Re: women figures and their power and strength
Charles Dickens (cdickens@RMPLC.CO.UK)
Tue, 26 May 1998 15:26:15 -0100
My dear Mr or Miss Clemente,
The perception of female strength fashionable in your time is one that
would never have appealed to me. I took the view that womanly virtue,
strength and courage are distinct from the manly equivalents, but no less
admirable. I tried to show in Lucie female strength at its purest - a
strength allied to tenderness of heart and devotion, not at all compromised
by weakness of body and constitution. In Madame Defarge I tried to show
womanly strength corrupted by suffering and injustice, issuing in
unrelenting hatred, unyielding firmness of purpose. Miss Pross has a
strength perhaps typical of a maiden lady of advancing years, a strength
expressing itself in devotion to a chosen object, rather than to one such as
their role in life more normally brings to women: a devotion none the less
unquenchable for its being chosen.
Faithfully yours,
Charles Dickens
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>dear mr. dickens,
>i have just finished your book, A Tale of Two Cities, for my Sophomore
English class.
>I am writing a paper and would be grateful if you could help answer my
question.
>-Women portrayed in this novel have great strength and power. Examine
Lucie Manette, Miss Pross, and Madame Defarge. Analyze the type of strength
each possesses and explain what motivates each woman to achieve her goals.
>Thank you,
>K. Clemente
>
>
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Charles Dickens
charles_dickens@rmplc.co.uk
Author