Notes on A Tale of Two Cities

Recommended Film Version: Masterpiece Theater 1991

Recommended Book Version: Enriched Classics A Tale of Two Cities

Main Characters (These are the ones to remember)

Dr. Alexander Manette A doctor who is imprisoned by the French in the Bastille for 18 years and then "recalled to life" one day.

Lucie Manette

His daughter.

Jarvis Lorry

A loyal employee of Tellson Bank who brings Dr. Manette back to London and remains the faithful friend of the Manettes.

Charles Darnay (a.k.a Charles D' Aulnais)

A French aristocrat who denounces his nobility and moves to London, where he is tried for treason and acquitted and afterward marries Lucie Manette. He returns to Paris and is sentenced to death as the book's third Marquis St. Evremonde.

The Marquis St. Evremonde

In the beginning of the book, Charles Darnay's uncle, who runs over Gaspard's son and is murdered by him. Before that, Charles's father.

Madame Therese Defarge

A woman largely responsible for the French revolution, a wine shop owner's wife who knits the names of her victims.

Ernest Defarge Her husband, also at the head of the Revolution.

Sydney Carton

A lawyer who takes advantage of his resemblance to Darnay to get him acquitted. He is in love with Lucie, so he trades places with Charles in the Bastille and dies in his place.

C.J. Stryver

His boss, who is an insolent fat man who does nothing for himself. He decides to marry Lucie but gives up.

Miss Pross

Lucie's companion, she is deafened when she shoots Miss Pross and kills her.

Jerry Cruncher

A resurrection man, or grave robber.

Solomon Pross (a.k.a John Barsad)

Miss Pross' brother, who sneaks Carton into the prison to trade places with Darnay. He also calls himself John Barsad and spies on and accuses Darnay in his first trial.

The Three Jacques (the Jacquerie)

Revolutionaries. Jacques Four is Monsieur Defarge. Jacques Five is the mender of Roads.

Settings and Important Places

London

Where the Manettes live

Paris

Where the Revolution takes place, especially St. Antione

Tellson Bank

Where Jarvis Lorry and Jerry Cruncher work

Bastille

The French prison that is first taken over by the revolutionaries

Old Bailey

Where Darnay is tried in London

The wine shop

In Paris, owned by the Defarges where Dr. Manette is brought and where most revolutionary planning takes place

Plot Summary

Note: this is extremely condensed!

Dr. Alexander Manette was a prisoner in the Bastille for 18 years. He is released and taken back to London by Jarivs Lorry of Tellson bank. Dr. Manette is a little crazy because of all the years he spent locked up in solitary confinement. He has a daughter, Lucie, who was a young girl when he was sent to prison. On a boat trip, Lucie meets a man named Charles Darnay and is taken with him. They discuss the American Revolution. Darnay is a Frenchman, but has relinquished the title of his nobility. He is tried for treason in England. However Darnay's lawyer Sydney Carton points out that there is no way to prove that Darnay could have done it, because the two men look exactly alike and the witness could not say for sure that it was Darnay. Despite this brilliant defense (on account of which Darnay is released) Carton leads a solitary life of drunkenness, playing second man to his boss, Stryver (who is by all means incompetent). By this point everyone wants to marry Lucie (Darnay, Carton and Stryver). She chooses Darnay, and they are married. Right before the wedding, Darnay mentions to Dr. Manette that he has something very important to tell him. When he does, Dr. Manette falls back into his stupor. Darnay has told him that he is Charles St. Evremonde, the nephew of the Marquis St. Evremonde, who was responsible for Dr. Manette's imprisonment. Darnay is convinced by the Revolutionaries to return to France by a fake letter from an old servant. Upon his return he is arrested for being an aristocrat, even though he renounced his property. Unfortunately, Darnay is not as lucky during his second trial. He is condemned mainly on the testimony of his father in law, Dr. Manette, who wrote a statement against the Evremondes while he was imprisoned (which was discovered during the storming of the Bastille), in one of those wonderful ironies. He is sentenced to death. However, out of love for the Manette family and Lucie in particular, Sydney Carton goes to Paris. He manages to smuggle himself into prison and (through drugging him) Darnay out. Carton is convinced that he has never done anything worthwhile with his life, and therefore dies for his love's husband. The Manettes and Darnay manage to get out of Paris, after Miss Pross (Lucie's maiden) rescues little Lucie from Madame Defarge, who wanted her because she was the blood of the Evremondes. Miss Pross shoots Defarge with her own pistol, and is deafened. They all live happily ever after (and Carton has done a far better thing than he has ever done and is thus in a far better place).

