A Tale of Two Cities
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| Image:A Tale of Two Cities title page.gif The title page of the first edition of A Tale of Two Cities. | |
| Author | Charles Dickens |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Historical fiction |
| Publisher | Chapman and Hall |
| Publication date | 1859 |
| Media type | Print (Serial, Hardback, and Paperback) |
| ISBN | NA |
A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is the second historical novel by Charles Dickens. The plot centres on the years leading up to the French Revolution and culminates in the Jacobin Reign of Terror. It starts with Dr. Alexandre Manette's 1757 imprisonment and concludes 36 years later with the execution of Sydney Carton. The first issue of Dickens's literary periodical All the Year Round appearing April 30, 1859, contained the first of thirty-one weekly instalments of the novel, which ran until November 26, 1859.
The opening – "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." – and closing – "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." – of the book are among the most famous lines in English literature.
The book tells, first and foremost, the story of Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton, who look similar but are very different in their personalities: Darnay is a romantic French aristocrat; Carton is a cynical English barrister. Both fall deeply in love with the same woman, Lucie Manette.
Other major characters include Dr. Manette (Lucie's father), who was unjustly imprisoned in the infamous Bastille for many years under a lettre de cachet, and Madame Defarge, a female revolutionary with an implacable grudge against the aristocratic Evrémonde dynasty.
The title reflects the way in which the setting alternates between London and Paris. Two of the 45 chapters are set in both countries, nineteen in England and 24 in France. They tell of the shameless corruption, abuse and inhumanity of the French nobles towards the peasantry. The masses, oppressed for centuries, rise up at last and destroy their masters, becoming themselves just as evil and corrupt.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
[edit] Book the First: Recalled to Life
In 1775, Jarvis Lorry travels to Dover to meet a young woman, Lucie Manette. When he arrives, he informs her that her father, Doctor Manette, whom she previously believed to be dead, has actually been incarcerated as a prisoner in Paris for the past eighteen years, and has recently been released by the French government. Tellson's Bank is sending Lorry to identify the doctor (who had been one of Tellson's clients) and bring him to England. The news upsets Lucie greatly; he tries to comfort her, but Lucie's guardian, Miss Pross, takes over when she fears he has frightened Lucie too much.
The story shifts abruptly to Saint Antoine, a suburb of Paris, where a cask of wine accidentally splits and spills on the ground. The poor seize the unexpected windfall, jubilantly drinking the wine off the street. Watching the degradation in disgust is Defarge, the owner of a wineshop and leader of a band of revolutionaries. Afterwards, he goes back into his shop and talks to a group of fellow revolutionaries, who call each other "Jacques".
Mr. Lorry and Lucie Manette arrive and Defarge takes them to his apartment to see Dr. Manette. The doctor is, to all appearances, completely mad. He sits in a dark room all day making shoes, as he did while in prison. Lucie takes him to England.
[edit] Book the Second: The Golden Thread
Five years later (1780), Dr. Manette has recovered from his ordeal. French émigré Charles Darnay is tried at the Old Bailey for treason. Those testifying against him are a John Barsad and a Roger Cly, who claim that he had been reporting on British troops in North America to the French. Dr. Manette and his daughter vouch for Darnay because he had sailed with them on their voyage to England. Darnay is acquitted, in part because the witnesses are unable to tell him apart from junior defence counsel Sydney Carton, who bears a striking resemblance to him. Carton is depicted unflatteringly as a drunkard; conversely Darnay is set out as a handsome, gallant victim of a deficient British legal process. Carton becomes enamoured of Lucie and jealous of Darnay.
In Paris, the Marquis St. Evrémonde, Darnay's uncle, is returning from an audience with Monseigneur, one of the 'greatest lords in France', when his coach runs over and kills the son of the peasant Gaspard; he throws a coin to Gaspard to compensate him for his loss; in the assembled crowd is the implacable tricoteuse, Madame Defarge. She then throws the money back in disgust (being that all the men are afraid to act), enraging the Marquis and leading him to exclaim that he would willingly kill any of the peasants of France.
On his way back to his château, the Marquis passes through a village, where a road mender tells him that he saw a man clinging to the bottom of his carriage. The Marquis has his servant investigate, but no one is found.
