.

2Symbols

2.1Knitting

The always knitting Madame Defarge， one of the Moirai， is symbolic of revenge. After her family was ruined by the cold-blooded， ruthless Evrémondes， the aristocrats， Madame Defarge became the leader of female revolutionaries， avenging any members of aristocracy by weaving the inescapable doom into her knitting： When Charles comes to trial for his acquit， she never stops knitting， conspiring another arrest and conviction. Nevertheless， before she accidentally kills herself by her own gun， she passes down her knitting to the Vengeance， one of her associates in the revolution， suggesting her losing control of the fates of the enemies of the French Revolution.

The revenge never comes to an end： Under her instigation， revolutionary countrywomen knit relentlessly， weaving as they “counting dropping heads” without even raise their heads， suggesting the violence and mercilessness of their revenge.

2.2The Golden Thread

On the contrary， there is another “knitting” weaved by Lucie， the concord binding different entities together， connecting the past and present with love. Her love for Charles Evrémonde thaws the feud of her father and Evrémonde family. Her love metamorphoses Mr. Lorry from a “money-making machine” to a sentimental， caring “grandfather”. While her filial love for her father links his gloomy， traumatized past with the golden， blessed present and then helps him surmount the past.

The “golden thread” weaved by Lucie transcends the needlework knitted by a mob of women and Madame Defarge to be the most powerful， most enduring connection beyond time and space， suggesting the domination of love over violence in its ability to soothe hatred.

3Quantitative analysis

If we look into the context， however， Dickens may hold a slightly different view， which can be clarified through quantitative analysis.

3.1Knit*

Applying the search term “knit*” in Antconc Concordance， the author finds the words hits to be 65. As a token of fates and violent revenge， knitting of Madame Defarge and the French women has been contextualized by a series of words with negative connotative meanings， with nearly all the verbs and adjectives surround the knitting of these knitting-women to be emotionally negative. For instance， their knitting is “worthless”， and they have the “vicious finger” whose capability is to tear things apart. Most of the time， they sit in the darkness， knitting and knitting （6 times）. Other time， they sit， with the Guillotine within their sight， knitting and counting dropping heads （4 times） as if they were in the public diversion. But when it comes to Madame Defarge， the negative descriptions of her knitting account for 6 times： Solomon describes her as ominous; she is thought to be “cold” when she first meets Lucie. Looked into the concordance plot， this kind of knitting is thick on the ground throughout the novel， and also concentrates at the end of the novel.

3.2Golden thread

When the author applies the search term “golden thread” in Antconc， only 4 results are found. Among them， all the descriptions are about Lucie， and are emotionally positive， concentrating on her ability to wind the “golden thread”， “binding” or “uniting” people together and bringing peace to the household. This kind of knitting only appears at the front and middle of the novel.

3.3Reasoning

Compared to the knitting of Madame Defarge， Lucies knitting is conspicuously less， sparsely spread in the preceding part of the novel， which may suggest a curious underestimation of love in comparison with violent revenge. However， the author thinks， in doing so， the emphasis of love over violent revenge is accentuated： By emphasizing the force of violent revenge， there will be a sharp contrast between the bloodthirsty， morally deprived revolutionists and the martyr， Jesus-like Carton who is reformed by Lucies love.

4Conclusion

“Knitting” as a symbol of violent revenge overshadows “the golden thread” of love， but it is because of its ubiquity that loves dominating power is emphasized over the force of violent revenge in soothing hatred.

作者簡介

楊帆（1999.04-），女，漢族，湖南省株洲人，長沙市岳麓區湖南師范大學，英語專業本科生，主要從事英語語言學研究。