A Tale of Two Cities 345DICKENS, CHARLES A Tale of Two
Cities (1859)
A Tale of Two Cities was first published in 1859, 70
years after the eruption of the French Revolution
with the storming of the Bastille. The story is set
during the years leading up to the Revolution and
the ensuing Reign of Terror. It follows the Revo-
lution’s progression as the downtrodden peasants
unite to overthrow their oppressors, only to become
tyrants themselves. It is possible to see the story
as cautionary, since for years after the Revolution,
many feared the same could happen in Britain.
The tale is indeed one of two cities, as the
chapters alternate between Paris and London. At
the center of the narrative are Lucie Manette, a
beautiful and virtuous young woman; her father,
who has been wrongfully imprisoned in the Bastille;
and her two suitors, Charles Darnay and Sydney
Carton, who happen to be nearly physically identi-
cal though antithetical in character. Also crucial to
the story are Miss Pross, Lucie’s loyal housekeeper;
Madame Defarge, a ruthless revolutionary; and the
marquis Evrémonde, who represents the brutality
of the ancien régime. Throughout the novel, Dick-
ens explores themes such as fate, violence, and
oppression.
A Tale of Two Cities is one of Dickens’s two
historical novels (Barnaby Rudge is the other). It
combines the interest of the explosive political set-
ting with a typical Dickensian strength of charac-
terization that makes the story, though historically
removed, seem relevant to the reader. Dickens’s
ability to produce foul villains is only matched by
his capacity to bring to life characters whose integ-
rity and goodness raise them above their difficult
circumstances.
Maria Gonzalez-Posse
Fate in A Tale of Two Cities
The inevitability of the French Revolution is sug-
gested from the very first chapter of A Tale of Two
Cities. The moral corruption of the aristocracy is
evidenced in acts of ludicrous tyranny, such as “sen-
tencing a youth to have his hands cut off, his tongue
torn out with pincers, and his body burned alive,
because he had not kneeled down in the rain to do
honour to a dirty procession of monks which passed
within his view.” With such injustices occurring
routinely, France seems irrevocably set on a course
toward revolt as if fate itself had designed it. France’s
fate is even imprinted on the landscape, whose trees
are “marked by the Woodman, Fate,” merely waiting
to be resurrected as guillotines.
Every character seems trapped in a fated course
of action, unable or unwilling to modify it. The
marquis Evrémonde, cruel and ruthless, scoffs at
his nephew’s attempt to change his fate by leaving
the life of wealth he has inherited. “My friend, I
will die, perpetuating the system under which I
have lived,” he tells him, further counseling him
to “accept [his] natural destiny.” Disregarding his
uncle’s advice, Charles leaves France for England
to work as a teacher and lead a simple and blame-
less life.
Despite all his efforts, fate catches up with
Charles Darnay. Accused of treason against the
English Crown, he meets and falls in love with
Lucie Mannette. Lucie, as it turns out, is the
daughter of Dr. Mannette, who was imprisoned
by Charles’s father and uncle when they suspected
he might report the murder and rape that he was
called to treat. Charles is forced to face his past as
he becomes engaged to the daughter of the man
whom his ancestors have so seriously injured. Fate’s
games with Darnay do not end there, however, as
he is finally compelled to return to France when
Gabelle, the man who had been in charge of his
estate in France, is imprisoned for his association
with the Evrémonde estate and begs him to come
to his rescue. Fate proves stronger than Darnay’s
attempts to escape his past, and he is forced to
return to France to face the consequences of the
sins of his fathers.
The Revolutionaries in France are also moved
by fate. This is particularly the case with Madame
Defarge, whose bloodthirsty desire for revenge is
motivated by the rape of her sister and murder of
her brother at the hands of the brothers Evrémonde.
The terrible acts of violence that she witnessed as
a child determine her course of action as a woman.
In order to complete her revenge, Madame Defarge
acquires the power to control the destinies of others.
Her knitting, a seemingly benevolent and harmless
activity that raises images of domestic warmth and