Darnay returns to France to meet his uncle. Their political positions are diametrically opposed: Darnay is a democrat, while the Marquis is an adherent of the ancien régime. The Marquis is portrayed as a cruel, heartless nobleman:
- "Repression is the only lasting philosophy. The dark deference of fear and slavery, my friend," observed the Marquis, "will keep the dogs obedient to the whip, as long as this roof," looking up to it, "shuts out the sky."
That night, Gaspard, the man who had ridden underneath the carriage, murders the Marquis in his sleep. Gaspard is later captured and hanged for his crime.
Returning to England, Darnay asks Dr. Manette for his consent to marry Lucie. He is not the only suitor however. Both Stryver, Carton's patron (by way of comic relief) and, more seriously, Carton himself, are captivated by her. Carton is the only one who reveals his feelings directly to Lucie—Stryver is convinced of the futility of his aspirations, and Darnay proposes the marriage to Dr. Manette. When Carton confesses his love to Lucie, he admits he is incapable of making her happy; she has inspired him to lead a better life, but he lacks the energy to follow through. However, he promises to "embrace any sacrifice" for her or one that she loves. Meanwhile, Darnay agrees to reveal his true surname to Dr. Manette on the morning of his marriage to Lucie.
In Paris, Monsieur and Madame Defarge foment Jacobin sympathies. Madame Defarge takes the long view, as opposed to her husband, who is impatient to bring on the revolution. They learn, from an informant within the police, that a spy is to be quartered in Saint Antoine. He is John Barsad, one of those who had given false testimony against Darnay. The following morning, Barsad enters the Defarges' wine shop, but Madame Defarge recognises him from the description she had been given. Barsad acts as an agent provocateur and tries to lead her into discussing the impending execution of the unfortunate Gaspard. In the course of the conversation, he mentions that Darnay is to be married to Lucie Manette.
On the morning of the marriage, Darnay, at Dr. Manette's request, reveals who his family is, a detail which Dr. Manette had asked him to withhold until then. Unfortunately, this unhinges Dr. Manette, who reverts to his obsessive shoemaking. His sanity is restored before Lucie returns from her honeymoon; to prevent a further relapse, Lorry destroys the shoemaking bench which Dr. Manette had brought with him from France.
Later, in mid-July 1789, Jarvis Lorry visits the Darnays and tells them of the uneasiness in Paris. The scene cuts to the Saint Antoine faubourg for the storming of the Bastille, with the Defarges in the lead. With the hated prison in revolutionary hands, Defarge enters Dr. Manette's former cell. He uncovers a manuscript which Dr. Manette had written during his confinement, and up a chimney, condemning the Evrémondes, père et fils (father and son), for his wrongful imprisonment and the destruction of his family.
In the summer of 1792, a letter is delivered to Tellson's bank, addressed to the heir of the Marquis of Evrémonde. The letter recounts the news of the imprisonment of one of the Marquis' retainers, Gabelle, and beseeches the new Marquis to come to his aid. By chance, though the bank is unaware of his identity, Darnay receives the letter. He makes plans to travel to Paris, where the Reign of Terror is running its bloody course, blithely indifferent to the danger. Lorry is sent on ahead with a (cryptic) message to the imprisoned Gabelle that he is on his way.
[edit] Book the Third: The Track of a Storm
In Beauvais, erstwhile home of Dr. Manette, Darnay is denounced by the revolutionaries as an émigrant, an aristocrat, and a traitor. A military escort takes him to Paris, where he is imprisoned. Dr. Manette and Lucie along with Miss Pross, Jerry Cruncher, and the daughter of Charles and Lucie Darnay, "Little Lucie", leave London for Paris and meet with Mr. Lorry. Dr. Manette tries to use his influence as a well-known former prisoner of the Bastille to have his son-in-law freed. He manages to protect Darnay on the night that mobs kill thousands of less-fortunate prisoners. After a year and three months, Dr. Manette successfully defends Darnay at his trial. However, that evening, Darnay is put on trial again, under new charges brought by the Defarges and one unnamed other.
While Miss Pross and Mr. Cruncher are on their way to the market, they stop at a tavern to buy wine. There, Miss Pross finds her long-lost brother, Solomon Pross, now a revolutionary official. Neither is happy with the meeting. Jerry Cruncher then recognises him as John Barsad, who had testified against Darnay in England. Sydney Carton, to their surprise, joins the party and confirms this. He then blackmails Solomon Pross, telling him that he knows that he is a spy, as he had overheard his conversation inside the tavern, and a double agent, working for both the French and British governments at different times. Pross reluctantly gives in to Carton's demands.
