Blog Post 3: Love and the Causes of Revolution

In France, a noble is found racing through the streets in his carriage. These carriages stop for nothing and have no regard for the peasants who have little time to get out of the way. One child did not move in time and was killed by the cart. While the father lamented the death of his child, the noble showed no compassion for either of them. “It is extraordinary to me ... that you people cannot take care of yourselves and your children. ... How do I know what injury you have done to my horses,” (Dickens 83). This scene in particular shows the legitimacy the people have in their hatred for the nobles and the way that the nobles regard the peasants.

Later, in the house of the same man, Charles Darnay appears. It is found that Charles is related to this noble and will be the next in line to inherit. Darnay refuses to accept this life style and says that he will help the people in his land when he gains possession of the land. Later, the French peasants who housed Doctor Manette when he was not well find out that Darnay is a noble in France. They put him on a list with others they plan to kill during their planned revolution. The woman of the house, Madame Defarge, knits the list in secret symbols.

After returning to England, Darnay visits Doctor Manette. It is his intention to propose to Lucie. He promises to never take the two of them away from each other if he were to gain the father’s blessing to ask Lucie to marry him. Doctor Manette agrees, and Darnay was about to tell Manette his previous identity in France, but Manette stops Darnay and orders Darnay to tell him on Lucie’s wedding day.

Near the same time, Sydney Carton visits Lucie. He says that he will never be able to make a better life for himself, but professes his love to Lucie. He offers to help her whenever she would need him, and even offers to sacrifice his life for her happiness.

I find this whole plot to be frustrating because Dickens does not seem to spend enough time developing the characters. The imagery in A Tale of Two Cities is extremely well done, but I believe the characters suffer from it. In particular, this love between Darnay and Lucie is frustrating because they do not seem to share any feelings for each other. Maybe it is because the acceptable behavior of the time period was to share less emotion than the present. Nevertheless, I feel that Dickens does not invest enough time in their relationship to make the reader care enough about them.


While this book is about the French Revolution, I have not gotten to the part yet where this has occurred. So far, only planning has begun for the revolution, so I did not want to search anything I could not immediately relate to the book. This is why this video was chosen over one directly explaining the French Revolution. This video directly related to the book in two circumstances.

Censorship was extremely strict in France and many people were stopped from spreading enlightenment ideas. These laws even extended to philosophes, who had their books published in other countries and smuggled over the borders. The only way a person could speak freely was in a court of law. In this way the French people (50% literate) could gain legal information that was not just a publicity stunt. In addition to the novelty of the trial, this may have been why trials were so popular in France. They were one way to get otherwise censored information.

In addition, the video mentioned people called the “Grub Street Hacks” who were philosophes. These people never gained a reputation or as much prestiege, but they played an important role nonetheless. These people spread around information that degraded the view of the monarchy and started popular theories and coined the phrase the “Austtrian Whore.” They were extremely influential among the people at this time.

http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/chap1d.html
This website provided great detail into the motives of the peasants before the French Revolution. It covered all of the major causes such as food shortage, the Estates General, and unequal power. In addition to this, it stressed the fact that all peasants, not just those in cities, were unhappy. In fact, they believed, after the revolts in the cities, that the Nobles would kill them. This could relate to Charles Darnay further in the story because he is now the owner of one such place in France.

Blog Post 2: The Characters and their Purpose

A Tale of Two Cities begins with Lucie Manette and Mr. Lorry who are traveling by carriage from London to Paris.  Mr. Lorry informs Miss Manette that her father, presumed dead for many years, has been found alive and that the two of them are going to take him back to London.  When the two of them finally reach Doctor Manette, he had developed mental problems to help him forget the pain of his imprisonment in the Bastille. “The task of recalling him into which he always sank when he had spoken, was like recalling some very weak person from a swoon, or endeavoring, in the hope of some disclosure, to stay the spirit of a fast-dying man,” (Dickens 36). All three characters return to England as quickly as possible.

Five years later, all three are in attendance at a trial for a Charles Darnay. Doctor Manette has mostly recovered from his stay in the jail because of his daughter’s love and care, but still can feel unwell during moments that remind him of his stay in prison. Once again, Lucie’s kind nature saves another person as her concern for Charles Darnay convinces the jury not to convict him of treason.  This appearance at Darnay’s trial prompts both Darnay and another man to fall in love with Lucie Manette. This other man, Sydney Carton, looks much like Darnay, but resents this other man’s success compared to his own small achievements.

So now that some basic understanding of the book has been reached, I will go into further detail. One of the problems I have with this book so far is that I find Doctor Manette to be a fairly simple and static character. While Doctor Manette, has changed significantly through this reading section, the time span between Book the First and Book the Second made the change seem instantaneous. This abrupt transition from infirm to independent made this concept that love and faith can save people from “death” to be less apparent. A static character is generally meant to show an idea of the time or change a main character’s point of view. I see Doctor Manette performing none of these functions. He also seems to grow less important as the love triangle between Lucie, Charles, and Sydney unfolds. There must be some purpose for Doctor Manette in the future because he seems to play a small role in relation to the time spent written around this character.

Another interesting character is Mr. Lorry. Mr. Lorry is “a man of business,” as so often mentioned by Dickens. What I find most interesting about him is how hard he tries to only stick to business throughout his entire life.  When he told Lucie that they had found her father after so many years he dealt with her reaction to this by saying, “A-a matter of business. You confuse me and how can I transact if I am confused? … If you could kindly mention now, for instance, what nine times ninepiece are … it would be so encouraging,” (Dickens 25). Mr. Lorry is interesting because of his innocent view of the world around him usually seen in children. The effect of Lucie’s love can also be seen in him as he becomes a family friend over time and considers their home to be his home. Charles Dickens could use Mr. Lorry in the future to show his point of view of the French Revolution and the surrounding events.