A Tale Of Two Cities By Charles Dickens

Quick plot synopsis-

Set against the backdrop of the famous French Revolution, it is a tale of the cities of London and Paris. Mr. Jarvis Lorry (confidential clerk at Tellson's Bank) is travelling to meet Lucie Manette (a ward of Tellson's Bank), to inform her that she isn’t an orphan. They travel together to meet her father in Paris, Doctor Manette (a Parisan doctor), her father, is released from Bastille  after 18 years. Currently he is housed in the Defarges' wine-shop, has lost his memory, but starts to regain it upon meeting his daughter and is transported back to London. Post 5 years of this episode, Charles Darnay (French emigrant to England) is accused of a charge of providing English secrets to the French. Another remarkably similar-looking Sydney Carton (a London lawyer), helps in Darnay’s acquittal. Lucie Manette has three suitors- Darnay, Carton, and Stryver (another London lawyer with colossal ego), but she ends up marrying Charles Darnay! On the wedding day, Darnay divulges to his father-in-law about his connection with the French nobleman family. Meantime, in France Darnay’s  uncle, Monseigneur, has been murdered on charges of crime again the French poor people. Darnay is imprisoned in Paris as a nobleman. Doctor Manette, Lucie, and her child all travel to Paris to save Darnay, but in a course of dramatic events, Madam Defarges(the ringleader of the Saint Antoine female revolutionaries , with a nickname vengeance) makes a strong charge against him in court, Darnay is sentenced to death.

Most heart-rending twist for me, the epitome of selfless love is when-

When the similar-looking Sydney Carton all the way travels to Paris, on account of his selfless love for Lucie Manette, to sacrifice his life to save her husband’s life. Carton gets the information that Defarges are planning to kill Lucie and her child.  Using influence he even arranges for the Manettes to leave Paris safely along with Darnay. Alas, Carton dies on behalf of Darnay (epitome of love………)my stomach jumped to my heart, and my heart leapt into my throat…all my organs displaced and shuddered and welled ☹

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My views – 

The sinister Madame Defarge, with incessant propensity for vengeance, has outgrown all the villainy that I have read so far in any novel. She is emblematic of VENGEANCE AND MALICE!

There are many themes talked about, but what enticed me majorly were around resurrection and family, apart from the atrocities during the French Revolution and projection of the struggle of classes, tainted with violence and hatred.

The striking theme of resurrection, Lucie’s father’s memory recovery, Sydney’s sacrifice of his life to save Charles and family, is analogous to Jesus’s sacrifice! 

The importance of the family has been threaded uniformly throughout. Given the centre stage!

From Lucie’s trip to Paris for the union with the long-lost father, to the lamentations of Charles Darney upon being sentenced to death, all more concerned about family than himself. The final nail in the coffin was the sacrifice of Carton(who is not connected to the family, without kinship!), just for the selfless love for Lucie and to protect her family.

While writing this brief, my heart is welling with tears!!!!!!!!!

The majestic opening with the contrasting lines to the profound impactful ending, this classic is an evergreen work of vengeance and love , family and sacrifice!

It was the best of times,

It was the worst of times,

It was the age of wisdom,

It was the age of foolishness,

it was the epoch of belief,

it was the epoch of incredulity

No one can sail through the last chapter “The footsteps die out forever” without a heavy heart, without sobbing, without an emotional sadness. The last chapter is the final embellishment of sacrifice and tragedy. Sydney Carton is executed at the guillotine along with other French prisoners, and Charles Dickens closes the chapter with a hypothetical speech on behalf of Carton and marks an end to this tragic tale. The ending melodramatic speech was analogous to the sacrifice of Jesus for the mankind!

This book cannot be given any finite stars…it is an epic laden with infinite stars, of the Dickensian epoch !

“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”

NB- This book , like most of the other Dickens’ work cannot be savoured in one stretch, but gradually. It is one of the most emotionally painful novels I have ever savoured ! It is melting….