When Darnay is brought back before the revolutionary tribunal, he is confronted by Defarge, who identifies Darnay as the Marquis St. Evrémonde and reads from the paper found in Dr. Manette's cell. The document describes how he had been locked away in the Bastille by the deceased Marquis Evrémonde and his twin brother for trying to report their horrific crimes against a peasant family. The younger brother had become infatuated with a girl. He had kidnapped and raped her and killed her husband, brother, and father. Prior to his death, the brother had hidden the last member of the family, his younger sister, "somewhere safe." The paper concludes by condemning the Evrémondes and all of their descendants, therefore adding Dr. Manette's condemnation to those of the Defarges. Darnay is consigned to the La Force Prison and is sentenced to be guillotined within twenty-four hours.
Carton, while wandering the streets at night, stops at the Defarge wine shop, where he overhears Madame Defarge talking about her plans to have Darnay's entire family condemned. Carton discovers that she was the survivor of the ill-fated family mentioned in Dr. Manette's letter. He quickly informs Mr. Lorry and urges him and the others to leave France as soon as possible.
On the day of his execution, Darnay is visited by Carton, who, because of his love for Lucie and friendship with Darnay, has decided to trade places with him. As Darnay is unwilling, Carton drugs him and has him carried out to a waiting carriage. The spy, Barsad, tells Carton to remain true to their agreement. Darnay, Dr. Manette, Mr. Lorry, Lucie, and her child flee France. Darnay uses Carton's papers to cross the border and presumably escape to England.
Miss Pross and Mr. Cruncher, who had not left with the others, prepare to depart. Meanwhile, Madame Defarge goes to the residence of Lucie and her family, believing that if she can catch them in the act of mourning for Darnay, that they could be held accountable for sympathising with an enemy of the Republic. Miss Pross sends Mr. Cruncher out to fetch a carriage. While he is away, she is confronted by Madame Defarge. Knowing that if Madame Defarge realises that her would-be victims have already departed, she might be able to have them stopped and brought back to Paris, Miss Pross pretends they are in another room by closing the door and placing herself in front of it. Madame Defarge figures out the fact that nobody is in the room and realises they have already left. She fakes ignorance and orders Miss Pross to move away, but she refuses. They struggle and Madame Defarge is shot and killed by her own pistol; the noise of the shot permanently deafens Miss Pross. Miss Pross and Cruncher then quickly leave.
The novel concludes with the death of Sydney Carton. If he had any chance to express his final thoughts, they would be full of prophecy: Monsieur Defarge himself be sent to the guillotine, and a future child of Charles and Lucie Darnay named after Carton.
| “ | It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known. | ” |
| —Sydney Carton's last thoughts, A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, also last sentence of A Tale of Two Cities | ||
[edit] Analysis
A Tale of Two Cities is a moral novel strongly concerned with themes of resurrection, guilt, hope, shame, redemption, social injustice and patriotism. This is one of the few Dickens novels with a historical theme, Barnaby Rudge being another notable historical novel. There are fewer characters and sub-plots than in his other offerings. The author's primary source was The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle, whose view that history follows a cycle of destruction and resurrection was an important influence, illustrated especially well in the life and death of Sydney Carton.
The narrative is extraordinarily dependent upon correspondence as a medium for ensuring the flow of events, and, while not an epistolary novel in the style of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos's Les Liaisons Dangereuses, the flow of letters forms a driving centre to much of the narrative development. The novel covers a period between 1757 and 1793, up to the middle period of the French Revolution.
The novel should be viewed primarily on the level of a great story. The twists and turns are sinuous. Originally written as a serial novel for publication in newspapers, its chapters open and close with great drama and mystery. Dickens' take on the French Revolution is balanced: he describes the horrors and atrocities committed by both sides.
The two cities referred to in the title are London and Paris. Throughout the novel, pairs of people, places, etc. are compared and contrasted.
