A Tale of Two Cities

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**A Tale of Two Cities** is an 1859 historical fiction novel by Charles Dickens. Published in separate weekly instalments before being completed into a novel, it tells the story of several main characters living in London and Paris before and during the years of the French Revolution.

One of Dickens’ most famous works, *A Tale of Two Cities* is the biggest best-selling novel of all time. Its analyzed, eloquent text and historical accuracy have left an influential impact on literary pop culture.

## Plot Summary

### Book 1: Recalled to Life

It is 1775, and the cities of London and Paris are struggling with their social class structure. One November night, a mail coach travels to Dover when a messenger named Jerry Cruncher arrives with an urgent message for Mr. Jarvis Lorry, who works for Tellson’s Bank in London and is a passenger in the coach. After receiving the message, Mr. Lorry responds with the words, “*Recalled to Life*.”

After arriving in Dover, Mr. Lorry meets a young woman named Lucie Manette and her servant, Miss Pross. Lucie thinks her father, Doctor Manette, is dead, but Mr. Lorry informs her he has been found alive and was just released after serving 18 years at the Bastille Prison in Paris. He escorts Lucie to France to find her father.

In the Paris suburb of St. Antoine, Monsieur Defarge owns a wine shop, where the area is stricken with poverty and revolutionary activities. His wife, Madame Defarge, habitually encodes enemies’ names of the upcoming revolution in her knitting. Monsieur Defarge was a former servant of Doctor Manette and kept him in a garret after his release.

When Mr. Lorry and Lucie arrive, Monsieur Defarge takes them to the garret, where they find the doctor, a haggard old man who spent much of his time shoe-making, a pastime he learned while in prison. Lucie lovingly comforts him, and after he regains his senses, they return to England.

### Book 2: The Golden Thread

Five years later, a French aristocrat, Charles Darnay, is tried for treason against the British Crown. Lucie and Doctor Manette attend the trial, with the barrister Mr. Stryver, as the defence lawyer. Two spies, John Barsad and Roger Cly, testify against Darnay, but Mr. Stryver’s associate and colleague, Sydney Carton, has Darnay acquitted. He points out that he has an uncanny resemblance to Darnay, and they could easily be seen as doubles.

In France, the Marquis St. Evrémonde recklessly runs his coach through the streets so fast that he runs over and kills a young child. He shows no sympathy for the incident and meets with his nephew Darnay, who decides to renounce his family name and inheritance. That night, the Marquis is murdered in his sleep.

Back in England, Darnay and Carton spend most of their time with the Manettes, and Mr. Lorry has become a loyal friend to the family. Both men are in love with Lucie for her beauty and kindness. A year later, Darnay requests Doctor Manette’s permission for him to marry Lucie, while Carton still admires her and will do anything to keep her and everyone else happy. After Doctor Manette accepts his request, Darnay promises to reveal his true identity on his wedding day.

Cruncher spots a funeral procession on the streets of London for Cly and decides to dig his grave and sell the body. In France, a peasant is hanged for killing the Marquis since he was the father of the child the Marquis had killed. In the wine shop, Madame Defarge adds Barsad and the Evrémonde family to her “register” knitting.

Darnay marries Lucie, and they depart on their honeymoon. While they are gone, Doctor Manette makes shoes again in despair after discovering his new son-in-law is related to the Evrémondes. After nine days, he eventually recovers and joins the newlyweds, and when he is away, Mr. Lorry and Miss Pross destroy the shoe-making bench and bury the tools. Darnay and Lucie later have a daughter, who is also named Lucie, and a son who died young. Carton is welcomed in their household as a family friend.

In 1789, the Defarges and the peasants storm the Bastille, and the French Revolution begins. During the battle, Monsieur Defarge searches Doctor Manette’s old cell and finds a letter inside the chimney. By 1792, the Evrémonde mansion was burned down by the revolutionaries. The aristocrats are then executed at the guillotine, including anyone seen as an opposer to the state. When Darnay discovers an old family servant has sent him a letter begging for his help, he immediately departs for Paris.

