Dickens has no time for the French aristocracy and makes it abundantly clear that they have contributed significantly to their own downfall. The heartless Marquis St. Evrémonde is a perfect symbol of how Dickens looks upon the Second Estate with its sneering indifference and contempt for the common people. When his carriage runs over a little boy in the street, St. Evrémonde shows more concern for his horses than for the poor broken child. He regards the peasantry as "vulgar" and would happily run over any number of these "dogs" to exterminate them.
The Monseigneur is equally as repulsive, if not more so. If St. Evrémonde's main negative character trait is his vindictive cruelty, the Monseigneur's is narcissism. This is a man who gives the impression of never having experienced love except in front of a mirror. He is the sole planet in his orbit, the center of his own little universe. Only his needs matter, no one else's. He thinks nothing of using no fewer than four servants to prepare his chocolate for him. (Only three would've brought shame to his good family name; two would've killed him).
His love of chocolate is matched only by his complete indifference towards the poor and downtrodden of society. The Monseigneur's philosophy in life is pretty simple: let everything go on as before. Why not? After all, the Monseigneur does very nicely out of the current system. You won't catch him supporting any revolution. The business of state should be conducted purely on the basis that it gives him more wealth and power. It's this astonishing level of greed, selfishness and total lack of concern for the wider common good that epitomizes the blinkered attitude of the French aristocracy on the eve of revolution. The Monseigneur's unflinching narcissism is theirs too.
Friday, August 7, 2015
Is Monseigneur a narcissistic person?
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