Marguerite, Lady Blakeney, is indeed the character most changed by the events of the plot. Her status as the book's protagonist is further enhanced by the fact that she's the primary agent in propelling the action forward. She also faces the most obstacles. This is largely because she's called upon at every turn to reconcile the two sides of her personality. On the one hand she's a Frenchwoman, and in her native country she took revenge on the Marquis de St. Cyr, inadvertently leading to his execution by guillotine, along with his sons. At the same time, she lives in England, married to an Englishman by the name of Sir Percy Blakeney, who unbeknownst to her, is none other than The Scarlet Pimpernel himself.
As the story progresses, Marguerite becomes more English and less French, leaving behind her tumultuous past to settle into the life of a devoted, loving wife. One can interpret this change as a mordant commentary on the respective political systems of the two countries: Revolutionary France, with its violence, tyranny, and chronic social upheaval; and England with its rule of law, rigid social hierarchy, and general stability.
Monday, July 6, 2015
Why is Lady Blakeney the protagonist of The Scarlet Pimpernel and not Sir Percy Blakeney?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
What is the theme of the chapter Lead?
Primo Levi's complex probing of the Holocaust, including his survival of Auschwitz and pre- and post-war life, is organized around indiv...
-
The statement "Development policy needs to be about poor people, not just poor countries," carries a lot of baggage. Let's dis...
-
Primo Levi's complex probing of the Holocaust, including his survival of Auschwitz and pre- and post-war life, is organized around indiv...
-
As if Hamlet were not obsessed enough with death, his uncovering of the skull of Yorick, the court jester from his youth, really sets him of...
-
De Gouges's Declaration of the Rights of Woman was enormously influential. We can see its influences on early English feminist Mary Woll...
-
James is very unhappy on a number of occasions throughout the story, but he's especially unhappy with his life situation as the story be...
-
One of the plot lines in Pride and Prejudice is Mrs. Bennet’s plan to marry off her daughters, preferably to rich men. Throughout the novel...
-
"Mistaken Identity" is an amusing anecdote recounted by the famous author Mark Twain about an experience he once had while traveli...
No comments:
Post a Comment