Happiness At Last
In chapter 17, it is the night of Darnay and Lucies marraige and Doctor Manette has enjoyed the last few days of happiness. Up to this point, Doctor Manette has been in a shell of sorrowness and it has been made clear that Lucie is beginning to bring him out of this shell and overcome his past. He has finally begun to put his years of imprisonment behind him and move on to enjoy his future life. Doctor Manette talks about his years in the Bastille and his thoughts on Lucie at the time. He says that he often imagined what sort of person Lucie would grow up to be and now he is very happy with how she has grown up. I believe that marrying Darnay has shown Lucies father that she has become an independent, responsible woman and Doctor Manette is very happy to see that.
On page 198, Dickens describes Doctor Manette finally expressing happy feelings. "He embraced her, solemnly commender her to Heaven, and humbly thanked heaven for having bestowed her on him...Into his handsome face, the bitter waters of captivity had worm; but, he covered up their tracks with determination so strong, that face in its quiet, and guarded struggle with an unseen assailant, was not to be beheld in all the wide dominions of sleep that night"(199).
Before Lucie planned on marrying Charles Darnay, Doctor Manette was still caught in his post prison phase, constantly dwelling on his past. For example, earlier in book the second, Doctor Manette was caught pacing up and down the stairs in his sleep, this was a sign of post traumatic stress disorder. Now, after Lucie and Darnay are getting married, Doctor Manette is able to sleep comfortably. This is another prime example of how Lucie brings out the life in her father. Now that he understands that she has grown up to be the woman that he has always wanted in a daughter, his struggles in prison have almost disappeared. 
I both agree and disagree with Jack’s wallpost. I think Dr. Manette is trying to forget about his past, but in some ways can’t. I talked about his shoe bench and how I was confused on why Miss Pross and Mr Lorry would get rid of it and after reading Jack’s blog post I kinda agree that maybe by getting rid of Dr. Manettes work bench, it would let him move on completely from his past but it would also be really hard for him to get rid of. I have mixed feelings on whether or not Dr. Manette is really getting rid of his past and moving on or if just the way he acts shows that.
ReplyDeleteGood post, Jack, but comment more on the language in the passage you quoted. Why did Dickens choose these specific words? What do you make of the words "guarded struggle?" Of Dr. M.'s "determination?"
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