[edit] Language
Dickens is convincing in the tongue of any social class, using the dialogues of the Marquis, the people of the court and Jerry Cruncher to great effect. He makes in his narration very original use of words, and his writing is largely characterised by interesting
[edit] Humour
Although not his speciality, humour is another element of writing over which Dickens has a consummate mastery. A Tale of Two Cities is mostly a serious book, but one hardly lacking in its comic elements. Jerry and Miss Pross are used mostly for their faculty for light relief. Dickens's language in describing Jerry's appearance is generally full of humour, and the description of his night-time activities is particularly witty, mocking Jerry's fishing pretences: "he brought forth a sack, a crowbar of convenient size, a rope and chain, and other fishing tackle of that nature".
[edit] Irony and symbolism
A Tale of Two Cities is full of verbal, situational and dramatic irony, adding to the intricacy and excitement of the narrative. It is full of underlying meaning and symbolism. Roads, blood, running water and the ocean, the colour red, homes, prisons and echoing footsteps are symbols recurrent throughout the novel. They do not have one literal meaning but gain figurative significance every time they appear, their connotations extended and enhanced with every appearance.
[edit] Psychology
Dickens exhibits an impressive comprehension of human nature in all of its social classes. His commiseration and sympathy for such tragic characters as Dr. Manette and Sydney Carton comes through strongly. The weaknesses in other characters are exposed generously and humorously, as with Jerry's alcoholic indulgence, Jarvis Lorry's conceited pride about his attractive leg, the dogged Englishness of Miss Pross, but the more evil and damaging faults of his other characters are thoroughly damned. He shows us that, unfortunately, human nature causes us to be vengeful and, for some of us, overly ambitious.Tale of Two Cities is a love story which chronicles the lives of Charles Darnay, a Frenchman who renounced his link with the aristocracy, and Sydney Carton, a wastrel who lived in England. Both these characters fall in love with Lucie Manette, the daughter of Dr. Alexandre Manette, unjustly imprisoned in France for 17 years. Though Lucie marries Darnay, Carton still loves her and in the end, gives his life to save Darnay for her. Dickens, who was fascinated with French history, especially the French Revolution, begins by criticizing the aristocrats' treatment of the poor people of France.
[edit] Themes
[edit] "Recalled to Life"
The themes of death, committal and resurrection are general and recurrent throughout the novel. It may be said that they are in fact its most important themes, for Dickens intended originally to entitle the book Recalled to Life. (This instead became the heading for the first chapter.)
The aforementioned concepts draw obvious parallels with the Christian faith and its ideals of deliverance and eternal life. Employing a less all-embracing interpretation, "Book the First" can safely be said to deal with the rebirth of Dr. Manette from the living death that is his incarceration.
The theme of resurrection is first brought to the reader's attention by Mr Lorry, who thinks obsessively of the words "buried alive". He regards himself as the vehicle for Dr. Manette's revival when he passes on the message "Recalled to Life" to Jerry Cruncher. He sees the candles on the table in the inn as being buried "in deep graves of black mahogany". He believes that he will physically "dig" (a word repeated often to enforce its connotation) Dr. Manette from his grave.
Jerry is also drawn into the theme: he himself is involved in death and resurrection in way that the reader does not yet know. The first piece of foreshadowing comes in his remark to himself: "You'd be in a blazing bad way, if recalling to life was to come into fashion, Jerry!" The black humour becomes obvious only in hindsight, and Dickens keeps the mystery alive until it is finally solved. One stormy night, a number of years later in the novel, Mr Lorry reawakens the reader's interest by telling Jerry that it is "Almost night [...] to bring the dead out of their graves". Jerry responds firmly that he has never seen the night do that.
The author revels in parallels. The theme of resurrection is illustrated with figurative genius in the case of Charles Darnay, with his triumvirate of imprisonments and subsequent escapes.
It is interesting to note that the demolition of Dr. Manette's shoe-making workbench is described as "the burning of the body". This is one of the few cases where that sub-theme has a positive connotation, liberating the doctor from his emotional slavery and the torturous memory of his long imprisonment.
Death is a theme dealt with almost solely by the French Revolution, although there is a brief mention of the passing of Lucie's son. His death, together with that of Sydney Carton, denotes a peaceful transition to deliverance and resurrection, in particular when we compare it to all the other deaths, which are brutal, violent and graceless.
