Wednesday, October 22, 2008

The Two Faces of Jacques

The term "Jacques" is used to label someone involved in the plotting of the French revolution. It provides anonymity and the sense of being one of many. However, it serves to identify them and separate them as being a member of the revolution as much as it serves to make them "invisible".



Just as the name of Jacques is duplicate, so too are the revolutionaries who bear it. Who are these men? Farmers, crofters, blacksmiths, tanners, and more; common men all. No one of high birth or great merit, no men of true distinction. They are the peasantry; the lowliest of the French citizenry, scorned and debased by the nobility. But these men are also Jacques, the driving force behind one of the most momentous events in French history. Take Monsieur Defarge as an example. His occupation is wine shop manager, a job as ordinary the next. And yet he is also a Jacques; one of the minds behind the planning of the coming revolution. The double meanings of Jacques and the double lives of the men who use the name are major pieces of Knitting and Still Knitting, as well as the book as a whole.

1 comment:

Savannah J. said...

Could you make this a differet color? It's a little too dark to read.