A Tale of Two Cities

The Track of a Storm

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 Chapter 1: In Secret
An officer receives Darnay and Defarge and questions the prisoner.
After learning his identity, the officer announces, "You are
consigned, Evremonde, to the prison of La Force." To Darnay's
expressions of protest the only reply is, "We have new laws,
Evremonde, and new offenses since you were here. Emigrants have
no rights, Evremonde." And on a paper that he hands to Defarge are
written the words, "In Secret." As Defarge, Darnay, and the guards
go out, Defarge asks Charles if he is truly the man who wed Lucie
Manette. Darnay answers yes, and as Defarge seems to be
concerned about his situation Darnay asks his help. Defarge utterly
rejects the possibility for, after all, as Defarge says, "Other people
have been similarly buried in worse prisons before now." "But never
by me, Citizen Defarge." This answer causes Defarge to glare
darkly at Darnay and after a moment he speaks again. "I will do
nothing for you. My duty is to my country and the people. I am the
sworn servant of both, against you. I will do nothing for you."
• What examples of duality exist in this chapter?
• in his return to Paris, Darnay recreates the journey to prison that Dr. Manette made
long ago
• during every stop along the way, Darnay suffers a new threat, loses another freedom,
and learns more dangers of the new mob-ruled France
• in Paris, he meets Defarge, who would help Dr. Manette but not Darnay
• eventually he is thrown in prison, and soon after in “in secret,” just as Dr. Manette was
• Darnay has now learned what the ominous words "in secret" mean: solitary
confinement
• What is ironic about Darnay’s being kept “in secret”?
• the irony lies in the fact that he is reliving the experience of Doctor Manette who was
also consigned to prison "in secret" and by the hand of another Marquis Saint
Evremonde
• Dickens is able to show the image of Darnay, in the same situation as Dr. Manette,
pacing and saying, "He made shoes."
• now Darnay is “Buried alive.”
• Book I – Mr. Lorry travels secretly to release Dr. Manette
• Book III – Darnay travels to Paris to release Gabelle
• Why does Charles not initially recognize his predicament?
• his basic goodness and the fact that he, too, objected to the excesses
of the old regime he thinks will protect him from harm
• he depends too much on the value of calm and reason in a land where
calm and reason have fled
• What ironic element exists in this chapter?
• Darnay's new escort is none other than Defarge himself
• Why is Defarge ultimately bitter towards Charles?
• unwittingly, Charles Darnay has reminded Defarge even more
strongly of his crime, or, more exactly, of the crimes of his family
• this reminder solidifies Defarge's antagonism and seals Darnay's fate
• Charles’ hope that he might have some calming effect on the citizens
of Paris have been dashed
 Chapter 2: The Grindstone
• Whom does Charles have on his side?
• Dr. Manette has discovered his long-lost confidence
• Dr. Manette is able to restore the humanity to the grindstone men
through the power of his positive reputation
• Dr. Manette's newfound strength and power seems, for a moment, to
be capable of obtaining Charles Darnay's release
• however, Mr. Lorry and Dr. Manette are not aware of the lengths to
which the Defarges will go for vengeance
• How are the “rocks” of Book II, Ch. 9, “The Gorgon’s Head” now
presented?
• the rocks are used for the sinister purpose of sharpening weapons
• many men become a part of this formless rock to help sharpen the
weapons
 Chapter 3: The Shadow
• As the three prepare to go, Lucie grasps Madame Defarge's dress and
begs for help. "You will be good to my poor husband. You will do him no
harm. You will help me to see him if you can?" Madame Defarge looks
down at her with perfect composure and replies, "Your husband is not
my business here. It is the daughter of your father who is my business
here . . . Surely the influence that your father has will release him." "As
a wife and mother," cries Lucie earnestly, "I implore you to have pity on
me and not to exercise any power that you possess, against my
innocent husband, but to use it in his behalf." Madame Defarge, looking
as cold as ever, turns to her friend The Vengeance and recalls that the
women of France have for many years seen their husbands and fathers
thrown into prison and all their lives they have seen their sisters and
children suffer poverty, hunger, sickness, oppression. "Is it likely that
the trouble of one wife and mother would be much to us now?" The
three go out and Mr. Lorry tries to comfort Lucie, begging her to have a
thankful heart, for things are going better with them now.