### Book 3: The Track of a Storm

Darnay arrives in France, but when he reaches Paris, he is arrested by the revolutionaries and jailed at the La Force prison. Mr. Lorry attends business at Paris’ Tellson’s Bank, and Lucie, her daughter Little Lucie and Doctor Manette join him to help save Darnay.

Darnay is imprisoned for a year and three months before he is tried. Doctor Manette testifies with the revolutionaries, as he is a local hero following his imprisonment. Darnay is acquitted with his father-in-law’s help but arrested again that night. This time, the Defarges pressed charges against him, along with someone else. Meanwhile, Miss Pross and Cruncher are in Paris to help, and they meet Barsad. Miss Pross recognizes him as her long-lost brother Solomon Pross, but he demands to keep his true identity quiet. Carton, also in Paris, finds out about Darnay’s arrest and blackmails Barsad to cooperate in saving him; otherwise, he will reveal the truth of him being a spy.

Darnay’s second trial begins. Monsieur Defarge testifies by claiming Doctor Manette has also accused him through the letter he found in his cell during the storming of the Bastille, which also explains the cause of the Doctor’s imprisonment.

In the letter, written years earlier, Doctor Manette was enlisted by the Evrémonde brothers to care for an injured man and woman. One was Darnay’s father, and the other was his uncle. He finds himself tending to the woman who was raped by one of the brothers and couldn’t save her, as well as her brother, who suffered from a stab wound he later succumbed to. The Evrémondes had Doctor Manette arrested to protect themselves from the doctor reporting their crime.

Darnay is condemned for the crimes committed by his ancestors and sentenced to death within 24 hours. Carton overhears Madame Defarge at the wine shop plotting to have Lucie and her daughter executed and exterminate the Evrémonde family bloodline. It’s revealed that she is the surviving sister of the man and woman killed by the Evrémonde brothers.

Carton arranges to have Doctor Manette, Lucie, and her daughter escape immediately on the day of Darnay’s execution. He then visits him in his cell, where he tricks him into switching clothes with him and drugs him. Barsad carries the unconscious Darnay to the coach, where his family awaits him, while Carton disguises himself as Darnay and Darnay disguised as Carton. Darnay, Mr. Lorry, Doctor Manette, Lucie and Little Lucie flee from Paris and return to England.

Madame Defarge prepares to arrest Lucie at her apartment, where Miss Pross fends her off. After a struggle, Madame Defarge accidentally shoots herself with her own gun and is killed, leaving Miss Pross permanently deaf, but she leaves the city with Cruncher.

The book ends with Carton sacrificing himself to the guillotine in Darnay’s place, knowing he has saved the woman he loves and her family, which was the greatest thing he has ever done.

## Characters

Charles Darnay- An exiled French aristocrat by birth. Unable to endure the harsh cruelty and injustices of France’s social class structure, he renounces the sins of his troubled family, the Evrémondes and seeks refuge in England, where he becomes a successful French tutor and falls in love with Lucie Manette. While he tries to stay honest and virtuous to his family, he cannot avoid being seen as a traitor wherever he is. He was initially charged with treason against the British Crown and nearly put his life on the line when he returned to Paris to help his old servant, Gabelle.

Sydney Carton- An English lawyer and attorney. His drinking addiction makes him live a life of misery, but he adores Lucie and still wants to bring happiness to her and her family, even though he will never be able to have her. He was also known to have a striking resemblance to his counterpart Darnay, and it was from his resemblance that he saved Darnay and his family by switching places with him while awaiting execution. Carton lived a hopeless life but redeemed himself by leaving behind his past sins and forever living on in the memories of Charles and Lucie.

Lucie Manette- A young woman of French heritage and raised in England. Beautiful, innocent and angelic, Lucie’s outstanding beauty has the power of healing and bringing her family together, which earns her the title “Golden Thread.” Lucie initially assumed her parents were deceased, but after learning her father is alive but haggard from many years of imprisonment, her kind and loving words restore him to his usual self. While she marries Darnay and lives a blissful family life with him and her father, she still cares about her other suitor, Carton and is the only one who can understand his inner goodness. She also has the power of spirituality and faith in those close to her.

