In the passage on the top of page 100 Dickens describes Miss Pross as:
“...beneath the surface of her eccentricity one of those unselfish creatures- found only in women- who will, for pure love and admiration, bind themselves willing slaves to youth when they have lost it, to beauty that they never had, accomplishments that they were never fortunate enough to gain, to bright hopes that never shone upon their own sombre lives.”
Dickens knows Miss Pross would do anything for Ladybird (Lucie Manette), and I really think this passage shows the reasons why she is so jealous of Lucie’s relationship with her father. She loves Lucie like an devoted nanny should, and although Lucie is old enough to not need a nanny anymore, she will still care for her, because she wants Lucie’s bright light to brighten her gloomily life.
This passage brings me back to my childhood memories of the stories of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s. I think it’s really cool that I can make these connections between books written so far apart, and that shows this book really is a timeless classic. If a high school level book can be compared to a first grade level book, it must be written very well, and even better if it was written two centuries prior.
Although I’m to old to read Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s, I can still remember it through Tail of Two Cities, and that makes the book easier to read.
Megan this is a very interesting perspective. I agree that only a very, very well written book would allow you to make connection to a child hood favorite. It also makes the story easier to understand and read if you can somehow relate to it. It helps you feel more apart of the texts vs. just being an outsider reading it. I think that this is what Dickens strives for us to do; relate to and feel part of the book.
ReplyDeleteMegan:
ReplyDeleteInteresting, but what makes you think that Mr. Pross is jealous of Lucie's relationship with her father?