• To whom does the title of this chapter refer?
• Madame Defarge - despite Dr. Manette's power in swaying the crowd, he has made the
mistake of trusting those people who have the covert power, who work in the ominous
shadows
• Madame Defarge has truly come to see them so that she may know them, but not for
their protection
• Upon whom is a shadow cast?
• Madame Defarge casts a shadow upon little Lucie
• one can truly see the depths of Madame Defarge's inhumanity - she wants to destroy
an innocent child
• not even the feminine loving power of Lucie can sway her from her goal of destroying all
the Evremondes
• in their feminine weakness, Lucie and her family are vulnerable to people like the
Defarges, especially without Dr. Manette's influence to protect them
• her unfocused hatred for the family of the Marquis Saint Evremonde has a focus now
that she has seen Lucie and little Lucie, and Lucie's pleading carries no weight with her
• Lucie – love & compassion – natural mother
• M. Defarge – hatred & revenge – unnatural mother
 Chapter 4: Calm in the Storm
• How have the roles of Dr. Manette and Darnay reversed?
• Dr. Manette's stature has grown and he has become a familiar figure in the prisons
• Dr. Manette must protect the prisoner and his family, when Lucie once protected
the prisoner
• in his power as temporary head of the family, repays Lucie for her own loving
care
• he protects Darnay and Lucie, and he motivates the mobs to peace
• he has done precisely what the weak Darnay wanted to do, but could not
• What has replaced The Cross as a religious symbol in France?
• the near-Satanic religion of La Guillotine
• the guillotine replaces the cross, thus making the voluntary sacrifice signified a
necessity
• a transfer of faith from redemption (the Cross) to retribution (the guillotine)
• in this mob, prisoners are slaughtered, making it the opposite of the storming of
the Bastille
 Chapter 5: The Wood-Sawyer
Months pass and, regardless of the weather, Lucie is at the spot each day. She hears from
her father that only occasionally does Charles have the opportunity of seeing her, but on
this small chance Lucie would wait out the day for her husband. As she is standing there
one afternoon a crowd of people comes around the corner of the prison. Among them can
be seen the wood-sawyer, and as she watches, the crowd begins to dance the
Carmagnole, the grotesque, devilish dance which has been spawned by the
Revolution, a dance in which blood is angered, senses bewildered, and hearts steeled
for the orgy of bloodletting which often follows it. They surround her, dancing wildly,
until finally they pass and leave Lucie behind, frightened and bewildered, as her father
appears. He comforts her and tells her that, as there is no one about, she may blow a
kiss in the direction of the prison window. She does so and suddenly Madame Defarge
is there. She and Dr. Manette exchange a greeting and she is gone. Nothing more.
  Dr. Manette tells Lucie that Charles is to be summoned before the tribunal the
next day and that he, Dr. Manette, must make certain final preparations before then; in
doing so, he must see Mr. Lorry. As Lucie and her father stand in the street, three
tumbrils (carts) pass filled with their human cargo bound for the Guillotine. When Lucie
and Dr. Manette reach the bank, Mr. Lorry comes out to them, agitated, and there is a
coat on the chair belonging to some visitor. Mr. Lorry turns to the room he has just left
as he repeats Lucie's words: "Summoned for tomorrow?"
 Whose coat could this be on the chair?
• Which minor character has undergone a transformation? In what way?
• The mender of roads is now the wood-sawyer
• he has fully adopted the revolutionary fervor and has changed professions to
prove it
• once he fixed things that brought people together as the road-mender
• now he kills and divides as the wood-sawyer
• the appearance of Madame Defarge on the scene, in time to see Lucie's greeting
to her husband, indicates that the wood-sawyer has been acting as a spy
• Lucie's weakness in such a violent world is brought home to her in the wood-
sawyer's metaphor of cutting the family
• What is the Carmagnole?
