Themes in A Tale of Two Cities

Dickens often uses sensory imagery, such as his description of the mildewy, rank coach with its “damp and dirty straw,” to comment on the deplorable living conditions in England at the time. Dickens’s imagery highlights the major drawbacks of both the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, which began in England in the mid-18th century.

Dickens uses Tellson's Bank to symbolize England's archaic and outdate stance on capital punishment. He seems to issue a warning to England against this form of punishment, especially when used to correct both serious and trivial crimes.

This phrase means that one's important documents were locked away in kitchens and sculleries. Tellson's Bank—characterized as a corrupt and ineffective—symbolizes England's outdated political and economic policies during this time period.

During the 18th century, judges wore black caps to announce executions. The mention of a black cap here symbolizes England's obsession with the spectacle of capital punishment, a phenomenon also known as "gaol fever."

Most individuals accused of treason were normally found guilty and executed. Charles Darnay’s acquittal, then, is akin to a resurrection. This is another example of one of the novel's most notable themes: resurrection.

Sydney Carton refers to a recurring theme in the novel: the conflict between acting in the interest of others and acting in one’s own interest. Mr. Lorry, who frequently calls himself a “man of business,” takes offense; he argues that “‘we men of business’” must pragmatically act in the best interest of others (presumably one’s employer, the House of Commons, or the country in general).

Dickens epitomizes the corruption of the French aristocracy in the character of “Monseigneur.” Monseigneur’s character symbolizes the upper-class greed and extravagance that contributed to the advent of the French Revolution.

During the 18th century, chocolate was associated with extravagance and decadence. Dickens foreshadows the French Revolution by highlight upper-class greed as Monseigneur and the four men indulge in drinking chocolate.

Recollection (especially recalling “to life”) is an important theme in A Tale of Two Cities. In this case, Dr. Manette begs Charles Darnay to not disclose his true identity because it will “recall” memories that might trigger the resurrection of Dr. Manette’s trauma-induced amnesia.

The theme of resurrection (or “recalling”) is significant in A Tale of Two Cities. In this context, Lucie believes that she can recall Sydney Carton to an apparently inherent state of goodness.

Identity transformation is an important theme in A Tale of Two Cities. Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton, who closely resemble one another, are dissatisfied with their lots in life. Charles rejects his identity as an aristocrat by changing his name from Evremonde to Darnay, whereas Sydney wants (though without action) to be successful instead of lazy and immoral.

It is important that this anonymous peasant joins in the violent chaos of the mob without knowing why. Dickens frequently alludes to the growing revolutionary sentiment that culminated in the French Revolution years later.

The adjective “vinous” refers to the inebriating effects of drinking wine. Since Dickens employs red wine to foreshadow the eventual bloodshed of the French Revolution, the intoxication of red wine symbolizes the growing resentment of Saint Antoine's people.

The horrific shadow of the murderer's body serves as a symbol of the pitfalls of revenge. Although the Marquis's murder was a justified act of revenge, his death only brought about more death. Dickens suggests that the French Revolution only worsened the suffering and death for everyone in all classes.

Madame Defarge seems frustrated by Saint Antoine’s men: specifically, their general lack of action and their tired impatience. Dickens grants a surprising amount of agency to Parisian women; although, he often does so to emphasize mass unruliness and overpowering violent sentiment. Market women actually instigated one of the first defining moments of the French Revolution because they were outraged by the high cost and scarcity of bread. In October 1789, they stormed the Palace of Versailles (where the king and queen lived). The protest turned into a riot that ended with the king and queen being forced to return to Paris.

Madame Defarge’s process of “registering” aristocrats may be an ironic reference to the official registration of French peerages in regional parlements (provincial appeals courts in pre-revolutionary France). Prior to the French Revolution, being registered was a mark of nobility; for Madame Defarge and the revolutionaries, it is a mark of death.