Doctor Alexandre Manette- A physician from Beauvais, France and Lucie’s father. He had been secretly imprisoned at the Bastille Prison in Paris for 18 years, which took a traumatic toll on his mentality. He also developed a hobby of shoemaking that he taught himself while in prison but was eventually “resurrected” with his daughter Lucie’s loving care. While he could maintain a normal lifestyle in his medical career, he is in despair after learning his son-in-law Darnay is related to the Evrémondes. After Darnay is arrested, Doctor Manette attempts to save him, but an old letter found in his old cell tragically results in Darnay’s fate and Carton’s sacrifice.

Monsieur Defarge- A wine shop owner whose store is located in St. Antoine, one of the poorest suburbs in Paris. He was initially a servant of Doctor Manette and now uses his shop to host revolutionary activities in the upcoming French Revolution. After Doctor Manette is released from prison, Defarge keeps him in a garret and arranges for Mr. Lorry and Lucie to meet him and smuggle him out of the city. However, he is fiercely against the French aristocracy and will do anything to have them denounced and executed in the name of justice. Not only does he have Darnay arrested, but he also betrays Doctor Manette by revealing the letter inside his old jail cell on Evrémonde’s role in the doctor’s imprisonment.

Madame Defarge- The wife of Monsieur Defarge. She spends a lot of time knitting but is actually registering the names of those doomed to be killed in the Revolution. Like her husband, Madame Defarge also has an intense hatred towards the French aristocracy; unlike Monsieur Defarge, she tends to be cruel and bloodthirsty in her crusade. She will do anything to ensure that all the aristocrats, including the Evrémondes, are denounced and executed in the name of vengeance.

Mr. Jarvis Lorry- An elderly gentleman who works for Tellson’s Bank in London. He is also a close friend and adviser to Doctor Manette and is Lucie’s guardian, who escorted her to France to retrieve her father. He shows honesty and virtue, and while he attempts to act more businesslike, he can also be more personal to those close to him, especially when he becomes concerned when Doctor Manette makes shoes again and Darnay’s arrest in Paris.

Jerry Cruncher- An odd-job man for Tellson’s Bank in London. He lives with his wife and young son and is fed up with his wife’s constant praying. His side job includes being a “resurrection man,” or a grave robber, digging up the bodies from cemeteries and selling them to scientists.

Miss Pross- Lucie’s loyal, protective servant and guardian. She had raised Lucie since she was a child and can be fierce when she suspects anyone wishing to harm Lucie or her family. Her long-lost brother, Solomon Pross, is the spy John Barsad, who she believed would have been worthy of Lucie.

John Barsad- A British spy whose real name is Solomon Pross. During Darnay’s treason trial, he initially framed Darnay by having evidence planted on him during the voyage from France to England, but it becomes clear he is untrustworthy. After Darnay is imprisoned in Paris, Carton forces Barsad to cooperate in helping Darnay and his family escape.

Roger Cly- A British spy and Barsad’s colleague. He was also a former servant of Darnay and testified against him in England. After faking his own death to escape prosecution, he later appears as a prison spy in Paris.

Mr. Stryver- A lawyer who is Carton’s associate and defends Darnay during his treason trial in England. He has ambitions to be part of the upper social class and briefly aspires to marry Lucie.

Marquis St. Evrémonde- A French aristocrat and Darnay’s uncle. He was a cruel, heartless man who showed no sympathy to those around him and was committed to preserving the aristocracy's power in France. He fatally runs over a young child with his coach and is later murdered by the child’s father.

Gabelle- An agent for the Evrémondes and Darnay’s servant who handles his affairs. After the revolutionaries jail him during the Revolution, he sends a message to Darnay pleading for his help, and this message causes Darnay to return to Paris and get into more trouble.

Gaspard- A French peasant whose child was murdered by the Marquis St. Evrémonde and later killed him for revenge. He was later hanged for his crime.