• in the second of these mob scenes, the dance at Foulon's execution of Book Two is
recreated
• now the dance has changed to an official frenzied ritual
• the dance, described in quick, swirling prose, expresses its function of willfully
leading the participants to bloodshed
 Chapter 6: Triumph
• What duality becomes obvious in this chapter?
• as in England, Darnay's trial in France is also of treason - a class treason, of being a
noble when all others are poor and equal
• being a man of two nations has troubled him in both trials
• in England because of his French roots - in France because of his years in England
• in both trials, he was captured because he went on errands to save the family honor
• this trial resembles the English trial in his triumphant departure on the arms of the
wild crowd
• Which action emphasizes the whimsical and irrational behavior of the mob?
• in this third mob scene, the crowd that would have killed him now carries him home
• the crowd is not as benevolent as it would be, however, as Darnay likens the feeling
to that of riding in a tumbril, the carts that carry people to the guillotine
• Any parallels between Lucie and her father?
• just as Lucie dug her father out of his mental prison, Dr. Manette now rescues her
husband from his literal prison
 Chapter 7: A Knock at the Door
• For whom might Miss Pross be a counterpart (Duality)?
• as the one true Englishwoman of the party, she can be seen as a counterpart to
Madame Defarge, who is the most faithful Frenchwoman of all
• Dickens hints at the final confrontation between the two
• To which prior symbolic act/chapter does this chapter refer?
• the echoing footsteps that she heard in London (almost as a prophetess) several years
ago have finally reached her door
• Dr. Manette's power in protecting Charles has finally come to a halt, superseded by the
dark power of the Defarges
• the Furies (ancient Greek goddesses of revenge) have searched out their victim and
will not let him go easily this time
• Madame Defarge let him go at the tribunal only to have him rearrested several hours
later. Why?
• a cruelty foreshadowed in her treatment of Foulon
• she gives him a brief taste of freedom so that losing it will be that much more painful
 Chapter 8: A Hand at Cards
It is clear that Solomon is not at all happy to have seen Miss
Pross, and he tries to get her to go away and not endanger his
life by her chatter, but Miss Pross asks only for a kind, friendly
word from her brother who, long ago, stole her money and
left her behind. At this point Jerry speaks up and asks Solomon
whether his name is John Solomon or Solomon John. Solomon
eyes him suspiciously. “Come!” says Mr. Cruncher, “John
Solomon or Solomon John? She calls you Solomon, and she
must know, being your sister. And I know you’re John, you
know. Which of the two goes first? And regarding that name
of Pross, likewise. That warn’t your name over the water.”
Solomon plays dumb and Jerry, though he remembers that the
other’s name over the water had two syllables, cannot, for the
life of him, think what it was. “Barsad,” comes the answer,
from a new voice that has joined the conversation.
At this point, Carton announces that the desperateness of the
situation requires that he win a friend in the prison and the friend he
intends to win is none other than John Barsad. “You need have good
cards, sir,” answers the spy. “I’ll run them over. I’ll see what I hold,”
answers Carton as he pours himself some brandy. Carton’s cards are
these: Barsad, a spy and secret informer who represents himself to
his employers under a false name; Barsad, who is now employed by
the republican French government was formerly employed by the
aristocratic English government, the enemy of France and of
freedom, the inference being that Barsad is STILL working as a spy
for the English and has worked his way into the French Republic for
the benefit of England. Barsad grows uneasy and Carton then plays
his ace: denunciation of Barsad to the nearest Citizen’s Committee
which will shortly cause him to be added to the list of the guillotine’s
victims. “Look over you hand, Mr. Barsad, and see what you have.
Don’t hurry.” Barsad grows more fearful as he sees Carton down
brandy after brandy, thinking that he might drink himself into such a
state that he might denounce him immediately.
• How have Cly and Barsad returned to the plot? Theme?
