I believe Marquis Evrémonde is clear example of the selfish nobles that ruled France during that time. I think that Dickens’ was able to portray the nobles ignorance throughout his character. Dickens says it best when he explains how Monseigneur “had one truly noble idea of general public business, which was, to let everything go on in its own way; of particular public business.(79)” Evrémonde was portrayed throughout the book as a monstrous noble who cared for no one other than himself. He also served to provide an illustration of the cruelty that the French Revolution tried to overcome.
One prominent mood throughout the book is darkness.
Many scenes have darkness overcoming them. For example, in the opening scene the mail coach’s journey begins in the dark. Dickens’ wrote this novel with shadows that overwhelmed many passages throughout the book. One might associate darkness and shadows with secrets. It’s very obvious that many secrets and mysteries in this book will never see the light the of day. I think that one can tell through these three passages that a major theme in the book is Revolution. Through people’s obvious hunger, disregard for the poor, high taxes, and eeriness throughout the land, it is no wonder that Revolution finally broke out. The Wine Cast passages shows the desperate times that the country dwellers were going though. Marquis Evrémonde portrays the corrupt lifestyle that the selfish nobles lived in that day and provided an illustration of the cruelty that the French Revolution tried to overcome. Lastly, the passage about Darkness showed the hardships and the shadows that some lived in. It also represented the deep dark secrets that some may never know about. Dickens was able to clearly show the reign of terror in London, Paris (hence a tale of two cities) and in the French country side leading up to the outbreak of the French
Revolution.