Themes

QUICK LIST

life and death

love and sacrifice

resurrection

war and revolution

justice and revenge

dualism (twins)

family

money and power

the strife of the poor

revenge

faithfulness

peace and war

causes of revolution

power and abuse of power

RESURRECTION/REDEMPETION/REBIRTH

This is one of the main themes in the novel, supported by several characters throughout. The main resurrectionists are Jarvis Lorry, Jerry Cruncher and Sydney Carton. Jarvis Lorry is responsible when in the beginning Alexander Manette is "recalled to life". In this case, Dr. Manette has been buried alive in the Bastille for 18 years, and he is freed by Lorry. Jerry Cruncher serves both in parallel and in opposition to the real resurrectionists. He is an "honest tradesman" or "resurrection man". Both are euphemisms for grave robber. Cruncher serves the useful function of reminding us that the dead do not often stay dead- especially when he digs up Roger Cly and no one is there! Sydney Carton build up to his role throughout the novel. By dying in Darnay's place, he resurrects him. Carton is redeemed when he trades places with Darnay, leaving his better self on the earth behind him.

LOVE AND HATE

These contrasting themes can be treated alone or together- I like to discuss them together because in the novel there are contrasting forces that fight for victory. There is the love of the family between Lucy and her father, and then Lucie and her husband and daughter. There is the love of a friend, which is shared by the Manettes, the Darnays and Lorry as well as Sydney Carton. There is also the not-to-be- forgotten romantic love, as expressed between Carton and Lucie, Lucie and Darnay, and briefly Lucie and Stryver. Love is shown as a bond that holds families together and strengthens with hardship. Hate, on the other hand, is seen as a destructive force that tears people apart. The Defarges represent hate- along with the Vengeance and their revolutionaries- the Jacques five. The revolution, symbolizing hate, is a destructive force that rips families apart- the aristocrats are killed, and Darnay is condemned.

REVENGE AND VENGENCE

Quite the opposite of love and redemption, revenge and vengeance are the motivators for many events in the novel. The Marquis attempts to get revenge against Charles, Madame Defarge tries to get her revenge against the aristocrats, and the vengeance is always by her side. With revenge comes violence, and the revolution is a form of revenge. The blood that the knitting Madame Defarge tries to spill from the Manettes and Darnays is only prevented by love.

REVOLUTION/WAR/DEATH

Apart from revenge or redemption is the plain blood and death that the revolution brings. The instruments of the revolution make bloody everything they touch- as the wine casket falls and spills red wine and we see BLOOD written in big letters. Blood spills through the streets of France, both literally and figuratively.

Symbols in the French Revolution:

-the wine barrel that falls in the street symbolizes the peasant revolt

-the carriage and the chocolate symbolize the excesses of the aristocracy

-the blood in the fountain symbolizes where the casualties were coming from (i.e. the aristocrats)

-Madame Defarge's knitting: the ruthless involvement of the women in the French Revolution

-the wood cutter and mender of roads, as well as Gaspard and Jaques (a term for any confederate): involvement of normal people in the revolution

FAMILY

Family ties are strong, but easily broken in this book. There is no family strong enough to be together for long. Madame Defarge sees her family destroyed at the hands of the aristocrats. Dr. Manette too suffers because of the aristocrats- he is separated from his wife and daughter. Once reunited, a new family is born through Darnay- but that is threatened when his identity is revealed, and when he is condemned to death. Gaspard sees his family destroyed when his little son is killed, giving him the strength to kill the Marquis. Families are reunited in the end- at least the Darnays are, thanks to Carton's sacrifice.

Notes and Quotes (new!)

Notes and Quotes are comprehensive discussions on topics such as characters and themes, supported by quotations from the book. They are a good jumping-off point for those who want to better understand some characters and themes, and new ones will be added.