• the evil spies have held their own form of a resurrection, resulting from a false death
and a false rebirth
• in this manner, both Cly and Barsad can adapt themselves to any situation, and side
with whatever group is in power
• because they are so desperate to do anything for a little money, their hiding in
darkness is more dangerous than the revolutionaries' power
• Which character serves as a Deus ex Machina (In Greek and Roman drama, a god
lowered by stage machinery to resolve a plot or extricate the protagonist from a
difficult situation. A person or event that provides a sudden and unexpected solution
to a difficulty)?
• Carton arrives on the scene and instantly working to save Darnay's life
• How is he a changed man?
• he longer hides from the world in liquor; instead, he uses it to find all sorts of
information about the world
• he no longer speaks as a wastrel, but as a man with a purpose
• he uses the last vestiges of his old life to provide information for his purpose through
likening his questioning to the rake's game of cards
 Chapter 9: The Game Made
• Which character supports the theme of mystery (people’s secret lives) here?
• Jerry’s body-snatching
• Also, Sydney Carton has made his arrangements with John Barsad, and
although to Mr. Lorry they seem painfully inadequate, they fully serve
Carton's plans
• Carton does not reveal his plan to Lorry (remember Book I, Ch. 3 “The Night
Shadows)
• How does Dickens portray Carton as a chivalrous knight?
• after the roughness of both previous scenes, Dickens now makes the prose
more sentimental
• Carton is so gentle with Lorry
• he handles the little girl crossing the street with such tenderness
• the reader is moved to pity for whatever he is about to do with the poisons
and the prison entry
• Carton becomes a knight who relies on the image of his beloved Lucie to give
him strength
• he treats her as a Madonna again and never mentions her by name
• although we have a sense of dread in our understanding of what Carton will
do, it is quickly displaced by the next morning's events
• How does Dickens dramatize the upcoming trial?
• the addition of Dr. Manette to the crowd of denouncers
• the cliffhanger as both the crowd and the reader wait to learn the contents of
the letter
• Which portions of this chapter support the resurrection theme?
• Carton continually hears the saying, “I am the resurrection and the life,” in
his mind
• Dickens’ imagery suggests that the transformation of night to dawn is a type
of resurrection
 Chapter 10: The Substance of the Shadow
The boy, with his last ounce of strength, raised himself up to tell his story to Dr.
Manette. His family were poor peasants and they were miserably oppressed by the two
brothers as peasants were oppressed throughout France by the nobility. His sister had
married a man of her class, a man who was ill and whom she cared for and tended. The
younger of the two brothers happened to see her one day and was attracted to her.
He asked his brother, who bore the title of Marquis and controlled the land, to lend
her to him. The Marquis was agreeable, for it was the prerogative of the nobles to
help themselves to any peasant women who struck their fancy. But the virtuous girl
refused and bore great hatred for the younger brother. They then began working her
husband day and night so that he might persuade his wife to surrender to the younger
brother. But he did not give in and one day, at noon, he sobbed twelve times, once for
every stroke of the bell, and died on his wife's bosom. The wife was then taken away by
the two brothers for the pleasure of the younger. When her father learned of her fate,
his heart burst. The girl's brother had then hidden away his younger sister to save her
from a similar fate, and had climbed into the house where he challenged the younger
brother who had been forced to unsheath his sword and mortally wound him. Then,
after telling his story to Dr. Manette, the young boy uttered a curse on the two
brothers and on all their race, and fell back, dead.

(Who is this younger sister?)

The next morning he found the gold coin in a box at his door. Dr. Manette
decided to write a letter to the Court Minister telling the details of the affair,
in order to ease his mind, although he was quite aware of the immunity of
the nobles and suspected that nothing would come of it. Accordingly, he
wrote the letter, without mentioning names, and later delivered it himself.
After he had finished it, he was told a lady was waiting to see him. She
identified herself as the wife of the Marquis Saint Evremonde, the elder
brother. She knew the story of that fateful night when the doctor was
summoned and wished somehow to make whatever amends she could. She
asked Dr. Manette if he knew the address of the younger sister so that she
might do something for her but, unhappily, he did not. She was a good,
compassionate lady, unhappily married, but determined to do what she could.