Dickens holds the French and English equally liable for the social and judicial injustices in their respective countries. In both, death sentences are handed out for the most insignificant crimes, and life has little value. "From this room," the Marquis informs Darnay, "many such dogs have been taken out to be hanged." One peasant, the Marquis recalls, was run through with a sword because he dared mention his master's daughter. The Marquis and his cohorts believe in and take their "right of life and earth over the surrounding vulgar", which takes its revenge to similarly extreme proportions. The tables are turned, the roles of lord and slave reversed, and bloody retribution wrought.
It turns out that Jerry Cruncher's involvement in the theme is that he "resurrects" dead bodies to sell to medical men. As often happens with such Dickensian characters, Jerry has a change of heart and changes his ways, becoming a grave-digger instead of a grave-robber.
The devastating impact on Dr. Manette of his imprisonment in the Bastille might capture Dickens' sense of being trapped in his marriage to a woman he no longer loved. Even once he is freed, only Lucie can rescue Manette from recurrent delusions that he is still in prison; their relationship of father and daughter may have reflected aspects of Dickens' feelings for Ternan (who was the same age as his own daughters).
Sydney Carton's self-sacrificing death atones for all his past wrongdoings. He even finds God during the last few days of his life, repeating Christ's soothing words "I am the resurrection and the life". Resurrection, therefore, becomes the predominant theme of the final part of the novel. Darnay is rescued at the last moment and recalled to life; Carton chooses death and resurrection to a life better than that which he has ever known: "it was the peacefullest man's face ever beheld there [...] he looked sublime and prophetic".
Dickens, in conclusion, foresees a new and improved social order, rising from the ashes of the destruction which preceded it.
[edit] Mob violence
Dickens roundly denounces mob violence, using Roger Cly's funeral to show that the British are no less susceptible than the French. This helps to maintain a balance between the two cities of the tale.
[edit] Love and hate
Lucie Manette is the central figure around whom the theme of love revolves. There is first the love between father and daughter, jointly thoughtful and altruistic. Their feelings for one another are summed up in Chapter 17, Book the Second, where she promises him that nothing can come between them, not even Charles. He asks her in turn, "How could my happiness be perfect, while yours was incomplete?"
Miss Pross, on the other hand, loves Lucie with a passion that is both obsessive and over-protective but also noble. She is prepared to die at Madame Defarge's hands to rescue Lucie (329). Mr Lorry loves her with the committed affection of an uncle, becoming soppy at her wedding and being courageously primed to jump to her defence against Mr Stryver. He too, risks his own life to save those of Lucie and his good friend Doctor Manette, helping them to escape Paris.
Charles and Sydney both fall in love with Lucie, Charles offering chivalrous loyalty and Sydney obsessive passion and valiant selflessness. When Charles is ready to admit to his love for Lucie, he speaks to Dr. Manette first: "Heaven is my witness that I love her". Sydney, meanwhile, divulges the depths of his anguished persona to her: "You have been the last dream of my soul [....] You kindled me, heap of ashes that I am, into fire." This is not as over-the-top in Sydney as it could be in other men: his admission is the bare reality. He walks the streets at night to be near Lucie and finally gives his life for her, "to keep a life you love beside you!"
Selfless love, such as that offered by Dr. Manette in trying to save Charles for Lucie even though he knows him to be the nephew of the Marquis d'Evrémonde responsible for his eighteen-year custody, is the point which Dickens wants to make as the benchmark to aim at in life. Sydney Carton and Miss Pross exemplify this notion, too, as does Lucie.
Hatred is personified principally by Madame Defarge (backed up by the Vengeance and Jacques III) on the poor side, and the Marquis on the side of the rich. Madame Defarge has a very private (and general) reason for hating the Evrémondes: they cruelly abused her sister, brought about the deaths of her husband and little brother, and have repressed her family for hundreds of years. It is understandable if not condonable that Madame Defarge should become obsessed with annihilating all the Evrémondes, including Lucie and her daughter. As she explains to Lucie, "All our lives, we have seen our sister-women suffer, in themselves and in their children, poverty, nakedness, hunger, thirst, sickness, misery, oppression and neglect of all kinds [...] Is it likely that the trouble of one wife and mother would be much to us now?"
By way of uncomplimentary comparison, the Marquis has no reason at all to hate the peasants. They are spurned only for their low social standing. He sees them as less than animals and has anxiety only for his horses when his coach runs over and kills a young child. He shows his disdain for them to their faces: "You dogs! [...] I would ride over any of you very willingly, and exterminate you from the earth."
