A Tale of Two Cities: Book 2, Chapter 2

The color-coded bars in this section make it easy to track the themes throughout the work. Each color corresponds to one of the themes explained in the Themes section of this LitChart. For instance, indicates that all six themes apply to that part of the summary.

Summary Analysis Themes

One day, Jerry Cruncher is sent to await Mr. Lorry’s orders at the Old Bailey Courthouse, where a handsome young gentleman named Charles Darnay stands accused of treason. Jerry enters the court and pushes through the crowd gathered to see the trial. The spectators stare at Darnay, and one onlooker excitedly predicts that the accused will be convicted and then brutally drawn-and-quartered.

The sadistic appetites of this English crowd are similar to those of the French mob in Book 1, chapter 5. The title of the chapter, “A Sight,” indicates that these people come to the trial for the fun of it, hoping not for justice but for the spectacle of violence.

Charles, who stands accused of being a French spy, is defended by two lawyers: Mr. Stryver and the insolent and bored-looking Mr. Carton. When Darnay glances at a young woman and her father sitting nearby (Lucie and Dr. Manette), word flashes through the crowd that these two are witnesses against Darnay. Nonetheless, Lucie’s face radiates a compassion that awes the spectators.

The compassion in Lucie’s face indicates that she does not want to condemn Charles, even though she is a witness for the prosecution. This foreshadows Charles’s final trial in Paris, when Dr. Manette, contrary to his intentions, dooms Charles.