Mrs. Cruncher- Jerry Cruncher’s wife. She is a deeply religious woman whose constant praying bothers her husband. But after realizing how important her praying is to him, Jerry quits his grave-robbing job and prays regularly with her.

Young Jerry- Jerry Cruncher’s young son. He is curious about his father’s business. One night, he secretly follows him to the cemetery and watches in horror as Jerry and his men attempt to exhume Roger Cly’s body.

## Writing History/Reception

Dickens first wrote *A Tale of Two Cities* in 1859, publishing each chapter serially in his magazine *All the Year Round between* April and November, which he often did with most of his novels. By the end of the 1850s, he had already found success with his previous novels such as *Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol* and *David Copperfield*. However, he was also dealing with some personal issues, including his estranged marriage to his wife, Catherine Hogarth, which led to their separation the year before. Around this time, he met a young actress named Ellen Ternan and had an affair with her.

Two sources gave Dickens inspiration for *A Tale of Two Cities*. The first is *The French Revolution: A History* by Thomas Carlyle. Dickens was interested in how Carlyle wrote about the oppression and unrest in late 18th-century England and France that led to the French Revolution. Some intriguing details included how a letter was discovered inside the Bastille prison during the Storming of the Bastille. It was written many years ago by a wretched prisoner, begging for news about his wife to a French bishop. As such, Carlyle's principles and philosophy influenced Dickens for his 12th novel. Another source was *The Frozen Deep* by Dickens's friend and writer Wilkie Collins. Dickens once acted in the play and portrayed the role of Richard Wardour, who was in love with a woman named Clara Burnham. Another character, Frank Aldersley, was also in love with Clara, and both men competed for their affection. When Aldersley ended up with Clara, Wardour vowed revenge on his rival. But while stranded during an expedition in the Arctic, Wardour saved Aldersley's life by carrying him to safety and then dying in Clara's arms. Ardour's act of heroism and sacrifice would inspire the book's love triangle, which would end with one of the lovers sacrificing his own life so his rival and the woman he loved could live a better life. Dickens also appreciated the play for its themes of love, redemption and sacrifice, which he used as themes for *A Tale of Two Cities*.

The novel offers a historical point of view of the French Revolution, widely considered one of the most important events in history. In the late 18th century, France was on the brink of bankruptcy after the French King Louis XVI spent most of his wealth on extravagant riches, and France's involvement in the American Revolution resulted in facing heavy debt. The lower social classes faced extreme poverty and starvation from drought, hefty prices, and famine. They also had to pay heavy taxes, while the wealthiest citizens didn't have to pay at all. Meanwhile, King Louis XVI was losing power for not supporting the commoners. He was a weak leader, especially when his advisers demanded that he make reforms to improve the country's failing economy and debt. His wife, Marie Antoinette, constantly spent lavish parties and gowns, to the point when she allegedly said, "*Let Them Eat Cake!*" referring to the country's starving population.

On July 14th, 1789, a group of peasants invaded and rioted at the Bastille, a state prison in Paris used by the French monarchy to hold political prisoners. The French Revolution began shortly afterward, with the revolutionaries attacking and burning down the homes of the wealthy, prompting many aristocrats to flee and seek refuge in neighbouring countries, including England. For the next decade, France was plunged into civil unrest and violence, with the darkest period, called the Reign of Terror, occurring between 1793 and 1794. The king and queen were overthrown and executed at the guillotine, and anyone accused of supporting the monarchy would also be executed. A lawyer and statesman, Maximilian Robespierre, became President of the French National Convention and formed the National Assembly, where he formed many laws that involved keeping the revolution going. About 16,000 people were executed during the Reign of Terror, and Robespierre was eventually tried and executed for his abuse of power. When the French Revolution ended in 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte, a French general, rose to power and became Emperor of France. His control over Europe led to the Napoleonic Wars, in which Britain was involved after beating him in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. France was again plunged into more unrest and violence until Napoleon was defeated for the final time in 1815, and France became a republic.