As the doctor saw her to the door, there was a young boy waiting in the
carriage for his mother. It was for his sake, she told the doctor, that she wished
to make amends for the sins of the Saint Evremonde family, for she continued,
"I have a presentiment that if no other innocent atonement is made for this, it
will one day be required of him." She then drove off.

(Who is this young boy?)

• What mysteries are solved by Dr. Manette’s letter? Gothic
melodrama?
• it shows Madame Defarge's motivations (the peasant family was her
family)
• it explains Darnay's lineage and motive
• it explains how Dr. Manette was jailed
• it explains the shock that propelled Dr. Manette into his old mental
state after Lucie's wedding
• it contains revenge, abduction, cruelty, victimized women, nervous
breakdowns, curses, prisons and everything sensational
• What is the Impact of the letter on the court?
• it causes Madame Defarge to react openly and with glee
• her power is fully exposed and assured after the letter is read
• How will Darnay now fulfill two prior premonitions or
vows?
• his death is the repayment for the sister's suffering
• it also fulfills the curse on his family
• How is Dr. Manette affected by the trial’s outcome?
• his positive power is now destroyed by his prisoner side
• once he ignored the prisoner persona; now it has returned
and is forcing him to face it
• under the strain of facing this side, Dr. Manette breaks
down and becomes an incoherent wreck once again
 Chapter 11: Dusk
• You might say this chapter acts as a "filler" between which two
emotional events?
• the trial
• Darnay's execution
• We know that Carton would do anything to save someone that
Lucie loves. Do we know his plan at this stage of the novel?
• What is pathetic fallacy and how does Dickens use it to amplify
the situation?
• pathetic fallacy: The attribution of human emotions or
characteristics to inanimate objects or to nature; for example,
angry clouds; a cruel wind.
• in the dusky hours of the day, we learn that Darnay, or perhaps
Carton, is fast approaching the twilight of his life
• Sydney Carton now sees that the time has come to set his plan
into motion. After seeing Lucie safely home, he asks Dr.
Manette to try once again to save Darnay. Does he really expect
any good to come of it? Why does he do this?
• he wishes Lucie to feel that everything that could have been
done was done
• He also wants Dr. Manette to feel comforted by knowing he did
everything he could
• his reason for checking back in the evening is to make certain
that there is no hope for Darnay before he commits himself to
the scheme from which there is no turning back
• Lorry: "But he will perish; there is no real hope." "Yes, He will
perish; there is no real hope," repeats Carton and walks out with
a settled air about him. Is Carton speaking about himself or
Darnay?
 Chapter 12: Darkness
• Among Madame Defarge, Dr. Manette, & Carton, whose power is the most lasting power?
• Dr. Manette is fully powerless, reduced to the prisoner state once again
• Dickens proves that masculine power alone cannot save anyone
• Madame Defarge thinks that she has an otherworldly power that is elemental
• "Tell wind and fire where to stop, but don't tell me!"
• even though he will die, Carton’s power lives because it is based on his deep love for Lucie
• Carton also has the power of rational planning on his side
• uninhibited by drink, he is able to learn Madame Defarge's plot, as well as direct Lorry in
the flight from England
• in his newfound certainty of purpose, Sydney Carton is carrying out his promise to Lucie
to lay down his life for one she holds dear
• Compare the Defarges at this point in the novel (Duality)
• Ernest Defarge – sees the Revolution as an instrument of positive change
• Madame Defarge – sees it as an instrument of vengeance and retribution
 Chapter 13: Fifty-Two
Shortly after one o'clock, footsteps are heard and Sydney
Carton is let into Darnay's cell. Darnay is dumbfounded. "You
are not a prisoner?" "No, I come from her - your wife, dear
Darnay." Carton quickly commands Darnay to change clothes
with him. The bewildered Darnay complies, but doubtfully.