Dr. Manette’s dramatic “‘revival,’” which today might be classified as a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder, is another indication of Dickens’s opposition to solitary confinement. Furthermore, it is significant that the otherwise-brilliant physician transforms into a confused shoemaker when his traumatic past is recalled. Dr. Manette’s shoemaking implies that imprisonment (as it existed in 18th-century Western Europe) undermines the Enlightenment ideals of rational thought, innovation, and social progress.

Dickens repeatedly uses echoes to symbolize fate—specifically, the inevitable arrival of the French Revolution. Lucie can hear the sinister energy of growing social unrest in the “echoing footsteps of years” and can do nothing to stop it. The footsteps themselves likely represent the marching of an angry mob, such as the one that would storm the Bastille in Saint Antoine in 1789.

Dickens establishes a subtle parallel between the violent, hate-fueled “fraternity” of the revolutionaries and the nurturing, loving relationships between Lucie and her family. The novel therefore questions the effectiveness of violence—even if social change is justified.

Throughout this passage, Dickens describes how despite the killing of Saint Antonine, the peasants develop a camaraderie and unity as they fight for a common cause.

Dickens is critical of the brutal violence of the revolutionaries. However, he attributes the causes of the revolution to starvation and high taxation—and the peasants’ abject poverty is augmented by the excessive greed of the French aristocracy (which Dickens sarcastically refers to as “Monseigneur”).

Dickens’s use of words like “howling,” “beastly,” and “matted locks” strongly suggests that rather than encouraging positive social change, mass riots cause citizens to regress into a primal, animalistic state.

Dickens may be alluding to the biblical book of Ecclesiastes 3, which describes each “season,” such as sorrow and happiness, that one might encounter in life. Each of these seasons serves a “purpose under heaven”—a statement that reinforces the theme of predestination that runs through the entire novel.

Dickens once again employs the symbol of red wine to represent the bloodshed that characterized the French Revolution. Furthermore, he implies that these executions do not bring about social justice; the “red wine for La Guillotine” only intoxicates the republic with a heightened thirst for revenge.

Dickens attributes the public’s enthusiasm for execution and general brutality to “a wild infection,” presumably caused by revolutionary sentiment, that results in a “wildly shaken public mind.” The intoxicating effects of revolutionary sentiment are one of the novel’s primary concerns.

The gaoler-joke of reading the “Evening Paper” emphasizes the public craze surrounding execution. Public beheadings were a form of entertainment, even for children. Small guillotine toys, which were capable of beheading dolls or small animals, were popular. Dickens’s criticism of widespread public mania is palpable throughout the entire novel though it is most apparent after the revolution begins.

The “sense of being oppressed” that “burst[s] forth like a fire” suggests revolutionary sentiment. Dr. Manette unknowingly foreshadows the intense resentment and rage that would lead to the French Revolution in 1789, roughly 30 years later.

Sydney Carton expects a degree of redemption (and figurative resurrection) from the great sacrifice he plans to make for Lucie and her daughter. His impending sacrifice will involve a dual resurrection: his soul and Charles Darnay’s life.

Madame Defarge’s obsession with revenge has transformed her into the very tyrant and oppressor that the revolutionaries claim to oppose. Dickens once again suggests that violent responses to oppression do nothing to bring about justice.

Madame Defarge, in her fervor for revenge, is killed by her own weapon. Her death strongly implies what is perhaps one of Dickens’s most significant arguments: that violent uprisings do not bring justice. Dickens suggests that the French peasants, though justified in their anger, have only accomplished bringing about more suffering and death.

The wood-sawyer’s timidity offers another indication that the revolutionaries do not practice the liberty, equality, or fraternity they claim to fight for. Madame Defarge, obsessed with punishing the Evremondes, has become an especially tyrannical oppressor.

Sydney Carton imagines a resurrection for himself in heaven and in the form of Lucie’s son. His sacrifice will place him in an honored position in the Manette family and erase his legacy as Mr. Stryver’s “jackal.”