It is unsurprising that the French Revolution should be so blood-spattered for so long a time, and that even the guiltless were murdered with the guilty. Dickens believes that, ultimately, good will triumph over evil and that love is stronger than hate: the inexperienced Miss Pross, for example, gets the better of the toughened Madame Defarge. Likewise, Sydney's love seizes Charles from the clutches of the executioner and thwarts Madame Defarge's evil plans.
[edit] Darkness and light
As is common practice in English literature, Dickens depicts good and evil as expressions of light and darkness. Danger and fright are associated with darkness, while pleasure and happiness are associated with light. Lucie Manette embodies the theme of light and Madame Defarge that of darkness. Book the Second, "The Golden Thread", is intended to demonstrate Lucie's entwining a thread of bliss around those who come into contact with her, thus bringing them into her life and entangling them in her destiny.
Lucie meets her father for the first time in the Defarges' attic: "His old white head mingled with her radiant hair which warmed and lighted it as though it were the light of freedom shining on him." Lucie's hair symbolises joy as she winds "the golden thread that bound them all together". She is adorned with "diamonds, very bright and sparkling", and symbolic of the happiness of the day of her marriage.
Dickens does, however, go deliberately against the grain on one occasion: he has light show peril and fear, and thus presents a good technical range. When the ill-fated nobles are brought every day into the light from the dark vaults of their abhorrent prisons, the light heralds their journey to death.`
Sydney shows both pain and joy when Mr Lorry mentions Lucie's grieving for her spouse: "A light, or a shade [...] passed from it [his face], as swiftly as a change will sweep over a hill-side on a wild, bright day."
It is on a wild, tempestuous night that the Manettes flee from Paris: "The night comes on dark [....] The wind is rushing after us."
In more a traditional sense, we see the rising sun illuminate the way to Sydney's deliverance: "the glorious sun seemed to strike those words [...] straight and warn to his heart."
Darkness represents uncertainty, fear and peril. It is dark when Mr Lorry rides to Dover; it is dark in the prisons; dark shadows follow Madame Defarge; dark, gloomy doldrums disturb Dr. Manette; his capture and captivity are shrouded in darkness; the Marquis’s estate is burned in the dark of night; Jerry Cruncher raids graves in the darkness; Charles's second arrest also occurs at night. Both Lucie and Mr Lorry feel the dark threat that is Madame Defarge. "That dreadful woman seems to throw a shadow on me," remarks Lucie. Although Mr Lorry tries to comfort her, "the shadow of the manner of these Defarges was dark upon himself". Madame Defarge is "like a shadow over the white road", the snow symbolising purity and Madame Defarge's darkness corruption. Dickens also compares the dark colour of blood to the pure white snow: the blood takes on the shade of the crimes of its shedders.
[edit] Social injustice
Charles Dickens was a lifelong champion of the deprived and exploited because of his personal experiences as a young boy. His sympathies however, lie only up to a point with the revolutionaries; he condemns the mob madness which sets in after the insurrection. When mad men and women massacre eleven-hundred detainees in one night and hustle back to sharpen their weapons on the grindstone, they have "eyes which any unbrutalised beholder would have given twenty years of life, to petrify with a well-directed gun".
The reader is given numerous examples of the ways in which the poor are tyrannised in France and England alike. Amidst the common anarchy, the executioner in England is "stringing up long rows of miscellaneous criminals; now hanging housebreaker [...] now burning people in the hand" or hanging a broke man for stealing sixpence. In France, a boy is sentenced to have his hands removed and is burned alive, because he did not kneel down in the rain before a parade of monks, passing some fifty metres away. The clergy are extremely dishonest. At the lavish chateau of Monseigneur, we find "brazen ecclesiastics of the worst world worldly, with sensual eyes, loose tongues, and looser lives [...] Military officers destitute of military knowledge [...] Doctors who made great fortunes [...] for imaginary disorders".
The Marquis recalls with pleasure the days when his family had the right of life and death over their slaves, "when many such dogs were taken out to be hanged". He won't even allow a widow to put up a board bearing her dead husband’s name, to discern his resting place from all the others. He orders Madame Defarge's sick brother-in-law to heave a cart all day and allay frogs at night to exacerbate the young man's illness and hasten his death.
