A Tale of Two Cities

Despite her father’s assurances, Lucie remains anxious, aware of how many innocent people are being put to death every day. She repeatedly warns Miss Pross against speaking disparagingly, even in their own home, of the chaos in France. Miss Pross, however, insists that as an Englishwoman, “[her] maxim is, Confound their politics, Frustrate their knavish tricks, On him our hopes we fix, God save the King!” (300). She is impatient to leave France, but Doctor Manette says that it wouldn’t be safe for Darnay to leave so soon after his trial.

Miss Pross and Jerry Cruncher (whom the Manettes are employing in place of a servant) leave to do the day’s shopping. Not long after they’ve gone, there’s a knock on the door, and Lucie panics, begging her father to “hide Charles” (301). Manette once again reassures her that the danger is past, but when he opens the door, he is met by “four rough men in red caps, armed with sabres and pistols” (301) who call for Darnay’s arrest. The men refuse to answer any questions about the new charges Darnay will face, but when Manette presses them, they eventually admit that the charges come from Saint Antoine. Specifically, Darnay has been “denounced” (304) by the Defarges and one other person. They will not tell Manette who this other is but give him a “strange look” (304) and tell him he will learn at the trial the next day.

Avoiding crowds and overtly patriotic shops, Miss Pross and Jerry Cruncher enter a relatively quiet-looking wine-shop. As they wait to place an order, Miss Pross notices the man in line in front of them and screams: it’s her long-lost brother Solomon.

Solomon is irritated to see his sister and, pulling her outside to a secluded area, tells her to leave him alone: he is a government official and fears exposure. Meanwhile, Cruncher has also recognized Solomon, although he knows him by the name “John,” and claims he was a spy at the Old Bailey. Cruncher can’t recall the rest of Solomon’s alias, but Sydney Carton, who appears at that moment, says that it was “Barsad.” Carton explains that he arrived in Paris the night before, but that he decided not to come forward “unless [he] could be useful” (309). To that end, he wants to talk to Barsad, who is employed as a prison spy.

Barsad reluctantly agrees, and after escorting Miss Pross home they head to Tellson’s, where Carton reveals to Lorry that Darnay has been arrested again. Carton says that while he hopes Doctor Manette’s influence will once again save Darnay, he has also devised a back-up plan: “Now, the stake I have resolved to play for, in case of the worst, is a friend in the Conciergerie. And the friend I purpose to myself to win, is Mr. Barsad” (312).

Carton then reveals his “cards”—his knowledge that Barsad is employed under a false name, and that he used to spy on behalf of the English government. This leads Carton to believe that Barton is still working for the English government, and he threatens to expose him as a spy. Barsad takes these threats seriously; he is in an even more precarious position than Carton knows, having also spied for the deposed French monarchy.

Nevertheless, Barsad resists until Carton reveals one final “card.” He believes Roger Cly is also serving as a spy in the French prisons. Barsad denies this, producing a certificate of Cly’s burial. Cruncher, however, is growing increasingly more agitated, and finally reveals that Cly’s coffin contained only “paving-stones and earth” (316)—he brushes aside questions of how he knows this. Barsad is therefore forced to admit that he and Cly fled England to escape public outrage, and he agrees to do what Carton asks provided it doesn’t place him in serious danger. Confirming that Barsad has access to the prison keys, Carton asks Barsad to follow him into another room where they can talk privately. 

As Carton and Barsad talk, Lorry threatens to fire Cruncher for his graverobbing. Cruncher points out that this is hypocritical, since Tellson’s freely serves the doctors that use the bodies Cruncher provides. He says that events in France have caused him to reevaluate his life, and he is considering taking up work as a regular gravedigger.

Carton and Barsad reemerge, and once Barsad has left, Carton explains that Barsad will allow him to visit Darnay if the trial goes badly. He also asks Lorry not to tell Lucie about any of this for fear of troubling her but urges him to go to her and comfort her.

The discussion of Lucie causes Carton to grow thoughtful, and he speaks to Lorry “wistfully” about the latter’s long life of “useful” (322) work, remarking that Lucie will surely mourn him when he dies:

If you could say, with truth, to your own solitary heart, to-night, ‘I have secured to myself the love and attachment, the gratitude or respect, of no human creature; I have won myself a tender place in no regard; I have done nothing good or serviceable to be remembered by!’ your seventy-eight years would be seventy-eight heavy curses, would they not? (322).

After escorting Lorry to the Manettes’, Carton wanders the streets of Paris. He pauses where Lucie used to wait outside La Force and chats with the wood-sawyer, who talks excitedly about the number of people beheaded that day. He then goes to a chemist’s shop and buys substances the chemist warns him not to mix together. Finally, he wanders the streets aimlessly but with a “settled manner,” recalling his parents’ deaths, the deaths of those executed in Paris every day, and the Biblical passage read at this father’s funeral—“I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord” (325).

Carton continues to walk until morning, watching as the sun rises. After sleeping for a while on the riverbank, Carton returns home, dresses, and goes to court.

The prosecutor reads the charges against Darnay and reveals the three people who have denounced him: Monsieur and Madame Defarge, and Doctor Manette. Manette protests, but is forced to be quiet as Defarge testifies, revealing that he found a piece of paper in Manette’s former cell on the day the Bastille fell. The judge orders the paper to be read as Madame Defarge watches Darnay as though “feasting” (330).