While not as Dickensian as his other novels, *A Tale of Two Cities* has been considered one of his most popular and widely read novels. With over 200 million copies sold, it is one of the best-selling novels ever and the greatest historical fiction novel ever written.

## Themes

### Revolution

Most of the action in *A Tale of Two Cities* takes place in Paris during the French Revolution, which started in 1789. Since the United States of America had won independence from England during the American Revolution in 1776, it shed light on the French peasants and the truth of the government's power over them. Dickens sympathized with the impoverished peasants and criticized the aristocracy, whose greed and hypocrisy prompted the peasants to revolt against the higher social class. For example, the Marquis St. Evrémonde kills a young child while recklessly driving his coach through the streets. Instead of expressing sympathy and remorse for what he has done, he tosses a golden coin to the father of the slain child and scolds the peasants for not supervising their children.

Another example is when an aristocrat, Monsieur Foulon, told the starving peasants they should eat grass. He then faked his death to escape the revolutionaries but was caught and killed, with the peasants making him "eat his words" by stuffing grass into his mouth. As such, the political unrest of how the government and aristocracy treated their poor peasants would eventually lead to chaos and revolution.

However, once the peasants stormed the Bastille Prison, sparking the revolution, Dickens' view of the social class then switched. He sympathized with the aristocrats, especially the book's protagonist Charles Darnay, and denounced the violent revolutionaries killing the aristocrats gruesomely. The theme of revolution points out that the peasants have turned into tyrants and have innocent, wealthy nobles imprisoned and executed, even if some did nothing wrong, including Darnay. When he returns to France to save a servant from the revolution, he puts his own life and the lives of his family at risk with the revolutionaries, as the vengeful Madame Defarge is also determined to have Lucie Manette and her child denounced and executed because she's married to a French nobleman whose social class and family past has sparked hatred toward the peasants. In Dickens's novel, he portrays the peasants as outraged, starving people who see the revolution as more vengeful acts than demanding more necessities, such as lower taxes and better quality of life.

### Injustice

Injustice is a recurring theme throughout the book, as many acts of dishonour often go unpunished, even if someone does so little that they receive severe punishment. The novel begins with Doctor Manette being released from the Bastille after his 18-year imprisonment. While he was trying to save a family and report a crime, the family's relatives had him framed and arrested. Charles Darnay renounced his family name and inheritance because he was disgusted with his family's cruelty and injustice inflicted on others. With his marriage to Lucie, he hopes to put his family's past behind him and forget about the injustices of his fellow nobility, only for him and his family to be unjustly denounced for one person's crime they were never part of.

Dickens himself once faced injustice that he used as criticism for his later novels. When he was 12 years old, his father was arrested for debt and forced to spend jail time in a debtor's prison. Dickens was forced to leave school and work full-time, gruelling hours in a blacking factory to support his family. He believed that he had to abandon his education unjustly because of his impoverished childhood and the struggles of social injustice in society.

### Resurrection

The theme resurrection is a spiritual and moral theme that was used from the Bible’s New Testament, when Jesus Christ resurrected to eternal life on the third day of his crucifixion. While none of the characters are brought back to life from death, they are resurrected, or transformed, through spiritual and moral means. Dickens had used this theme to have his characters rise from the “dead”, and transformed into a new person.

The first act of resurrection occurs in Book 1: Recalled to Life. After 18 years of imprisonment, Doctor Manette has lost his senses and becomes a haggard, miserable man who feverishly makes shoes to cope with his incarnation. Mr. Lorry arrives in France with Lucie to “resurrect him”, and along the way, he dreams that he is digging someone from their grave after being buried for 18 years, to the point when he asks the figure repeatedly if they want to be resurrected. With his daughter Lucie’s love and affection, Doctor Manette is restored physically and mentally to his normal self. The message Mr. Lorry receives “Recalled to Life”, refers to starting life anew after recovering from the past life.

