Nice article here by Luanne Austin, who nearly ditched Dickens for good after reading The Old Curiosity Shop twenty years ago, but was won back over by A Tale of Two Cities (note: article contains spoilers):
“Tale” has such relevance for today, about how corrupt governments can so oppress and impoverish a people as to drive them to desperate acts of violence.
Dickens does not romanticize the people who led the French Revolution, though. It is a sordid tale of how the oppressed so often — personally and politically — become the oppressors.
Against the backdrop of this human misery and murder, the tale of Sydney Carton shines. He too is oppressed and impoverished, corrupted in the deepest places of his heart. Unlike the rebels, though, he has no thirst for vengeance but a hunger for righteousness, restoration and redemption.
I'm very happy to have been one of those who helped talk Luanne into giving Dickens another try, over at Arts and Faith. Welcome to the world of Dickens fans, Luanne!
Good show, Gina! The more Dickensians we can create, the better!
Could you tell me some more about the Arts and Faith site? It looks like an interesting community...
Posted by: Nibs | July 21, 2009 at 08:56 PM
It's a community of Christians interested in the arts, hosted by "Image" Journal (http://www.imagejournal.com). It's pretty easy to get acclimated, I think, if you just explore a little. Many of them are very sophisticated and know about all kinds of films and books I've never even heard of, but that's okay; I just talk about stuff I HAVE heard of. :-)
Posted by: Gina | July 21, 2009 at 10:15 PM
I would be interested to know just how she thinks Sydney Carton was oppressed, other than by his own indolence. Good article, though.
Posted by: Christy | July 23, 2009 at 01:25 PM