![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Many of Charles’s memories are directly connected to the French Revolution in some form or other, or to his wife and family, along with some childhood traumas. There are a few secrets he’s carrying around as well. Here’s a bit of a list:
1. Charles grew up as Charles St Evremonde, an heir to the estate of his father and nephew in a life of privilege. As a boy, he watched his father and uncle, and others of their aristocratic friends abusing the poor, and their servants. While he was certainly privilidged, he did see firsthand how horrible things were for those who worked for the family, and even more horrible for those on the streets of Paris.
Charles grew up watching the abuse of servants, including some definitely non consensual sexual moments between his father or uncle and the staff, and hated it. When he tried to interfere, or to stop things, he was usually told that he did not, and could not understand the reasoning behind this and that he would learn to appreciate his good fortune when he was older.
2. As he got older, Charles became more concerned, and would eventually start attempting to step into these situations, which proved to really royally tick his family off. Perhaps if his mother had lived into his teen years, she might have been a help to him, but as that was not possible, he often found himself getting into trouble on the staff’s behalf, and fighting with his family over the issue, paying for it every time that he decided to be noble.
3. Charles cast aside his family fortune, declaring that he was done with being a nobleman and harming others, setting out for England when he was about eighteen. To further the point that he was disowning his family, he took his mother’s name, D'Aulnais, anglicized that to Darnay, and intended to set himself up as a french tutor. On this voyage, he met and began falling in love with Lucie Manette, who had come to France to bring her father, Dr. Manette home after he’d spent eighteen years in the Bastille.
4. Arriving in England, Charles set up a new life for himself, though he was required to make voyages between France and England to deal with some personal affairs, and, on one such voyage, was framed as a spy for the Americans (this was in the midst of the revolution) against England and tried for treason against the crown. The main opposition to Charles at the time seemed to be that he was French. During this episode, Charles came back into contact with Lucie Manette, who spoke in his defense in court, and with Sydney Carton, who managed to save him from the noose, after which time he went on to fall in love with, and marry Lucie. His wife and later, daughter, also named Lucie, are a constant source of joy in Charles’s life. He DID eventually tell his father in law the truth of who he was, right before his marriage, but otherwise carried on life as a modest French tutor instead. Sydney Carton, who loved Lucie, wound up hanging out around the family, creeper style, and Charles learned to like the man enough, even if he didn’t like his drinking or the way he looked at Lucie. He never quite thought of the man as a close friend but even so…
5. When the revolution came to France, and Charles’s uncle was murdered for being his asshole self to a group of peasants. Charles was called to France to help aid an old servant of the family. Despite being an aristocrat during the fucking french revolution, he went ahead and came back, and got dragged to prison, where he got to hang around for a year or so. While he had a private cell in La Force because he could pay for his lodging, and he was supposed to be better treated there, he really, really wasn’t. He was, after all, a member of one of the most notoriously hated families in France, and as their last descendant, was a great target for the people’s rage.
Eventually he was tried, and released, due mostly to his father in law’s status as someone who had been abused under the old regime, then, not long after his release, was arrested again, and almost immedaitely tried, where he was found guilty of crimes against the French Republic, and sentenced to die by Guilotine. He also found out at this trial that his father in law was arrested because he spoke out against the actions of the Evremonde brothers when they raped a woman, killed her brother, and wanted to get away with no witnesses. Cue additional familial guilt.
6. The memories of his last night alive, since it was not that long ago. Charles’s thoughts, most of them, were on his Lucies and his family, and filled with the hope that France would someday rise above the revolutionary violence and death. He wrote letters to his family, and was visited by Sydney Carton who insisted they swap clothes, and knocked Charles out with chloroform in order to take his place at the guillotine. This is the canon point he came into the game from. He’s since learned what Carton did, and is horrified and saddened by that as well as incredibly grateful.
Some specific things that those picking up on a link with Charles will come across are:
1. His memories of prison in both England and France. In France, he may have been able to afford better than the standard accomodations but he didn’t have an easy time of it. Lucie did come to the prison every day, although they could not speak. He WAS able to see her from his window, keeping vigil and that did help to sooth him during his year of imprisonment.
2. His memories of Lucie and Little Lucie who have sustained him through a lot of hardships.
3. The fact that Charles Darnay, French tutor, is actually The Marquis St Evremonde, nobleman and member of the most notoriously awful atristocratic families in France. He’s been using his new start here to avoid that fact, and definitely feels a bit guilty for lying to people.
4. Madame de Farge, a victim of the Evremonde family who is instrumental in securing his arrest and condemnation. He actually has nightmares about her face and the hatred that was written on it during his arrest and both trials, and has a definite fear of her and what might happen to his family.
5. He went a little crazy in prison, with only himself for company, and was pretty ill during his time in La Force, having a few fevers and hallucinations that he spoke to along the way.
6. there is a part of him that expects that he SHOULD have died for his family’s crimes, and feels guilty that he survived as he did.