In England, even banks endorse unbalanced sentences: a man may be condemned to death for nicking a horse or opening a letter. Conditions in the prisons are dreadful. "Most kinds of debauchery and villainy were practised, and [...] dire diseases were bred", sometimes killing the judge before the accused.
So riled is Dickens at the brutality of the law that he depicts some English establishments in acerbically sarcastic words: "the whipping-post, another deal old institution, very humanising and softening to behold in action." He faults the law for accepting the appalling conditions without seeking reform. "Whatever is, is right" is the dictum of the Old Bailey. The gruesome portrayal of quartering highlights the insane atrocity of the penalty.
Dickens is understanding of the reasons behind Jerry’s grave-digging, reminding the reader that Mr Lorry is prone to rebuke Jerry more for his humble social status than anything else. Jerry reminds him that doctors, men of the cloth, undertakers and watchmen are also conspirators in the crime.
Dickens believes that there is little or no difference between the peers of the realm and the underprivileged as regards their dealings with each other. In spite of his compassion for the poor, he assumes the philosophical stance that what happened in the revolution was a predictable upshot. "Crush humanity out of shape once more, under similar hammers, and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms. Sow the same seed of rapacious licence and oppression over again, and it will surely yield the same fruit [...]."
[edit] Relation to Dickens's personal life
Dickens was born in 1812, some thirty to forty years subsequent to the occurrences detailed in the book. The period that it covers was one of great social injustices in both France and England, and it was a wish to highlight these which, in part, motivated Dickens to pen the story. He was inspired, too, by his interest in French history, acquired during his time there around 1845.
It has been argued that, in the novel, Dickens reflects on his own psychological state at the time of writing, especially his relationship with Ellen Ternan.
The plot hinges on the strong physical likeness of Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay. Darnay has the same initials as Dickens: in early drafts Carton's forename was Dick, giving him the same initials but transposed. Both men are in love (Carton unsuccessfully, Darnay marrying) with Lucie Manette, who may have been modelled physically on Ternan.
The characters of Carton and Darnay are strongly complementary to an extent that almost prefigures Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Darnay is worthy and respectable but dull, Carton disreputable but magnetic. Dickens might have used this contrast to explore his own uncertainties about his new, intensely unacceptable love for Ternan and its implications for his hitherto respectable private life.
[edit] Characters
Dickens's talent for vivid narration often sees his characters revealed immediately in their appearances. The Marquis is portrayed as wicked, Jerry Cruncher as crafty and Lucie as good. Some are one-dimensional, unrounded characters, personifying one characteristic rather than incorporating many. The Vengeance and Jacques Three, for example, symbolise odium. Other characters are central to the plot and are hence more rounded and intricate. Darnay and Carton look the same, are both in love with Lucie, but different in personality. Dickens frequently compares and contrasts them to highlight their good and bad points.
- Sydney Carton – quickminded but depressed English barrister and alcoholic; a key character in the theme of redemption
- Lucie Manette – young Frenchwoman loved by both Carton and Charles Darnay
- Charles Darnay – respectable young Frenchman who detests the aristocrats, though he is one himself, one of the main characters
- Dr. Alexandre Manette – Lucie's father, a prisoner in the Bastille for many years
- Ernest Defarge – owner of a French wine shop and member of the Jacquerie; husband of Madame Defarge; servant to Dr. Manette as a youth
- Madame Therese Defarge – a vengeful female revolutionary; arguably the antagonist
- The Vengeance – a companion of Madame Defarge referred to as her "shadow," a member of the sisterhood of women revolutionaries in Saint Antoine, and revolutionary zealot.
- Jarvis Lorry – a banker and friend of Dr. Manette
- Miss Pross – the fiercely loyal housekeeper of the Manettes since Lucie Manette was ten years old
- Monseigneur Marquis St. Evrémonde – cruel uncle of Charles Darnay
- John Barsad – perjurer, informer and spy. His real name is Solomon Pross and he is the brother of Miss Pross.
- Roger Cly – another spy, Barsad's collaborator
- Jerry Cruncher – messenger for Tellson's Bank and secretly a body snatcher
- C.J. Stryver – Rash, arrogant, and ambitious lawyer, senior to Sydney Carton
- The Seamstress – a young woman caught up in The Terror. She precedes Sydney Carton to the guillotine.
