A Tale of Two Cities: Characters

Charles Darnay (a.k.a. Charles Evrémonde) – Renouncing the terrible sins of his family, the Evrémondes, Charles abandons his position in the French aristocracy to make his own way in England. Charles believes in the revolutionary ideal of liberty, but is not a radical revolutionary. Instead, he represents a rational middle ground between the self-satisfied exploitation practiced by the old aristocracy and the murderous rage exhibited by the revolutionaries. Charles has a heroic sense of justice and obligation, as shown when he arranges to provide for the oppressed French peasantry, and later endangers himself in coming to Gabelle’s aid. However, Charles is also deluded in thinking he can divert the force of history and change the Revolution for the better. Similarly, Charles constantly overlooks Sydney Carton’s potential and must learn from his wife, Lucie, to have faith in Carton. Charles represents an imperfect but virtuous humanity in whose future we must trust.

Dr. Alexandre Manette – An accomplished French physician who gets imprisoned in the Bastille, and loses his mind. In his madness, Manette embodies the terrible psychological trauma of persecution from tyranny. Manette is eventually “resurrected”—saved from his madness—by the love of his daughter, Lucie. Manette also shows how suffering can become strength when he returns to Paris and gains a position of authority within the Revolution. Manette tries to return the favor of resurrection when he saves Charles Evrémonde at his trial. However, Manette is ultimately a tragic figure: his old letter from the Bastille seals Charles’s fate. Falling once more into madness, Manette’s story implies that individuals cannot escape the fateful pull of history.

Lucie Manette – The daughter of Dr. Manette, and Charles’s wife. With her qualities of innocence, devotion, and abiding love, Lucie has the power to resurrect, or recall her father back to life, after his long imprisonment. Lucie is the novel’s central figure of goodness and, against the forces of history and politics, she weaves a “golden thread” that knits together the core group of characters. Lucie represents religious faith: when no one else believes in Sydney Carton, she does. Her pity inspires his greatest deed.

Sydney Carton – In his youth, Sydney Carton wasted his great potential and mysteriously lost a woman he loved. Now he’s a drunk and a lawyer who takes no credit for his work. Carton has no hope for his life. Only Lucie understands his potential for goodness. In his selfless dedication to her and her family, Carton represents the transformative power of love. His self-sacrifice at the end of the novel makes him a Christ figure. By saving Lucie’s family, Carton redeems himself from sin and lives on in their grateful memory.

Monsieur Defarge – The former servant of Dr. Manette, Defarge uses his Paris wine shop as a place to organize French revolutionaries. Like his wife, Madame Defarge, Defarge is fiercely committed to overthrowing tyranny and avenging injustice. Yet Defarge always retains a shred of mercy, and does not participate in his wife’s plot to kill Lucie. This quality of mercy makes Defarge a symbol for the failed Revolution, which ultimately loses sight of its ideals and revels in the violence it causes.

Madame Defarge – The wife of Monsieur Defarge, Madame Defarge assists the revolutionaries by stitching the names of their enemies into her knitting. Madame Defarge wants political liberty for the French people, but she is even more powerfully motivated by a bloodthirsty desire for revenge, hoping to exterminate anyone related to the Evrémondes. Where Lucie Manette is the embodiment of pity and goodness, Madame Defarge is her opposite, a figure of unforgiving rage. Over the course of the novel she emerges as a kind of anti-Christ, completely devoid of mercy, and as such comes to symbolize the French Revolution itself, which soon spun out of control and descended into extreme violence.

Marquis St. Evrémonde – Charles’s uncle and a cruel French aristocrat committed to preserving the power of the French nobility. He and his twin brother exemplify the tyrannical and uncaring aristocracy. When the Marquis is murdered, his corpse is a symbol of the people’s murderous rage.

Mr. Jarvis Lorry – An older gentleman who works for Tellson’s bank, Lorry is a model of loyalty and discretion. Lorry hides his emotions under the cover of “business,” but he works hard to save the Manettes and to encourage Charles to become Lucie’s husband.

Mr. Stryver – A lawyer who defends Charles Darnay. Stryver, as his name implies, only cares about climbing the professional ladder.

Jerry Cruncher – By day, an odd-job man for Mr. Lorry. By night, a “resurrection man”—robbing graves to sell body parts to sketchy doctors. He complains about his wife’s praying because it makes him feel guilty about his secret activities, but by the end of the novel he decides to give up his secret job and endorses praying, a sign that he hopes to be resurrected himself through the power of Christ.

John Barsad (a.k.a Solomon Pross) – Barsad was born Solomon Pross, brother to Miss Pross, but then became a spy, first for the English, then later for the French government. He is an amoral opportunist. In England, he accuses Charles Darnay of treason.

Jacques Three – “Jacques” is the code name for every male revolutionary; they identify themselves by number. Jacques Three is a cruel, bloodthirsty man who represents the corruption of the Revolution’s ideals. He controls the jury at the prison tribunals.

The Vengeance – A peasant woman from Paris and Madame Defarge’s ultraviolent sidekick. Like Madame Defarge and Jacques Three, The Vengeance enjoys killing for its own sake, not for any reasonable political purpose.

The mender of roads (the wood-sawyer) – A French working man who represents how average people become seduced by the worst, most violent qualities of the Revolution.

Gabelle – A servant of Charles Evrémonde who carries out Charles’s secret charities. Gabelle is jailed simply by association with the aristocracy, showing how justice flies out the window during the Revolution.

Roger Cly – A spy and colleague of John Barsad who faked his death to escape prosecution.

Miss Pross – The long-time, devoted servant of Lucie Manette. She is Solomon Pross’s sister, and hates the French.

Monseigneur – A powerful French aristocrat.