I have a link to his canon source (the musical) if anyone linked to him wants a better idea of what’s going down!
1. Charles grew up as Charles St Evremonde, an heir to the estate of his father and nephew in a life of privilege. As a boy, he watched his father and uncle, and others of their aristocratic friends abusing the poor, and their servants. While he was certainly privilidged, he did see firsthand how horrible things were for those who worked for the family, and even more horrible for those on the streets of Paris.
Charles grew up watching the abuse of servants, including some definitely non consensual sexual moments between his father or uncle and the staff, and hated it. When he tried to interfere, or to stop things, he was usually told that he did not, and could not understand the reasoning behind this and that he would learn to appreciate his good fortune when he was older.
2. As he got older, Charles became more concerned, and would eventually start attempting to step into these situations, which proved to really royally tick his family off. Perhaps if his mother had lived into his teen years, she might have been a help to him, but as that was not possible, he often found himself getting into trouble on the staff’s behalf, and fighting with his family over the issue, paying for it every time that he decided to be noble.
3. Charles cast aside his family fortune, declaring that he was done with being a nobleman and harming others, setting out for England when he was about eighteen. To further the point that he was disowning his family, he took his mother’s name, D'Aulnais, anglicized that to Darnay, and intended to set himself up as a french tutor. On this voyage, he met and began falling in love with Lucie Manette, who had come to France to bring her father, Dr. Manette home after he’d spent eighteen years in the Bastille.
4. Arriving in England, Charles set up a new life for himself, though he was required to make voyages between France and England to deal with some personal affairs, and, on one such voyage, was framed as a spy for the Americans (this was in the midst of the revolution) against England and tried for treason against the crown. The main opposition to Charles at the time seemed to be that he was French. During this episode, Charles came back into contact with Lucie Manette, who spoke in his defense in court, and with Sydney Carton, who managed to save him from the noose, after which time he went on to fall in love with, and marry Lucie. His wife and later, daughter, also named Lucie, are a constant source of joy in Charles’s life. He DID eventually tell his father in law the truth of who he was, right before his marriage, but otherwise carried on life as a modest French tutor instead. Sydney Carton, who loved Lucie, wound up hanging out around the family, creeper style, and Charles learned to like the man enough, even if he didn’t like his drinking or the way he looked at Lucie. He never quite thought of the man as a close friend but even so…
5. When the revolution came to France, and Charles’s uncle was murdered for being his asshole self to a group of peasants. Charles was called to France to help aid an old servant of the family. Despite being an aristocrat during the fucking french revolution, he went ahead and came back, and got dragged to prison, where he got to hang around for a year or so. While he had a private cell in La Force because he could pay for his lodging, and he was supposed to be better treated there, he really, really wasn’t. He was, after all, a member of one of the most notoriously hated families in France, and as their last descendant, was a great target for the people’s rage.
Eventually he was tried, and released, due mostly to his father in law’s status as someone who had been abused under the old regime, then, not long after his release, was arrested again, and almost immedaitely tried, where he was found guilty of crimes against the French Republic, and sentenced to die by Guilotine. He also found out at this trial that his father in law was arrested because he spoke out against the actions of the Evremonde brothers when they raped a woman, killed her brother, and wanted to get away with no witnesses. Cue additional familial guilt.
6. The memories of his last night alive, since it was not that long ago. Charles’s thoughts, most of them, were on his Lucies and his family, and filled with the hope that France would someday rise above the revolutionary violence and death. He wrote letters to his family, and was visited by Sydney Carton who insisted they swap clothes, and knocked Charles out with chloroform in order to take his place at the guillotine. This is the canon point he came into the game from. He’s since learned what Carton did, and is horrified and saddened by that as well as incredibly grateful.
Some specific things that those picking up on a link with Charles will come across are:
1. His memories of prison in both England and France. In France, he may have been able to afford better than the standard accomodations but he didn’t have an easy time of it. Lucie did come to the prison every day, although they could not speak. He WAS able to see her from his window, keeping vigil and that did help to sooth him during his year of imprisonment.
2. His memories of Lucie and Little Lucie who have sustained him through a lot of hardships.
3. The fact that Charles Darnay, French tutor, is actually The Marquis St Evremonde, nobleman and member of the most notoriously awful atristocratic families in France. He’s been using his new start here to avoid that fact, and definitely feels a bit guilty for lying to people.
4. Madame de Farge, a victim of the Evremonde family who is instrumental in securing his arrest and condemnation. He actually has nightmares about her face and the hatred that was written on it during his arrest and both trials, and has a definite fear of her and what might happen to his family.
5. He went a little crazy in prison, with only himself for company, and was pretty ill during his time in La Force, having a few fevers and hallucinations that he spoke to along the way.
6. there is a part of him that expects that he SHOULD have died for his family’s crimes, and feels guilty that he survived as he did.
I have a link to his canon source (the musical) if anyone linked to him wants a better idea of what’s going down!
