In chapter 7 of book 2, we are introduced to Monsieur the Marquis. I find that through the little amount of information given about him already, I can deduce that he is a villain and massive A-Hole. I have come to this conclusion via his reaction to plowing a child with his carriage. His first reaction is: why are we stopped, I have things to do; instead of the first thought of a normal person being; What was that, is someone hurt?
"'What has gone wrong?' said M. the Marquis... 'Pardon M. the Marquis, it was a child'... 'What makes that abominable noise, a child' said M. the Marquis.
Later, we found out that the child has died and then the "empathetic" side of Marquis begins to show. He finds it appropriate to pay the family of the deceased child off with a shiny gold coin. It is my opinion that one coin doesn't equal the life of a human child, but that's just me.
This scene of death and coin throwing provoked a question in me, how did he not get torn apart by the crowd? I have thought about it a lot and I have still not come to a realistic answer. Nowadays, regardless of who hit a child, there would be some consequences. This entire scene paints a picture of the tendencies of the average everyday person. They are terrified of this man. Why they are is still unknown, and when, if ever they will stand up to him is still up in the air.
Michael I completely agree this scene really stuck out to me as well. Especially when Monsieur the Marquis says; "It is extraordinary to me that you people cannot take care of yourselves and your children. One or the other of you is forever in the way. How do I know what injury you have done my horses..."(115). Monsieur the Marquis is so entitled that he doesn't take the blame and goes as far to blame it on the towns people! This displays his arrogance. I predict these people will never stand up against him, if the lose of child doesn’t provoke them then nothing will.
ReplyDeleteI too wrote about this passage and I agree as well. If you also notice he insulted the child by calling it a "plaything". If I were the parent I would not let this sad excuse for a man let himself walk all over townspeople with such arrogance. Of course, like you I am just as confused as to why nothing has been done to stop this cruel person.
ReplyDeleteMIchael, I never thought about the fact that these people were so afraid of the Marquis before I read this post. You had a very good thought, about why the townspeople haven't attacked him yet. I think thats a very good question, why haven't they? It would have been a good time to do so. The reason I agree with you on this is because in chapter five of book one, we read about the starving people in the same town, so desperate for a drink that they scraped the wine that had spilled on the ground into their mouths and their babies mouths. The Marquis didn't seem to be helping his town at that point, because if he was, his people wouldn't have been starving or desperate enough to drink a mix of mud and wine off the ground. I think it will be interesting to read on and see if these townspeople ever revolt against their horrible lord.
ReplyDeleteMichael:
ReplyDeleteYour question might be the most important question to ask after this passage! However, I think there are some answers in this passage that can possibly answer your question. Look again at the description of the people after the child is killed.