A tale of Two Cities:

Chapter 14
Summary
Mr. Jarvis Lorry is in Tellson's Bank's Paris office, Lorry looks out the window to
where a huge grindstone has been set up across the courtyard. He closes the
window, but still hears "the usual night hum of the city, with an indescribable ring
in it now and then, weird and unearthly, as if some unwonted sounds of a terrible
nature were going up to Heaven." He thanks God that no one he loves is in Paris
tonight. Suddenly, he hears the gate clang, and in rush Lucie and Dr. Manette.
Lucie is deathly pale and falls into Lorry's arms, panting, "O my dear friend! My
husband!" In a jumble she manages to explain that Charles Darnay is in Paris and
in prison. Meanwhile, the doctor asks, "What is that noise?" and goes to the
window. Lorry begs him to stay away from the window, but the doctor says that no
one would ever hurt him, a former prisoner in the Bastille.

As soon as he learns Darnay is in La Force, Lorry sends Lucie to wait in his room,
telling her she can do nothing to help Charles and that he must speak alone with
her father without delay. Lorry and the doctor look out the window at a terrible
sight: Around the grindstone is a crowd of people covered with blood; they have
come to sharpen hatchets, knives, bayonets, and swords taken from people they
have killed. Lorry whispers, "They are ... murdering the prisoners" and asks the
doctor to use his reputation to get to the prison to save Darnay. The doctor
immediately joins the crowd around the grindstone, and it is not long before there
are cries to save the "Bastille prisoner's kindred in La Force."

Returning to Lucie, Lorry finds that Miss Pross and little Lucie are also there. Mr.
Jarvis Lorry decides to find an apartment for Lucie so that the presence of an
emigrant prisoner's wife does not endanger the bank. He leaves Jerry Cruncher
there to guard them. That evening, Monsieur Defarge arrives at the bank with a
message from Dr. Manette saying Charles Darnay is safe, but the doctor can't
leave yet, and that the messenger has a letter for Lucie from Darnay. Lorry is to
let Defarge see Lucie. Madame Defarge is in the courtyard knitting, and
accompanying her is her friend The Vengeance.
Monsieur Defarge says it is necessary for his wife to see Lucie and the child for
their safety. His tone is unemotional and almost mechanical, which concerns
Lorry. Darnay's note to Lucie is only a few phrases, but Lucie is so taken by having
any message at all that she kisses Madame Defarge's hand, which is limp and
cold; her expression is chilly as well. Lorry presents little Lucie and Miss Pross to
Madame Defarge, who points her knitting needle at little Lucie and asks if she is
Darnay's child. Lorry says she is the prisoner's only child, and the shadow that
Madame Defarge casts on little Lucie makes her mother kneel down and hold onto
her, frightened. With that, the Defarges and The Vengeance leave, Madame
Defarge knitting as she goes. Lucie feels the darkness of their shadow long after
they have gone, and so does Lorry.
Analysis
Again, Lucie is being protected from knowing anything about Charles Darnay,
which is indicative of the status of wives in England at the time, but also speaks to
what the men around her view as her fragility. In reality, she is extremely
sensitive to the plights of others, and although she is prone to fainting and
grabbing onto people for support, it takes serious bravery to head back to France.
After all, she knows about the law that was passed on the day Darnay left
England, so she has a much better notion than he did of how dangerous France
might be. But her father is certain his status will protect both of them. Dickens
portrays Lucie as an interesting mix of feminine weakness and gutsy strength, and
she'll certainly need her strength now that she is in the middle of such chaos and
danger. As he did in the beginning of the novel, Mr. Jarvis Lorry serves as the rock
to which Lucie clings.