Below is a lot of information. Here is an index of what you'll find.

THEMES

-Resurrection

-Sacrifice

CHARACTERS

-Sydney Carton

-Charles Darnay

-Lucie Manette

-Jarvis Lorry

-Jerry Cruncher

-Miss Pross

THEMES

RESURRECTION

Resurrection may be the single most important theme in A Tale of Two Cities. Whys is it important? Who are the principal resurrectionists? What was Dickens trying to tell us? Dr. Manette is "recalled to life" by Jarvis Lorry when he is released from prison, Charles Darnay is resurrected by Sydney Carton when he dies in his place, and Jerry Crucher is the resurrection farce (he is a grave robber). That and so much more.

RESURRECTION THEME

Starting from the very beginning when Lorry sends the message back to the bank that reads, "Recalled to Life" the theme becomes significant. Dr. Manette is "resurrected" when he returns from prison. Darnay is "resurrected" when he is acquitted from an almost certain execution at his first trial. After the revolution begins in Paris, there is an aristocrat who feigns his own death and is then found alive. He could be referred to as "resurrected." Cruncher and his associates are resurrection men. They in a literal sense dig up bodies. In the idea of the people rising up in revolution is in itself a resurrection. The people are miserable and living in squalor, which they revolt to end and live in the happiness and freedom promised in resurrection and eternal life. Anything like this is a good example of resurrection. Does that help answer your question?

Resurrection is arguably the theme of A Tale of Two Cities. There are several resurrections in this book. The most famous, of course, is at the end when Carton is executed for Darnay. Other examples- the grave robber (Jerry Crucher) is a farce for a resurrectionist. These "resurrection men" are "honest tradesmen". They are the ultimate oxymoron. The idea was to rob new graves and sell the parts to doctors as autopsies were sort of new. Dr. Manette was the living dead, and he is resurrected by Jarvis Lorry. In a way, Lorry is also resurrected himself when he realizes that he has spent all of his life looking after the bank, and there are more important things in life than business.

CARTON AND DARNAY

Sydney Carton discovers what he could have been when he meets Charles Darnay. He says: "I am a disappointed drudge. I care for no man on earth, and no man on earth cares for me". However he is given a chance by fate (the beginning of his rebirth) because he looks like Darnay. He is in love with Lucie, but he aids her as a friend. When he takes the place of Darnay and dies on the guillotine, he makes the ultimate sacrifice. This is the greatest resurrection in that all that was good in him (i.e. his love for Lucie) lives on in Darnay, and he is now defined not for what he was (i.e. a drunkard) but by his single greatest act. His rebirth begins when he meets Lucie and becomes a better person despite himself, but he is so set in his ways that it cannot be completed until he dies for her. He is thus born again in his death.

QUOTES ON RESURRECTION

"recalled to life"

"I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall never die: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die"

This is obviously a quote from the Bible, but it was read at Carton's father's funeral and Carton repeats it to himself. There is a strong Christian theme running through this book (not surprising).

"It is a far, far better thing I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known"

". . . Charles Darnay seemed to stand in a company of the dead. Ghosts all! The ghost of beauty, the ghost of stateliness, the ghost of elegance, the ghost of pride, the ghost of frivolity, the ghost of wit, the ghost of youth, the ghost of age, all waiting their dismissal from the desolate shore, all turning on him eyes that were changed by the death they had died in coming there."

SACRIFICE

Although the theme of resurrection is related to sacrifice, sacrifice has a special place as a theme in A Tale of Two Cities. A novel cannot be melodramatic without sacrifice, and there is plenty of both in A Tale of Two Cities. In fact the theme of a man sacrificing his own life for that of his rival (as Carton does for Darnay) so inspired Dickens when he acted in a play "The Frozen Deep" that he wrote A Tale of Two Cities around it. In order to have real melodrama, real sacrifice, you have to have a background of violent disruption- the French Revolution was perfect, thus A Tale of Two Cities was born. Here are some examples of the theme of sacrifice.

