Not Much of a Leader

Confusion while reading A Tale of Two Cities is pretty unavoidable. I had one of many encounters with it as I made my way through chapters seven and eight of Book the Second, and even after rereading it, I was left with as many questions as answers. Adding to my struggle is the fact that I missed class on Wednesday, so I was left to make sense of it on my own. Dickens proved this to be a difficult task.

My confusion started on page 110 in which the people attending Monseigneur's party--a luxurious, elite gathering of the country's finest--are described. Presence at this party is the ultimate status symbol, meaning attendance is a must. The passage is long, but the general gist of it is quite negative. A portion of it reads:

"Military officers destitute of military knowledge; naval officers with no idea of a ship; civil officers without a notion of affairs...Doctors who made great fortunes out of dainty remedies for imaginary disorders that never existed...Projectors who had discovered every kind of remedy for the little evils in which the State was touched, except the remedy of setting to work in earnest to root out a single sin..."

I was left confused after this passage because I was under the impression that this party was full of political leaders and national heroes, not complete and utter phonies. I could not comprehend why Dickens would give place seemingly undeserving people in a hotel of such luxury and wealth. Was he simple trying to confuse us?

Rereading the passage, however, I attempted to figure out what Dickens was conveying. Here, we have a group of socialites acting as if they're supremacists--while the next chapter focuses on a poor town full of struggling people who can barely afford to make it through the day. This comparison could be foreshadowing the impending war; the country's supposed "leaders" are less focused on the needs of the people than on their status, fortunes, and reputations. Their doctors, for example, have cured tons of tiny evils, but have done nothing in respect to fixing the country as a whole. This is sure to anger anybody.

Although I obviously know that the war is coming, I have to wonder how this will pan out--the citizens described in chapter eight are "submissive," weak, and poor--and they're going to start a war? How could they ever take on a character like Monsieur the Marquis, a guest at the party, and a horribly evil and dictating lord? He is disgusting, but immensely powerful.

Whatever the odds, I hope they do. Monsieur the Marquis and the rest of these so-called "leaders" need a wake-up call.