No. If this were a realist book he might be. But he is not.
Camilla Send a noteboard - 25/10/2011 08:59:11 AM
Modern society would say he has a martyr complex. The man pines away after a woman he knows he will never have and then sacrifices his life for that woman's beloved. Sure, in the spirit of the Romantic era his deed is seen as noble and virtuous. He's a veritable Galahad.
In the ironic post-modern world, however (tip of the hat to Paul Fussell on the ironic bit), we should be far more careful in assessing his character. What, exactly, separates him from those raving mad Christians who went out of their way to get themselves thrown to the lions, reveling in their self-destruction? At the end of the day, is his act really all that different from just putting a pistol to his temple and blowing his brains out on the rug? The side effect of saving Darnay doesn't affect the direct self-destructiveness. Was he really doing it to save Darnay, or was it a way to serve his own martyr complex? Is it not a valuable question?
Your premise is flawed. You assume characters in books should be read and evaluated according to plausible or fruitful actions within a set society. I disagree. I think books should be read on their own terms. This is not a realist book about how people should act in the world.
Moreover, Carton wins. Yes, you could read him as the romantic hero (and I often do, because I am a sucker for the hero who puts his own desires aside for another), but because of the semi-allegorical tendency of the book, you can also read his ``selfless'' act as quite the opposite: Lucie's child will in the future have his name and his profession (traditionally the child would follow in the father's footsteps in both respects) and his nationality. It will also quite probably look like a mix of him and Lucie since he is so like Darnay in appearance.
If you don't like this, though, I'd be happy to discuss the spontaneous human combustion of Mr. Krook in Bleak House. The lurid nature of the whole affair is quite attractive to me.
Happy to. How is it lurid?
*MySmiley*
structured procrastinator
structured procrastinator
I promised Camilla we could discuss Dickens if she'd just leave the WoT board.
- 24/10/2011 05:46:10 AM
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LOL. Has she been procrastinating out of sight?
- 24/10/2011 08:26:29 AM
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If you don't treat Sydney Carton right, I'll head over there and post a whole theory
- 24/10/2011 01:01:16 PM
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Well, in all seriousness, is Carton not a fool?
- 25/10/2011 05:22:27 AM
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No. If this were a realist book he might be. But he is not.
- 25/10/2011 08:59:11 AM
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