The second act is Charles Darnay being saved from death by pure luck. At his trial for treason at the Old Bailey, Sydney Carton has him acquitted. Then when he was tried again in France, his father-in-law Doctor Manette has him acquitted again with his political views, but when Darnay was arrested and tried for the third time, he is sentenced to death. Since nothing can be done to have him acquitted, Carton sneaks into Darnay’s cell and tricks him into switching clothes with him and after drugging him, Darnay is carried to his family’s coach so they can escape. The final act is Carton’s death at the guillotine, and during his final moments, recites a Christian prayer about resurrection that says, “ *I am the resurrection and the life, saith live; and whosever liveth and believeth in me shall never die*.” With his death, he is resurrected spiritually into the lives of his closest friends who he has saved, mostly likely Charles and Lucie’s son who would be Carton’s namesake and living a successful life he never had.

Resurrection isn’t just used for the characters, but for society and humanity. In Carton’s vision before his death, he believes that France will recover from the horrors of the revolution and become a peaceful country again. He hopes that France will be resurrected through love and sacrifice, and all evils will cease to exist, such as Monsieur Defarge, The Vengeance, and all the other revolutionaries finally facing justice for their crimes.

### Sacrifice

Several characters in the story make sacrifices to spare the pain and provide solace to those they care about. Doctor Manette sacrifices his own freedom for his family's safety and himself. While he tried to save a life, he wrote a letter to an authority figure explaining what happened so he would provide justice to his patient. During his 18-year imprisonment, he sacrificed to raise his young daughter Lucie and watch her grow. In addition, he also sacrifices his sanity to save his son-in-law from the guillotine.

Then there is Charles Darnay, who has decided to renounce his family name and inheritance because he cannot stand the cruelty and injustice of the French nobility. He prefers to live a humble life in England. He has also chosen to sacrifice his wealth to win Lucie’s heart, even though he is aware that Lucie’s love for her father keeps her sane, and he has promised her his romance won’t affect her father’s relationship with her. The revolutionaries also risk their lives to overthrow the tyrannical monarchy so they can live in a liberated country with liberty, prosperity and peace. However, their sacrifices resulted in dozens of bloodshed and deaths of the nobility,

Lastly, Carton commits his first act of sacrifice when he works for his associate, Mr. Stryver. He constantly works for him without taking any credit, while at the same time, he loves Lucie. He knows he will never marry her because of his miserable life and drinking addiction, and he makes another sacrifice not to marry her but will still support her and her husband, Charles Darnay. Finally, he commits the greatest sacrifice in the book when he trades places with Darnay so he and Lucie can escape, and he will die at the guillotine. Carton knows that if Darnay is executed, Lucie will likely die of a broken heart or be denounced by the revolutionaries. Lucie’s love for Carton has greatly influenced him into becoming a hero, and with his sacrifice, he has finally redeemed his sins and saved Lucie and Darnay from a horrible death. In addition, Carton has become a Christ-figure. Just like how Jesus Christ sacrificed himself on the cross to save humanity, Carton’s sacrifice at the guillotine shows he has made the selfless choice so Lucie and her family can live happily. He will regain his immortality in their minds. Dickens’s theme of sacrifice shows that while some people will lose something, they will realize afterwards that doing so makes their lives worthy.

### Violence

The French Revolution was infamous for its bloodshed and violence, that Dickens wasn’t afraid to portray in *A Tale of Two Cities*. While Dickens had always sympathized with the French peasants, he also emphasized their ambition for liberation, even if it means taking extreme and violent measures to have their voices heard. Before the French Revolution breaks out, several violent scenes have occurred in the story that would foreshadow more violence when the Revolution arrives. One example is when the Marquis St. Evrémonde kills a young child with his coach and the boy’s father, Gaspard, grieving over his child. The Marquis is a cruel aristocrat who just tosses a golden coin to Gaspard and curses the peasants for being reckless and not supervising their children. Later, the peasants kill an aristocrat named Foulon, who often mocked the hungry peasants by telling them they should eat grass. They kill him by hanging him and then beheading him, with his mouth stuffed with grass and then paraded through the streets.

