Literary Analysis of A Tale of Two Cities

Kaly Worthington
Feb. 20, 2010

Literary Analysis

Some of the background of the novel by Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, was published in 1859. This book is introduced because of the French Revolution. There were a lot of social problems back then. The people in France weren’t treated well. The theme that I will discuss is revenge. Madame Defarge wants revenge on the Evrémondes., because they exterminated her family. A man named Alexander Manette was imprisoned due to the murders that he knew about on the Evremonde family. She tried to get rid of Lucie and her husband Charles Darnay.

Pg. # 282 states, “You will be good to my poor husband. You will do him no harm. You will help me to see him if you can? Your husband is not my business here,” returned Madame Defarge, looking down at her with perfect composure. “It is the daughter of your father who is my business here. For my sake, then, be merciful to my husband then. For my child’s sake! She will put her hands together and pray you to be merciful. We are more afraid of you than of these others.”

Pg. # 282 and 283 “As a wife and mother,” cried Lucie, most earnestly, “I implore you to have pity on me and not to exercise any power that you possess, against my innocent husband, but to use it in his behalf. O sister-woman, think of me. As a wife and mother!” Madame Defarge looked, coldly as ever, at the suppliant, and said turning to her friend The Vengeance: “The wives and mothers we have been used to see, since we were as little as this child, and much less, have not been greatly considered? We have known their husbands and fathers laid in prison and kept from them, often enough? All our lives, we have seen our sister-woman suffer, in themselves and in their children, poverty, nakedness, hunger, thirst, sickness, misery, oppression and neglect of all kinds? We have seen nothing else,” returned The Vengeance. “We have borne this a long time,” said Madame Defarge, turning her eyes again upon Lucie. “Judge you! It is likely that the trouble of one wife and mother would be much to us now?” She resumed her knitting and went out. The Vengeance followed. Defarge went last, and closed the door.

The passage is shows how Lucie is begging for mercy for her family, and that her daughter will too. They are begging for mercy from Madame Defarge. She overlooks it as part of her revenge because they’re at her mercy, instead of the other way around. It also helps Madame Defarge finally feel like she’s releasing the anger she feels. Madame Defarge doesn’t help them because she wants them to suffer just like she did.

Sensory imagery is used well...like in the example of “Madame Defarge looked coldly as ever”. It also portrays how she tries to get others to feel how she does by having Lucie at her mercy. Madame Defarge feels strong, and Lucie is weak.


The tone of voice is very well described through Madame Defarge because she is the main character wanting revenge, and very powerful in a lot of the other character’s eyes. She doesn’t care about anyone else besides herself. The only reason that she waited until the end to try to get rid of Lucie and Darnay, is because she wanted the ultimate recognition. It’s almost as if you can sense the anger and darkness, just waiting to let you take a step, then fall to your death.

In conclusion, the book is very dark in nature. It depicts a very sad time with a lot of chaos going on. The characters seem to come out of the woodwork as each book opens up. In the end the characters that sacrificed the most, are rewarded and the ones like Madame Defarge pay the price.