SYDNEY CARTON

The immortal sacrifice deserves first consideration. Sydney Carton's sacrifices begin well before he does the thing that is far better than he has ever done, however. He begins by sacrificing himself to the bottle- he is a drunkard, a coward, and a second-string lawyer. That is, he allows himself to think he is. Having no respect for himself and no reason to live, he allows his brilliant intellect to be wasted on Stryver, who takes all the credit. When he sees Lucie he is instantly in love, but can do nothing because he feels he is not good enough for her.

"If it had been possible, Miss Manette, that you could have returned the love of the man you see before yourself--flung away, wasted, drunken, poor creature of misuse as you know him to be--he would have been conscious this day and hour, in spite of his happiness, that he would bring you to misery, bring you to sorrow and repentance, blight you, disgrace you, pull you down with him. I know very well that you

can have no tenderness for me; I ask for none; I am even thankful that it cannot be."

Thus the tragedy- not only does she love another man, she cannot have him, because he can "love no human creature". Yet he tells her, poignantly,:

"For you, and for any dear to you, I would do anything. If my career were of that better

kind that there was any opportunity or capacity of sacrifice in it, I would embrace any sacrifice for you and for those dear to you."

Therefore you see that dying for her, sacrificing his life for that of her husband and his loathsome rival, is his only logical step.

He is given the opportunity when he learns that Darnay is going to Paris. He knows he will be in danger there, and he follows him. He goes to Paris, finds Solomon Pross, and makes a deal that will secure him in the prison. He can then drug Darnay and trade places with him, and die with the immortal last words:

"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."

JARVIS LORRY

"Miss Manette, I am a man of business. I have a business charge to acquit myself of. In your reception of it, don't heed me any more than if I was a speaking machine-truly, I am not much else. I will, with your leave, relate to you, miss, the story of one of our

customers."

Jarvis Lorry has made a choice to sacrifice himself for his career. More than an occupation, he sincerely has lent himself to Tellson's Bank with all of his heart. His sacrifice is in fact, not much of a sacrifice. He believes so completely in it that it is nothing to him.

He is happy with his fate, as this exchange with Miss Pross shows him to be:

Pooh!" rejoined Miss Pross; "you were a bachelor in your cradle."

"Well!" observed Mr. Lorry, beamingly adjusting his little wig, "that seems probable, too."

"And you were cut out for a bachelor," pursued Miss Pross, "before you were put in your cradle."

But Jarvis Lorry takes great steps to secure his sacrifice. His sacrifice is not just for the bank, but for its customers. He is willing to go to great personal danger to ensure his duty to them, and to the bank.

"He occupied rooms in the Bank, in his fidelity to the House of which he had grown to be a part, lie strong root-ivy. it chanced that they derived a kind of security from the patriotic occupation of the main

building, but the true-hearted old gentleman never calculated about that. All such circumstances were indifferent to him, so that he did his duty."

When the threat of Revolution reaches Tellson's branch in Paris, a symbol for the destruction of the old guard, Lorry must go and goes gladly.

However Lorry does not have a heart of stone. What began as a matter of business becomes a friendship, and he looks after Lucie and the Manettes with much love. He is willing to protect them at all costs, even with the war raging outside, in Paris.

CHARLES DARNAY

Although not the usual subject of a conversation on sacrifice, poor Charles cannot be left out. He has in fact sacrificed for most of his life. He leaves the comforts of the French aristocracy, sacrificing his name, fortune and title and essentially his life. This is no small feat. He does it because he does not approve of the way his relatives treat the peasants, and he wants to be no part of it:

Sir," said the nephew, "we have done wrong, and are reaping the fruits of wrong."

"WE have done wrong?" repeated the Marquis, with an inquiring smile, and delicately pointing, first to his nephew, then to himself.

"Our family; our honourable family, whose honour is of so much account to both of us, in such different ways. Even in my father's time, we did a world of wrong, injuring every human creature who came between us and our pleasure, whatever it was. Why need I speak of my father's time, when it is equally yours? Can I separate my father's twin-brother, joint inheritor, and next successor, from himself?"

"Death has done that!" said the Marquis.

"And has left me," answered the nephew, "bound to a system that is frightful to me, responsible for it, but powerless in it; seeking to execute the last request of my dear mother's lips, and obey the last look of my dear mother's eyes, which implored me to have mercy and to redress; and tortured by seeking assistance and power in vain."

Thus Darnay clearly understands his sacrifice. He sacrifices his life for what he believes when he returns to Paris to help Gabelle, his faithful friend, who is at the mercy of the Defarges:

"The latent uneasiness in Darnay's mind was roused to vigorous life by this letter. The peril of an old servant and a good one, whose only crime was fidelity to himself and his family, stared him so reproachfully in the face, that, as he walked to and fro in the Temple considering what to do, he almost hid his face from the passersby. He knew very well, that in his horror of the deed which had culminated the bad deeds and bad reputation of the old family house, in his resentful suspicions of his uncle, and in the aversion with which his conscience regarded the crumbling fabric that he was supposed to uphold, he had acted imperfectly. He knew very well, that in his love for Lucie, his renunciation of his social place, though by no means new to his own mind, had been hurried and incomplete. He knew that he ought to have systematically worked it out and supervised it, and that he had meant to do it, and that it had never been done."

So Darnay goes to Paris to rescue Gabelle, and ends up in deadly peril himself.

MISS PROSS

In a discussion of sacrifice Miss Pross certainly cannot be left out. She sacrifices herself regularly to be with Lucie, whom she loves and protects. Like Lorry, she is so humble in duty that nothing else matters to her:

"I don't want dozens of people who are not at all worthy of Ladybird, to come here looking after her," said Miss Pross.

"DO dozens come for that purpose?"

"Hundreds," said Miss Pross.

It was characteristic of this lady (as of some other people before her time and since) that whenever her original proposition was questioned, she exaggerated it."

This fragment not only explains her dedication to Lucie, it also foreshadows the sacrifice she makes for her. In Paris, Miss Pross stays to face Madam Defarge:

"You might, from your appearance, be the wife of Lucifer," said Miss Pross, in her breathing. "Nevertheless, you shall not get the better of me. I am an Englishwoman."

It is for Lucie's sake that she attacks Madam Defarge, though she has never done anything violent before:

"She knew full well that Miss Pross was the family's devoted friend; Miss Pross knew full well that Madame Defarge was the family's malevolent enemy."

LUCIE MANETTE

Though she once believed she was an orphan, once Lucie meets with her father once again she is unable to part with him. She looks after him and as the "golden thread" is able to bring him back to health and lovingly take care of him thereafter. She is willing to skip her marriage plans despite her love for Darnay because she loves her father and does not want to leave him. Luckily she does not, and is able to marry Lucie.

ALEXANDER MANETTE

Alexander Manette shares Darney's grief with the French aristocracy, and settles to speak against them even though it puts his life in danger. He informs the authorities about the St. Evremonde's attack on Madam Defarge's brother and sister and for it spends 18 years in the Bastille.

Dr. Manette also makes a sacrifice is allowing Lucie to marry Darnay. When Charles tells him that he to be the Marquis St. Evremonde, Dr. Manette loses himself in a remission to his days in prison. When he comes to, be commits to never allow another remission to shoemaking and accepts the marriage of Lucie and Charles for his daughter's happiness.

CHARACTERS

SYDNEY CARTON

What makes Sydney Carton so important? What defines who he is? Why

does he do what he does? Why is he the hero? How does he define the

theme of resurrection?

General Background

Carton is an alcoholic suffering from severe depression. He spends his

days brooding and drinking. He cares for no man. He does nothing for

himself- he lets others take advantage of him, he sees no meaning in

his life and he is severely suicidal.

Carton is a brilliant lawyer and a smart man. Yet since he and Stryver

were schoolboys he has been letting everyone else take credit for his

work- there simply is no meaning in it for him. He has built Stryver a

reputation by remaining in the background and guiding him along. He

takes no credit at all for what he does.

When Carton discovers Darnay, he is bitterly reminded of what he could

have been. Darnay is his better self- he seems more handsome though

they look alike, and he is more together and charming. Although Carton

wants to hate him, he cannot because he loves Lucie.

Lucie is the bright light in Carton's life. He does not feel like he

is good enough for her, but he loves her and would do anything for her.

Therefore he asks Darnay, no longer his rival because he is her

husband, to be his friend. He remains close to the family and a part

of it, although still an outsider. He tells Lucie that he would

sacrifice anything for her or those she loves.

He keeps his promise. When he hears of Darnay's capture in France, he

rushes to Paris to do something. There he cannot do anything to get

his acquitted, so he sneaks into the prison, drugs him, and trades

places with him. The result is that Darnay gets away and he dies.

Carton's best act in life was his death. He says himself that because

it is a far better thing he does in dying for his love than he has ever

done it is a far better rest he goes to than he has ever known. He is

at peace and not afraid to die because he has resurrected Darnay and

Lucie can put her family back together.

Physical appearance:

Sydney Carton is introduced as the "wigged gentleman with his hands in

his pockets, whose whole attention, ... seemed to be concentrated on

the ceiling of the court." He looks almost identical to Charles

Darnay.

Disturbing behavior

Carton showed all kinds of disturbing behavior- including suicidal

intentions, drunkenness, and brooding. He is an alcoholic and suffers

from severe depression, from a medical point of view.

Carton gets drunk the night after the trial when he meets with Darnay,

and comments that he is his better self. He is also drunk while he is

working with Stryver, in which he does all of the work and Stryver gets

all of the credit. This is disturbing behavior, and Stryver notes that

he has acted that way since the two were in school together, when

Carton did all of the other boys homework.

Carton has no self-esteem. He tells Darnay that he loves no human

creature. He does not understand his place in life, and his life has

no meaning for him.

He shows suicidal intentions throughout, but the most prominent is when

he tells Lucy that he would commit any sacrifice for her or the ones

she loved. He does this of, course, when he dies for her husband in

the end.

Compared to Darnay

Basically their main similarities are that they look alike, they are

both alone (I mean this in a broad, not physical sense), and they both

love Lucie. They also will both go out of their way to do something

for someone- Carton will do almost anything, and Darnay will do

anything to help a friend. However Carton is suicidal and depressed,

and Darnay is charming and pretty well adjusted considering.

Descriptions:

Describes himself as a "disappointed drudge" who cares "for no man on

earth" and feels that there are "waste forces within him".

Tells Lucie he "would embrace and sacrifice for you and for those dear

to you".

Dies for Darnay with the book's famous last lines: "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".

Others opinions

Darnay believes that he is "a problem of carelessness and

recklessness".

Lucie believes that he "is capable of good things, gentle things, and

even magnanimous things.

A tragic hero

He has many flaws, as I described before. One of them is that he has

no sense of self-worth. He was, one could say, a born martyr- he never

does anything to help himself, and he seems most comfortable when other

people are taking advantage of him. He lets Stryver take all the

credit while he does all the work.

He is a tragic hero because he died for Darnay, his rival, in order to

make Lucie happy. His tragic fate is that the only way he could make

anyone happy was by dying, and dying was the best thing he ever did.

How do Darnay and Carton feel about each other?

I think that Carton is the hero. This is because he allowed Darnay to

take the girl he loved, but he still looked after her and watched over

her entire family as a friend. When they needed him, he was there. He

switched places with Darnay and went to the guillotine for him, because

he believed that the family should not have been broken up. If he was

not a hero, he would have just let Darnay die and married Lucie. In

dying for her, he did a far better thing than he had ever done.

Therefore, he was not afraid. The fact that he helped the seamstress

to not be afraid is also noble and heroic. His death allows for a

happy ending.

Carton despises Darnay, which is part of his character. Not only does

he not like anyone, he sees Darnay as his better self- a rival who

looks like he does, but who is better in many ways- more charming,

better adjusted, cleaner. Carton is a suicidal alcoholic at best- he

tells him that he can love no man. He feels that he has no heart, and

there is no meaning to his life. This is why he tells Lucie that he

would sacrifice himself for her or the ones she loves, and why when he

does he says that it is a far better thing than he has ever done.

HEROES- Sydney Carton

Sydney Carton is notable because he is a true martyr. Remember how he

let Stryver take credit for everything that HE had done? I would say

that this tendency shows that he did nothing for himself- even before

he met Lucie.