"Carton, there is no escaping from this place; it never can be
done. You will only die with me. It is madness." Carton ignores
these comments and orders Darnay to sit and write as he
dictates; Darnay does so. "If you remember the words that
passed between us, long ago, you will readily comprehend this
when you see it. I am thankful that the time has come, when I
can prove them. That I do so is no subject for regret or grief."
As Carton speaks, he removes his hand from his coat and brings
it close to Darnay's face. The drug that he purchased earlier
takes effect.
• Why does Carton make the ultimate sacrifice? Is he a Christ Figure?
• He takes on the sins of the Evremondes upon himself out of love for Lucie
• How does he reinforce the resurrection theme?
• Carton isn’t simply doing this out of love for Lucie and her child
• he is also exercising an opportunity to save his soul
• he has resurrected himself by skillfully managing a situation where others have failed
• he gives new life to Darnay who has embodied the potential he has wasted
• How does this event underscore the duality theme?
• prison has forced Carton's dissipated look upon Darnay's face
• again Darnay must be saved by his double
• just as Carton once gave a note to Lucie on Darnay's behalf, Darnay must now deliver
a note to Lucie on Carton's behalf
• Darnay now has a sort of alcoholic stupor brought about by Carton, when Darnay
once brought an alcoholic stupor to Carton
• Carton is the noble and calm one, while Darnay is reduced to a useless state
 Chapter 14: The Knitting Done
Something tells Madame Defarge that her
quarry has flown and she opens three of the
doors; all is in disorder. But she must make
certain. She once again demands that Miss
Pross let her look in the room before which
she stands. Miss Pross refuses. Madame
Defarge makes for the door and the two
women struggle. Madame Defarge reaches
for her pistol; Miss Pross sees it and strikes at
it. The gun goes off. And the lifeless body of
Madame Defarge falls to the floor.
• How are Madame Defarge & Miss Pross similar?
• both are loyal to their countries
• both tall and masculine women
• Contrast their motivations
• Madame Defarge's motivation is hate
• Miss Pross' is love
• What element of this chapter may be an example of poetic justice?
• Madame Defarge is denied her one wish, to see the Evremonde family
member die
• she dies an ignoble death, alone and without the support of her yes-men and
her country
• What is the “cost” of defeating evil
• Miss Pross loses her hearing
• Sydney Carton loses his life
Chapter 15: The Footsteps Die Out Forever
In front of the guillotine are a number of chairs occupied by women,
knitting. Among them is The Vengeance. "Therese. Who has seen her?
Therese Defarge!" she cries. But Madame Defarge cannot hear her, and as
the tumbrils begin to empty and the heads begin to fall, the knitting
women count. One! Two! As the crowd of victims begins to thin out, the
little seamstress, who has been holding Carton's head for comfort, thanks
him for his kindness and then it is her turn. She kisses Carton and mounts
the scaffold. The blade falls: Twenty-Two. And then Sydney Carton's turn
is come. Twenty-Three. And it is over.
It is said about the city that the man Evremonde had the most peaceful
look on his face that had ever been seen. If he had been able to write his
last thoughts before he died, they would have been something like this: “I
see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss . . . I see the
lives for which I lay down my life, peaceful, useful, prosperous and happy . . .
I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts and in the hearts of their
descendants, generations hence. 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."
• Which action completes the theme of Resurrection & Transcendence?
• in his death, Carton gains the ability to transcend time
• he sees Paris resurrected “from this abyss”
• he is able to look into the future and see what happens to his loved ones
• Carton will achieve a resurrection of sorts through the birth of Lucie and
Darnay's son and grandson
• they will pass on the story of Carton's sacrifice
• in this way, Carton lives up to his nickname of Memory, becoming a tangible
memory through his reborn persona
• And so the life of Sydney Carton achieves the grandeur and promise that
had eluded him for so long. In this supreme sacrifice for a woman he
loved, Sydney Carton finds a place in the hearts of these people he knew,
is finally loved and respected as he had never been before. And they will
tell his story for generations to come. So ends A Tale of Two Cities.