The doctor, knowing he is a hero to the patriots, makes use of his reputation to go
to La Force to try to free Darnay. He has convinced and fired up this raggedy
group of "murderers," but like Lorry, readers cannot be sure he will succeed,
which provides the cliffhanger for this chapter.
The cold way that Monsieur Defarge speaks to Lorry seems to contradict his
insistence that he see Lucie and her child for their safety. The shadow that
Madame Defarge casts on them makes it even less likely that Lucie and little Lucie
are safe from harm. Even though Dr. Manette is protected because of his former
prisoner status, it appears that his daughter doesn't get the same protection. The
reader knew this back when Madame Defarge entered Lucie's name on the
register of her knitting, and it appears that she has not changed her mind.
Questions:
1. how have the attitudes of Monsieur and Madame Defarge changed toward Lucie
Manette?
When Lucie Manette first met the Defarges, she had come to the wine shop to
meet and rescue the father she had never known. She had relatively little to do
with Madame Defarge, but was deeply grateful to Monsieur Defarge for caring
for her father. Monsieur Defarge used his connections to help Lucie, Mr. Jarvis
Lorry, and Dr. Manette get out of Paris and back to England. Since then,
however, the Defarges have heard that Lucie has married Charles Darnay. This
dominates Madame Defarge's attitude because she is set on vengeance on the
Marquis's entire family. It appears in this chapter that Monsieur Defarge is more
committed to his wife than to his conscience. At the request of Dr. Manette,
Monsieur Defarge brings a very short note to Lucie from Charles Darnay.
However, Monsieur Defarge's voice is "curiously reserved and mechanical,"
which bothers Mr. Lorry a great deal. Madame Defarge is also there, to get a
look at Lucie and her daughter—supposedly so that she will know what they
look like and can protect them, but Mr. Lorry suspects that this is not the case.
Madame Defarge and The Vengeance are both extremely cold to Lucie and cast
such a dark shadow with their presence that it terrifies Lucie and she shields
her daughter in her arms. Madame Defarge speaks of Dr. Manette's "influence"
with a "lowering smile." She knows his influence can only go so far because she
has registered Darnay in her knitting, and no one escapes the register once
Madame Defarge has recorded their name. In fact, as she leaves, she seems to
be adding more names to the register, most likely little Lucie's and perhaps, as
a member of Darnay's household, Miss Pross's.
2. -Why did madam Defarge and Vengeance visit Lucie?
They visited her to give her a letter from Dr. Manette and madam Defarge
would protect Lucie but the fact that they came to see Lucie and plan to take
revenge on her and her daughter.
3. “Don’t look. Don’t look out, Manette, for your life, don’t touch the
blind!”
 These words were said by Mr. Lorry to Dr Manette when he looked out of the
window to see what the mob were doing. Mr. Lorry was worried about Dr
Manette that they would kill him or shoot him. Dr Manette told Mr. Lorry that he
was a Bastille prisoner and if they knew that, they would never touch him, Dr
Manette was right. They obeyed him and felt his words.
4. What extraordinary surprise did Mr. Lorry experience that day?
Mr. Lorry was troubled by the violence in the city as he sat in his room at the
Paris
branch of Tellson’s Bank. On his face was a shadow of horror because of the
great
violence he watched in the courtyard of the bank, but he was grateful that no
one dear to him was in this place when suddenly, he found the Manettes
rushing into his room in the bank in Paris and telling him that the
revolutionaries had taken Charles Darnay prisoner.
5. What did Mr. Lorry ask Dr. Manette to do urgently? Why?
Mr. Lorry was troubled by the violence in the city of Paris, and he informed
Doctor
Manette that the mob was butchering the prisoners of La Force, but Dr.
Manette,
whose years as a prisoner had become a source of strength rather than
weakness,
simply smiled and went down to the crowd, walking through the mob
unharmed,
putting the weapons aside. As a former prisoner of the Bastille, he was a hero,
and as a hero, he could rescue Darnay because he had some influence with the
revolutionaries, so he left to try to save Darnay’s life.
6. Why did Madame Defarge accompany her husband to Lucie’s lodging/
house, do you think?
One evening, Monsieur Defarge delivered a message to Mr. Lorry from the
Doctor,
which stated that Darnay was safe for the moment and that Defarge had a note
from
Darnay to Lucie. As Mr. Lorry took Defarge to see Lucie, Madame Defarge and
The Vengeance joined them. Defarge explained that the women wanted to see
Lucie and her child so that they could identify them and protect them. After
reading the message from her husband, Lucie thanked Madame Defarge and
 begged her to help Darnay. Madame Defarge responded coldly to Lucie. When
Miss Pross and Young Lucie presented themselves to Madame Defarge, she
barely noticed Miss Pross, focusing instead on Young Lucie and casting a literal
and figurative shadow on both Lucie and her daughter.
7. "I am not thankless, but that dreadful woman seems to throw a
shadow on me and on all my hopes." Comment.
Lucie said these words to Mr. Lorry in her lodging in Paris near Tellson’s Bank.
Lucie
was visited by Defarge, his wife, and the Vengeance to deliver a message from
Darnay
to calm her down. Lucie kissed Madame Defarge's hand, showing gratitude, but
Madame Defarge's cold reply made Lucie and Mr. Lorry terrified and troubled
and
clarified how Madame Defarge devoted her life to hatred and vengeance only.
The novel is dominated by shadows, creating and symbolising a mood of
complex
darkness and death. The vengeful Madame Defarge cast a shadow and affected
Lucie
and all of her hopes negatively.
8. What was the Doctor's special power in Paris?
Doctor Manette's special power in Paris was that he was an old Bastille Prisoner.
Every patriot in Paris tried to help him. This privilege *** helped him to know
the news of his son in law.
9. "Why on earth did you come back to France?" Comment
These words were said by M. Defarge to Charles Darnay while he was taking
him to La Force. M. Defarge was sad because he knew that Darnay was going to
be killed and this would affect the family of his ex-master, Dr. Manette. He
wished that Damay had never come to France at that time.
10. "Who knows? Many other people have been put in prison unjustly
too." Comment
M. Defarge said this to Darnay when he asked him if he would be buried in La
Force without trial. M. Defarge reminded him of the many people who were
treated the same way before the revolution. He was refereeing ) w to Dr. Manette
who had been buried in a worse prison for 18 years without a trial or even an
accusation.
11. What fearful sight did Mr. Lorry and Dr. Manette see through the
window?
They saw a large grindstone surrounded by a large crowd of patriots sharpening
their knives and swords. They were getting ready to march towards La Force
and kill the prisoners.
12. What was the real reason for Madame Defarge's visit to Lucie?
She wanted to see Lucie and her daughter in order to knit their names in the list
of destruction as they were members of the Evremonde Family.
13. How was Dr. Manette's imprisonment a source of help for Darnay
during his difficulty?
Dr. Manette was a Bastille prisoner. His long imprisonment and suffering gave
him power in Paris during the revolution. He gained the love and sympathy of
everyone as a survivor of the terrible prison. For his sake, they spared Darnay's
life. He was appointed as a medical officer for La Force. He was able to bring
Darnay to a fair trial.
14. How was Mr. Lorry loyal to Tellson Bank?
Mr. Lorry couldn't shelter Lucie and her daughter in the bank because she was
the wife of an emigrant. This shows his loyalty to the bank. He didn't want to
get the bank involved in any kind of trouble.
15. "Charles is safe, but I cannot safely leave this place yet. The
bearer of this message also has a short note from Charles to his wife."
Comment
This was the message sent to Mr. Lorry by Dr. Manette through M. Defarge. Dr.
Manette was able to save Darnay's life but he wasn't able to leave the prison.
He stayed near Charles to save him from the angry mob. He asked Mr. Lorry to
let M.
Defarge see Lucie because he had a message for her from Charles.