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Key Examples in A Tale of Two Cities
Foil
Explanation and Analysis—Who's the Hero?:
The dissipated Sydney Carton and the upstanding Charles Darnay are foils. Though the men look nearly identical, Carton is a moody heavy drinker with no ambition whereas Darnay is a chivalrous family man. Carton and Darnay are both in love with Lucie, though it is Darnay who ultimately marries her. At first glance, Darnay is Carton’s superior in every way—he relinquishes his noble birthright, he has the support of Lucie’s father, and unlike Carton, he is generally regarded as an honorable man. However, Dickens frequently casts Darnay in a passive role and Carton in an active one, minimizing Darnay’s ability to be a convincing romantic lead. For example, it is Carton’s legal assistance that frees Darnay from the British government’s accusations of treason.
Book 2, Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Stryver the Striver:
Mr. Stryver’s dedication to upward mobility makes him a foil for Sydney Carton, whose self-sacrificing tendencies preclude him from climbing the societal ladder. Describing Mr. Stryver in Book 2, Chapter 4, Dickens writes:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Mr. Stryver, a man of little more than thirty, but looking twenty years older than he was, stout, loud, red, bluff, and free from any drawback of delicacy, had a pushing way of shouldering himself (morally and physically) into companies and conversations, that augured well for his shouldering his way up in life.
Related Themes:
Book 2, Chapter 10
Explanation and Analysis—Golden Thread, Red Yarn:
Seductive revolutionary Madame Defarge is a foil to angelic housewife Lucie Manette. While male characters like Darnay, Manette, and Carton frequently attempt to shield Lucie from even the sight of violence, Madame Defarge leads the revolutionary charge, often encouraging her husband to adopt severer tactics. While both women are described as beautiful, Lucie’s beauty is domestic whereas Madame Defarge’s is sensual. In Book 2, Chapter 10, when Darnay asks Manette for Lucie’s hand, he describes her as simultaneously childlike and motherly:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[…] mingled with the affection and duty of a daughter who has become a woman, there is, in her heart towards you, all the love and reliance of infancy itself […] I know that when she is clinging to you, the hands of baby, girl, and woman, all in one, are round your neck.
Related Themes:
Book 3, Chapter 9
Explanation and Analysis—Stryver the Striver:
Mr. Stryver’s dedication to upward mobility makes him a foil for Sydney Carton, whose self-sacrificing tendencies preclude him from climbing the societal ladder. Describing Mr. Stryver in Book 2, Chapter 4, Dickens writes:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Mr. Stryver, a man of little more than thirty, but looking twenty years older than he was, stout, loud, red, bluff, and free from any drawback of delicacy, had a pushing way of shouldering himself (morally and physically) into companies and conversations, that augured well for his shouldering his way up in life.
Related Themes:
Book 3, Chapter 15
Explanation and Analysis—Golden Thread, Red Yarn:
Seductive revolutionary Madame Defarge is a foil to angelic housewife Lucie Manette. While male characters like Darnay, Manette, and Carton frequently attempt to shield Lucie from even the sight of violence, Madame Defarge leads the revolutionary charge, often encouraging her husband to adopt severer tactics. While both women are described as beautiful, Lucie’s beauty is domestic whereas Madame Defarge’s is sensual. In Book 2, Chapter 10, when Darnay asks Manette for Lucie’s hand, he describes her as simultaneously childlike and motherly:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[…] mingled with the affection and duty of a daughter who has become a woman, there is, in her heart towards you, all the love and reliance of infancy itself […] I know that when she is clinging to you, the hands of baby, girl, and woman, all in one, are round your neck.
Related Themes:
