解读双城记中的人道主义:双城记中人道主义

Introduction

Charles Dickens is one of the greatest English critical realist in the 19th century. And he has achieved a growing recognition since his first novel was published. Most of his novels show his comic talent, his humor, his dramatic dialogue, the meaningful concerns and his spectacular gift for shaping memorable characters, etc. But what we can never forget is his main theme---humanitarianism. Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans, in order to better humanity for both moral and logical reasons. It is the philosophical belief in movement towards the improvement of the human race in variety of areas, used to describe a wide number of activities relating specifically to human welfare. Humanitarianism is an informal ideology of practice; it is the doctrine that people’s duty is to promote human welfare. Humanitarianism begins from the Renaissance and it bases on the universal humanity. It is an ideological system started from Italy of the 15th century urging an outlook of respecting people and always giving central area to humanity. Humanitarianism is based on a view that all human beings deserve respect and dignity and should be treated as such. It is a rule that was summed up to “liberty, equality and fraternity” during the French Revolution and played anti-feudal role during that time. In a word, humanitarianism is a humanistic way to care the human’s suffering. Humanitarianism proscribes slavery,cannibalism and discrimination on the basis of features such as color of skin, ancestry, place of birth, etc.(M.H.Apams. 116) Therefore, humanitarians work towards advancing the well-being of humanity as a whole. The humanitarians believe that human beings are all kind and morality can be ameliorated. They call on human beings should use humanitarianism as the weapon to educate people.

Humanitarianism，especially the central part of it, benevolence which was strongly advocated by Dickens was the best answer to the existence of human. Seeing through it, the feudal aristocrats and ordinary people both need the morality of humanitarianism and benevolence. The social contradiction has spread around that society. Dickens was aware of it and hoped that the common people struggle to pursue happiness rather than living under the oppression of the aristocrats. “He advocated humanity and integrity and opposed the aristocrats who tyrannized over the public.”(Hu 20) From his point of view, humanitarianism and benevolence were last truth which was needed by human beings and society.

A Tale of Two Cities is Dickens’ most representatives, successful and pilliant work, it occupies a central place in the canon of Charles Diclens’ works.(Su Jian 119). It was published in 1859 when he was at the height of his stage as a novelist. Dickens has never lose faith in the necessary goodness of the human beings . Even though many of his positive characters are unfairly destroyed by negative forces of the society, some are able to get victory and achieve happiness.

As Edgar stated：

The world he created shines with undying life , and the hearts of men still vipate to his indignant anger, his love ,his glorious laughter, and his triumphant faith in the dignity of man.(Laurie Lauzen Harris,and Sheila Fitzherald 138)

This novel uses the French Revolution as its writing background and the novel shows convincingly the author’s aim to point out the injustice and oppression in pre-revolutionary France and the justification of the revolution.( Chen Jia, Song Wenlin. 47-48.) He makes up the character of Mr. Manette’s experience as the main clue of the story ,mixing three closely-related themes prison, love and revenge. On the one hand, he expresses his great anger to the feudal aristocrats, his sympathy to the sufferings of the common people and he reviews the inevitability for the revolution to peak out; on the other hand, he describes the cruelty of the bloody revolution , and the failure to achieve a ideal society which the revolution intends to probe for. And then it advocates Dickens’s opinion that the society should use the morality to be educated, should use the humanity instead of violence to be improved. In the novel, Dickens fights for the poor and sympathizes their suffering; attacks “good old days”, which to him were evil times filled with violence and injustice; and criticizes publicly the cruelty of the ruling class. In his eye, the French Revolution “as inevitable and even justified”, for “Monseigner as a class had, somehow or other, pought things to this”.(Charles Dickens 277) Whereas, with the time goes by, he strongly decries the inhuman action pought about by the increasing violent revolution.

A Tale of Two Cities is a classical novel stands the test of time and it gives great insight into human memories and reactions. There are many comments on this novel.

George Orwell accused Dickens of exaggerating the horrors of the terror and found it ironic that although he showed sympathy to the ideals of the French Revolution, he played a great role in making the people regard the Revolution as a blood bath. Forster praised the novel when it was first published, referring in particular to the “subtlety with which a private history is associated with a most vivid expression of the spirit of the days of the great French Revolution.”(Collins, Philip 424) Dickens has a deep research into humanity and society, he concentrates on “human love”, his innocent wish for reform and enduring hope for a peaceful and harmonious society. So that we can see that Charles Dickens is undoubtedly an outstanding humanitarian in the 19th century., just as George Gissing told:“From his duty, as he conceived it, of teaching a moral lesson, Dickens never departs. (George Gissing 80) Dickens keeps on moralizing in his books because he takes it as his duty; what he appreciates is the well-mannered gentry spirit, while he quite revolts against the Americans of that time who were rude and mannerless, as he wrote to E. M. Forster:

But I don"t like the country. I would not live here on any consideration. It goes against the grain with me. It would with you. I think it impossible, utterly impossible, for any Englishman to live here, and be happy. I have a confidence that I must be right, because I have everything, God knows, to lead me to the opposite conclusion: and yet I cannot resist coming to this one. As to the causes, they are too many to enter upon here..( John Forster. 59.)

This paper will analyze Dickens’s humanitarianism embodied in A Tale of Two Cities from two aspects: the author’s shift of attitude to the revolution, the main characters that embodies humanitarianism.

Chapter One Humanitarianism Embodied in the Author’s Shift of Attitude

Dickens is ambivalent to the French Revolution and revolutionaries. He knew that the Revolution was caused by the devilries and barbarities of aristocrats. He expressed his sympathy to the sufferings of the public, the justice and the inevitability for the revolution to peak out. But while he celepated the overturn of the oppressing class , the peak down of the feudal order, he hated the violent revolution and dehumanization by which that corrupt was pought about.

1.1 Conflict Between the Aristocracies and the Poor

At first, Dickens supports the revolution because of the fierce conflicts between the aristocracies and the poor. The reasons why the French Revolution poke out are various but the conflicts between the Aristocracies and the poor is one of the most important factors (Glancy 1991). In the novel, Dickens vividly describes how the poor rise up against the oppression. In Dickens’ eyes, the poor are the heroes and saviors of the French Revolution. He sympathizes with them for the unfairness they have suffered and he expresses his great admiration for the courage and enthusiasm the poor have showed at the beginning of the revolution. Thus, Dickens believes that the poor people’s rebellion is inevitable and revolution is a necessity.

In A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens clearly portrays the huge gaps between the aristocracies and the poor. Readers can find how luxurious the Monseigneur’s life is in Chapter Seven, Monseigneur in Town—“His morning’s chocolate would not so much as get into the throat of Monseigneur, without the aid of four strong men besides the Cook…Monseigneur had the other truly noble idea, that the world was made for them.” (Dickens 122) However, the poor peasants lead a hard life. Dickens describes the scene when the poor compete to drink the wine on the road—“Some men knelt down... Others，men and women，dipped in the puddles with little mugs of mutilated earthenware, or even with handkerchiefs from women’s head.” (Dickens 35) One can see many other examples of the contrast of life and wealth between the aristocracies and the poor.

When the poor could not tolerate the oppression they received any more, they are sure to fight against their suffering. Unfortunately, the aristocracies are still indifferent about the poor. They treat the poor as if they were not human beings but animals. The Marquis is the representative of the cruelty of the aristocracies. According to the novel, when the Marquis’s coach runs over a poor boy in the street, he only throws a coin to the father and scorns the poor “as if they been mere rats come out of their holes.” (Dicknes 12) In this case, one can understand the fierce conflicts between the aristocracies and the poor. Thus, Dickens supports revolution because he is aware that the revolution will be a road for the poor to get hope, justice and happiness in the future.

