A Tale of Two Cities Book 2 – The Golden Thread is the second book by Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities. The title refers to the golden Lucie Manette, the gold strand, because she connects some of this book’s characters, brightening their life.
The Golden Thread
The golden thread refers to Lucie Manette, the only daughter of Dr Manette. Her father spent eighteen years in the prison of La Bastille. She has golden blond hair, and she is beautiful. Miss Manette is sweet and kind, and she cares about her father very much. Lucie marries Charles Darnay, the nephew of the cruel and cynic aristocratic Monsieur Evrémonde. She represents a precious girl, as she is very compassionate and full of love for others. Her golden soul is brimful of virtues and far from vicious sins. The Golden Thread is the second book of A Tale of Two Cities and the continuation of the first book – Recalled to Life.
Knitting And Revolutionary Women
In Paris, revolutionary people recognized the couple Defarge as leaders. In particular, Madame Therese Defarge supported this movement to remove the Crown from France. The plan includes the execution of all the nobility and aristocracy. In the same way as Lady Macbeth, in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Madame Defarge is cruel and plans which person must die. Furthermore, at the same time, she is the head of a group of women who knit mostly during the executions. They have a cold, detached, and ruthless mind. The knitting recalls the Greek myth of the Moirae, the three Fates who ruled each human’s life. Indeed, knitting is a metaphor for human fate and destiny, which unexpectedly ends up.
Women In The Golden Thread
In The Golden Thread, women have a central role, and they are not mere passive figures. Lucie Manette and Madame Defarge differ in appearance, manners, and spirit. Lucie is beautiful, delicate, feminine, and flawless. The wine shop owner, Madame Defarge, is a woman who seeks revenge. In the novel, she is burly, cold-minded, and pitiless.
We could think she is a human monster, but we understand her behavior when we proceed to the end of the third book, The Track of a Storm. After the rape of her sister and the murder of her brother, she is hurt and full of grief. The Marquis St. Evrémonde was the man who committed such ferocious acts when he was young. He is the uncle of Charles Darnay, the husband of Lucie Manette, and he is also guilty of the murder of a child.
As ingenious as she is, Lucie does not know all these past events that connect Therese Defarge and her husband, Charles. Nonetheless, her innocence does not move Madame Defarge because she is determined to exterminate all the Evrémonde family, including Charles Darnay. Madame Defarge never stops knitting and never ceases to plan and organize her vengeance against those aristocrats, including their descendants.
Family And Loyalty
In The Tale of Two Cities, the family is essential in every type of society, among ordinary people and aristocracy. Some families have a strong connection and love, such as between Lucie and her father. Nevertheless, sometimes the family links are unwelcomed and rejected, like in Charles Darnay’s case with his noble uncle, the cruel and abusive Marquis St. Evrémonde.
Loyalty and family do not always walk together; there is no connection between some families’ components. For example, Charles burns all the bridges with his aristocratic and wealthy family. He cannot bear the atrocities that stained his family; hence, he builds a new life in England, renouncing all the privileges coming from his birth and changing his surname. Lucie and Charles married and had a child, little Lucie.
The French peasants formed a secret society, which created a big family where people shared the same principles and helped each other with equality. Moreover, they were loyal to their common doctrine of liberty, equality, and fraternity, leading the French Revolution.
I cannot avoid recommending this book because it is an authentic masterpiece in its style and content. It is rare to find all these qualities in a novel, and I must confess that it is one of my favorite books.