[edit] Adaptations
There have been at least three feature films made based on the book:
- A Tale of Two Cities, a 1911 silent film.
- A Tale of Two Cities, a 1935 black and white movie starring Ronald Colman. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
- A Tale of Two Cities, a 1958 version, starring Dirk Bogarde.
A Tale of Two Cities, Jill Santoriello's musical adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities performed at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida, in October and November 2007. James Stacy Barbour and Jessica Rush were among the cast.
Also, the novel has been adapted by Takarazuka Revue, the all-female opera company in Japan as a musical. The first production was in 1984, starring Mao Daichi at the Grand Theater; and the second was in 2003, starring Jun Sena at the Bow Hall.
The novel has also been adapted into a television movie in 1980, starring Chris Sarandon, and in 1989 Granada Television made a mini series starring John Mills, which was shown on American television as part of the PBS television series Masterpiece Theatre.
In the 1970 Monty Python's Flying Circus episode "The Attila the Hun Show", the sketch "The News for Parrots" included a scene of A Tale of Two Cities (As told for parrots).
The children's television series Wishbone adapted the novel for the episode "A Tale of Two Sitters."
American author Susanne Alleyn's novel A Far Better Rest, a reimagining of A Tale of Two Cities from the point of view of Sydney Carton, was published in the USA in 2000.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- A Tale of Two Cities, available at Project Gutenberg.
- A Tale of Two Cities, full text with audio.
- Complete audio book at Librivox Project.
- A Tale of Two Cities Book Notes Summary.
- 'Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities', lecture by Dr. Tony Williams on the writing of the book, at Gresham College on 3rd July 2007 (with video and audio files available for download, as well as the transcript).
- Asolo Repertory Theatre and Beyond the Book - Asolo Rep's community literacy initiative to inspire reading and community connection featured A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens during the 2007-08 season
Works by Charles Dickens | ||
|---|---|---|
| Novels: | The Pickwick Papers (1836–1837) · Oliver Twist (1837–1839) · The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1838–1839) · The Old Curiosity Shop (1840–1841) · Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty (1841) · A Christmas Carol (1843) · Martin Chuzzlewit (1843–1844) · The Chimes (1844) · The Cricket on the Hearth (1845) · The Battle of Life (1846) · Dombey and Son (1846–1848) · The Haunted Man (1848) · David Copperfield (1849–1850) · Bleak House (1852–1853) · Hard Times (1854) · Little Dorrit (1855–1857) · A Tale of Two Cities (1859) · Great Expectations (1860–1861) · Our Mutual Friend (1864–1865) · The Mystery of Edwin Drood (unfinished) (1870) | |
| Short stories: | "A Child's Dream of a Star" (1850) · "Captain Murderer" · "A Christmas Tree" (1850) · "What Christmas is, as We Grow Older" (1851) · "The Poor Relation's Story" (1852) · "The Child's Story" (1852) · "The Schoolboy's Story" (1853) · "Nobody's Story" (1853) · "The Seven Poor Travellers" (1854) · "The Holly-tree Inn" (1855) · "The Wreck of the Golden Mary" (1856) · "The Perils of Certain English Prisoners" (1857) · "Going into Society" (1858) · "The Haunted House" (1859) · "A Message from the Sea" (1860) · "Tom Tiddler's Ground" (1861) · "Somebody's Luggage" (1862) · "Mrs Lirriper's Lodgings" (1863) · "Mrs Lirriper's Legacy" (1864) · "Doctor Marigold's Prescriptions" (1865) · "Mugby Junction" (1866) · "No Thoroughfare" (1867) · "George Silverman's Explanation" · "Holiday Romance" · "Hunted Down" · "The Lamplighter" · "The Signal-Man" (1866) · "Sunday Under Three Heads" · "The Trial for Murder" · "A House to Let" (1858) · "The Long Voyage" (1853) | |
| Other works | Sketches by Boz (1836) · Master Humphrey's Clock (1840–1841) · American Notes (1842) · Pictures from Italy (1844–1845) · The Life of Our Lord (1846, published in 1934) · A Child's History of England (1851–1853) · The Uncommercial Traveller (1860–1869) · In Memoriam W. M. Thackeray the first! · A Coal Miner's Evidence | |
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