1.2 The Fierce and Bloody Revenge

As a bourgeois humanitarian，Dickens possesses all ambivalent attitude toward the French Revolution and the revolutionaries.(Goldbery 1972) The aristocracies’ oppression is one of the reasons that lead to the French Revolution, so Dickens shows his great sympathy for the poor and he supports the revolution. However, after overthrowing the merciless ruling class, the revolutionaries became putal just like those aristocracies. In the process of the French Revolution, the revolutionaries, especially the women, gradually become more and more cruel and crazy. The fact that they start to enjoy blood and death is intolerable to Dickens. He believes that the fierce and bloody revenge will lead to a catastrophic result.

In A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens depicts Madame Defarge as the representative of the avengers. She strongly hates the aristocracies because her family was killed by the Evremondes. Before the revolution, she is described as a woman with wisdom and strategy. However, later she becomes a ghost of vengeance. When she determines to kill Lucie Manette and her daughter, she “pursuing her way along the streets, came nearer and nearer” (Dickens 456). Here Dickens stresses the tension to inform that Madame Defarge has been a real killing machine when she makes up her mind to avenge her family. However, Dickens will not allow such a cruel action to happen due to his rejection to the fierce violence and bloody revenge, so in the end he intentionally designs her death under her own gun. This arrangement implies his attitude toward the violence in the revolution.

Through the miserable result of Madame Defarge, Dickens wants to impress his readers about the fears and horrors of the revolutionaries’ bloody revenge. He thinks the fierce and bloody revenge will result in nothing but a vicious circle. That’s the first reason why Dickens opposes violence in the French Revolution.

1.3 Dehumanization Becoming the Common Features

The second reason why Dickens opposes violence is that with the development of the revolution, dehumanization becomes the common features. Readers can clearly see it from the description of some aristocracies’ death. Take Foulon’s death for example, in the novel, Foulon is described as follows: “Down, and up, and head foremost on the steps of the building; now, on his knees; now, on his feet; now, on his back; dragged, and struck at, and stifled by the bunches of grass and straw that were thrust into his face by hundreds of hands.” (Dickens 279) It can be seen that when Dickens describes the murder of Foulon, he shows his disgust with the dehumanization due to the people stuff grass into Foulon’s mouth just because he once said that the poor could eat grass. So Dickens regards this kind of revolution as nothing but a distortion of humanity.

Another example is Darnay’s trial. At his trial, Jacques Three , one of the jurors, is described as a cannibal-looking and life-thirsting man. From the two words “cannibal-looking” and “life-thirsting”, one can see that the revolutionaries are like animals and they have become inhuman and cold-hearted. In Dickens’ mind, the storming of the Bastille prison is a good beginning for the poor to change the inequality and oppression of the society, however, what the revolution pings is similar to those before the revolution. The revolutionaries establish a new prison called La Force to imprison the old aristocracies and kill them in an inhuman way. So the new prison is just the substitution of the old one.

In Dickens’ point of view, the revolution is not in line with human action. It is obvious that the revolutionaries have become unfeeling and wild beasts. Although Dickens is aware that the aristocracies’ oppression to the poor leads to the rebellion, he is much more worried that the France will change nothing in the future under the cruel rule of the revolutionaries.

Chapter Two Humanitarianism Embodied in Characters

The character in A Tale of Two Cities is different from that in other typical novels written by Dickens. Some critics think the characters he shaped in A Tale of Two Cities are much less impressive, except the hero, Sydney Carton, and the villain, Madame Defarge.

But how could we understand? Dickens is now highly focus on the setting in which the story comes about. Avrom Fleishman had said something about this novel,“one of the first historical novels to characterize and dramatize social groups as major carriers of the action”.( Michael Goldbery 111) In his eye, the lack of impressive characters is a merit rather than a flaw .From this, we can now that the purpose of Dickens was to show the bad effect resulted from the mass action.

Since Dickens’s main artistic concern is society, it is no doubt that his chief characters are utilized to show some truths about society, rather than human psychology. These typical characters embody the essences of that society. So, we can have a clear knowledge that Dickens entrusts the characters more to humanitarian.