The violence escalates further with the Storming of the Bastille, and then another scene when Miss Pross fights with Madame Defarge, who is a bloodthirsty, violent woman who believes violence and murder is an act of revenge against her enemies. During the Storming of the Bastille, she kills a guard by cutting off his head, indicating that she can kill almost anyone, even if they are aristocratic or not. As such, the peasants’ brutal violence is mostly targeted at oppression. For many years, the nobility have mistreated the peasants and made them miserable lowlives in society, and they decided that they will commit violent acts for the way they have been treated. Madame Defarge, on the other hand, is more focused on her revenge toward the aristocracy, as the Evrémonde family were responsible for the deaths of her siblings, which explains why she was “registering” names of her enemies in her knitting. She is also determined to kill anyone related to them, such as Darnay’s wife Lucie and their daughter. But when Madame Defarge went to Lucie’s apartment to find her, only Lucie’s servant, Miss Pross was there, and a violent battle ensues that resulted in Madame Defarge accidentally killing herself with her own gun.

## Symbols

### The Guillotine

The guillotine is a mechanical execution machine used to behead people during the French Revolution. While the beheading is quick, it is also gory, which delights the bloodthirsty crowd as the executions often take place in public. The guillotine symbolizes revolutionary violence and how mechanization became industrialized. It also symbolizes the corrupt power over the innocent becoming guilty and facing untimely deaths, even if they were falsely accused. As such, the guillotine paints an eerie shadow over the main characters.

### Knitting

Throughout most of the story, Madame Defarge is mostly seen knitting quietly and looking tranquil, but deep down, her knitting metaphorically means that she is encoding names of people that she wants killed. As such, the knitting symbolizes the cold-blooded, vengeful revolutionaries who will secretly register names of their enemies that have planned to kill as acts of revenge.

### Wine

In *A Tale of Two Cities*, wine is generally dark red that first appears in St. Antoine, when a wine cask breaks open next to Monsieur Defarge’s wine shop, and the peasants desperately try to drink what has been spilled, and many of the wine has been stained on their clothes and on the cobblestone streets. Wine symbolizes blood as there will be dozens of bloodshed during the revolution, and it may also symbolize the peasants’ violent frenzies to quench their hunger and thirst.

### Lucie’s Golden Thread

Lucie Manette is often described as the “golden thread”, which is referred to her blonde hair, and it metaphorically gives her the power to wind her thread and bring her family and friends close together. As such, the golden thread symbolizes union and hope, as Lucie spiritually heals those who know her with her love and kindness, and it also shows that in the wake of the revolution, there is still hope for them.

## Foreshadowing

* A wine cask breaks and the red wine flows through the cobblestone streets of Saint Antoine in Paris. Foreshadows bloodshed and violence of the revolution. The excited reaction of the locals who drink the wine also foreshadows their bloodthirsty, frenzied behaviour during the revolution.
* During Darnay’s trial for treason in London, Carton has him acquitted because their striking resemblance could easily mistake them as doubles. Foreshadows Carton saving him a second time, by swapping places with him and executed at the guillotine.
* Darnay mentions that a scrap of paper was discovered buried in the Tower of London. Foreshadows Monsieur Defarge finding a scrap of paper in the chimney inside Doctor Manette’s old cell at the Bastille, that reveals the cause of his imprisonment.
* Doctor Manette falls into a relapse for nine days after Darnay tells him his true identity before he’s married. Foreshadows the truth that Darnay is a relative of the Evrémonde family, who were responsible for Doctor Manette’s imprisonment.
* Doctor Manette serves 18 years in the Bastille for a crime he didn’t commit. Foreshadows the unfair justice of the laws of England and France, such as Darnay falsely accused of treason in England, and then imprisoned in Paris after being accused by the revolutionaries. Carton also suffers from injustice as his heroic sacrifice at the end of the book also makes him an innocent individual killed at the hands of the revolutionaries and government.
* At the Manette house, the narrator describes the family hearing echoing footsteps, and they heard it again just before the Storming of the Bastille. Foreshadows the marching footsteps of the revolutionaries, and also symbolizes fate, as the revolutionaries will be marching to the Manettes’ door in Paris to arrest Darnay, just after he was acquitted.