The three most important aspects of A Tale of Two Cities: Movie Versions: A Tale of Two Cities (1935) A Tale of Two Cities (1958) A Tale of Two Cities (1980) A Tale of Two Cities (1989) Major Symbols: Madame Defarge's Knitting motherhood Motifs: darkness restricted by society duality Major Thematic Topics: duality revolution resurrection violence centrality of women aristocratic versus peasant Main Characters: Doctor Alexandre Manette Lucie Manette (later Darnay) Charles Darnay Sydney Carton Therese Defarge Ernest Defarge Jerry Cruncher Mr.

Genres: historical fiction political commentaryįirst Published: In weekly installments in All the Year Round, from April 30 to November 29, 1859 The main characters in Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities - Doctor Alexandre Manette, Charles Darnay, and Sydney Carton - are all recalled to life, or resurrected, in different ways as turmoil erupts. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times in London and Paris, as economic and political unrest lead to the American and French Revolutions. They are so horrible that a beholder is turned to stone.Ī letter de cachet a document containing a royal warrant for the imprisonment without trial of a specified person.A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, deals with the major themes of duality, revolution, and resurrection. The Gorgon's head in Greek mythology, a Gorgon is one of three sisters with snakes for hair. When he renounces his family name and property, the act is as revolutionary as a peasant murdering a lord. Consequently, Darnay can be viewed as the embodiment of the belief in every man's right to fairness and justice. Darnay's real name, the reader discovers, is Evrémonde, meaning 'everyman,'and his ambition is to fulfill his mother's dying wish to right his family's wrongs. This uprising is acted out not only in the murder, but also in Darnay's rejection of his uncle and his country.

With the murder of the Marquis - a man who represents evil in the aristocracy - by a representative of the common people, the tension and momentum build and the reader senses that the revolution is near. In the morning, the Marquis is discovered dead - stabbed by a member of the Jacquerie. Before they part, the Marquis asks about Darnay's relationship with Doctor Manette and Lucie and then smiles mysteriously. Darnay equally despises his uncle, and the fear and hatred inspired by the Evrémond name troubles him. Although he is coolly polite, the Marquis' dislike for his nephew is apparent. When his nephew - Charles Darnay - arrives, the two exchange brief formalities and then, after the servants have left, Darnay tells his uncle that he is renouncing all ties to his family and to France. Once inside the chateau, in his elegant private rooms, the Marquis prepares for supper and awaits his nephew's arrival.

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