Transcript Document

Dickens and The City of God
Reading the Gospel of John in A Tale of Two Cities
Melissa Brotton, MS, Ph.D.
Department of English and Communication
La Sierra University
Epigraphs

“. . . the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17. 21)

“In seasons of pestilence, some of us will have a secret attraction to the
disease – a terrible passing inclination to die of it. And all of us have like
wonders hidden in our breast, only needing circumstances to evoke them”
(Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, 279).

“for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that
comes from God.” (John 12.43)

Accordingly, two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by the
love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly by the love of God,
even to the contempt of self. The former, in a word, glories in itself, the
latter in the Lord. For the one seeks glory from men; but the greatest glory
of the other is God, the witness of conscience. (Augustine, City of God, Book
XIV.38).
Charles Dickens (1812-1870)
 Happy 200th Birthday, Charles
Dickens. February 7.
 A Tale of Two Cities, 1859,
(serialized in All the Year
Round, April 30- November
26).
 One of Dickens’ most known
stories, but one which stands
out for its layers of symbolic
and metaphorical meaning.
Charles Dickens. Daguerreotype. George Herbert
Watkins. 1858. Wikipedia. Jan. 30, 2009. Web.
Dickens on A Tale
 As the idea became familiar
to me, it gradually shaped
itself into its present form.
Throughout its execution, it
has had complete possession
of me; I have so far verified
what is done and suffered in
these pages, as that I have
done and suffered it all
myself. (Preface to A Tale of
Two Cities, 1959).
Photographic Portrait. Charles Dickens.
George Herbert Watkins. 1861. David Simkin.
Portraits of Charles Dickens : Drawings,
Paintings, Engravings and Photographs.
Sussex PhotoHistory Home Page. 25 Feb.
2012. Web.
What Two Cities?
 London and Paris?
 England and France?
 Soho and Saint Antoine?
 The City of God and the City
of Man?
 All of the above?
St. Augustine’s Prayer to the
Holy Spirit.
Conflicts
 Dr. Manette’s background story: an
innocent man imprisoned by the
powerful Evrèmonde brothers for
attesting to a murder.
 Defarges’ revenge on the Evrèmonde
family
 Love triangle: Lucie, Charles Darnay
(Evrèmonde) and Sydney Carton
 Darnay and Carton’s simultaneous
redemptions
 The backdrop of the French
Revolution
Still. BBC’s A Tale of Two Cities,
1989. Granada Television.
“There was no pause, no pity,
no peace, no interval of
relenting rest, no measurement
of time. Though days and
nights circled as regularly as
when time was young, and the
evening and the morning were
the first day, other count of
time there was none. Hold of
it was lost in the raging fever of
a nation, as it is in the fever of
a patient. (Charles Dickens, A
Tale of Two Cities, 270).
The French Revolution in Dickens
The Sea Rises by Phiz (Hablot K. Browne). Illustration to Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities. Book
II, Chapter 22. All the Year Round (October 1859); issued 3 September.
A Book of Doubles
London
Paris
Soho
Saint Antoine
Charles Darney
Sydney Carton
Dr. Manette
Monseignor Evremonde
Lucie Manette
Therese (Madame) Defarge
Mr. Lorry
Mr. Stryver
Jerry Cruncher
John Barsad
Miss Pross
Therese (Madame) Defarge
The Jackal
The Lion
Doubles and Contrasts
 It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was
the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was
the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was
the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had
everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were
all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the
other way – in short, the period was so like the present
period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its
being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative
degree of comparison only. (A Tale of Two Cities, 1).
Structure
John
A Tale of Two Cities

“The light shines in the darkness; and the darkness has not
overcome it.” (1.5)

“it was the season of Light, it was the season of
Darkness”( 1)

“He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness’”
(1.23)

“Spiritual revelations were conceded to England at
that favoured period, as at this” (1)

The wedding at Cana: water to wine

Outside the wineshop: wine to blood

Jesus and the woman at the well: water of life

Saint Antoine’s well: water of death

Healing at the pool

Death at the pool (execution of Gaspard)

Jesus, the bread of life

People of France cannot find enough bread

Jesus feeds the 5,000


Jesus is the good shepherd
Monseigneur refuses to feed his tenants; he refuses to
grant money to a poor man’s grave at the request of
the man’s wife.

Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead

Monseigneur kills a child with his carriage and glibly
dismisses the incident by throwing coins at the father.

Final kiss and anointing by the prostitute

Final kiss and blessing by the seamstress in language
of anointing
Parallels
John
A Tale of Two
Cities
 Traitor is the means by which Christ is
given over to death
 Traitor is the means by which Carton has
access to the Conciergerie
 Christ reveals himself to his denouncers
 Carton reveals himself to the Defarges (who
have denounced Darnay)
 Protagonist is executed by the ruling
government’s instrument of death: Cross
 Cross is raised as a spectacle
 Protagonist is executed by the ruling
government’s instrument of death: guillotine
 Guillotine is on a platform for the spectators
 Protagonist dies for others
 Protagonist dies for others
 Resurrection
 Resurrection motif
 Redemption of world
 Redemption of a family
Affinities
Mme. Defarge’s
revenge
Herodias’s
revenge
Salome with the
Head of John the
baptist.
Caravaggio.
Oil on Canvas.
National
Gallery. 1607.
London.
Wikimedia.
Rosalie
Crutchley as
Madame
Defarge. A
Tale of Two
Cities. Still.
1958 & 1965.
BBCTV.
Madame
Defarge. Blog.
Luka.
“Tell wind and fire where to
stop, . . .but don’t tell me”
“Prompted by her mother, she
said, ‘Give me the head of
John the Baptist here on a
platter” (Matthew 14.8).
Finding Father
Hailing his softened tone and manner, his daughter fell upon
her knees before him, with her appealing hands upon his
breast.
“O, sir, at another time you shall know my name, and who
my mother was, and who my father, and how I never knew
their hard, hard history. But I cannot tell you at this time, and
I cannot tell you here. All that I may tell you here and now, is,
that I pray to you to touch me and to bless me. Kiss me, kiss
me! O my dear, my dear.” (Lucie Manette, A Tale of Two Cities,
53).
Father and Child
France and England
Lucie and Dr. Manette
Darnay and Evrèmonde
Carton finds a father in Mr. Lorry: “You are a good man and a true friend,” said
Carton in an altered voice. “Forgive me if I notice you are affected. I could not
see my father weep, and sit by, careless. And I could not respect your sorrow
more, if you were my father. You are free from that misfortune, however.
Though he said the last words with a slip into his usual manner, there was a true
feeling and respect both in his tone and in his touch, that Mr. Lorry, who had
never seen the better side of him, was wholly unprepared for. He gave him his
hand, and Carton gently pressed it. (304)
A Book of Contrasts
Mme. Defarge
Mary Gutzi as Madame Defarge in A Tale
of Two Cities: A Musical. Broadway
Performance. 1999.
Sydney Carton
Still of James Wilby playing Sydney
Carton in Masterpiece Theatre’s A Tale
of Two Cities. Grenada Television. 1989.
Dickensblog. 19 July 2010. Sponsored
by English Lamp Post Co.
Contrasts: Fate vs. Choice
Destiny:
Mde. Defarge
 If any figure in the novel believes
herself an instrument in the hand
of destiny, it is Madame Defarge.
She is absolutely confident in the
eventual fall of the nobility:
“Vengeance and retribution require
a long time; it is the rule” (207).
She does not fear . . . .” (David
Rosen. A Tale of Two Cities: Theology of
Revolution. Dickens Studies Annual. 27,
1998. 182.)
Free Will:
Sydney Carton
 “Carton is well aware of chance,
and treats personal behavior as a
series of educated wagers” (Rosen
181)
 “Unlike Madame Defarge, Carton
is a figure of free agency, who
makes his own destiny, and knows
himself answerable (to put it
mildly!) for his decisions” (Rosen
182).
Dickens on
Predestination vs. Free Will
 “The novel justifies Carton’s outlook, without quite
slighting the question of destiny. In a letter written
shortly after composing the Tale, Dickens suggests that
fiction should aspire to imitate the workings of
providence. Indeed, intimations of the divine will seem to
permeate the text” (Rosen 182).
 “Individuals are entirely free in, and responsible for, their
own actions – actions that yield necessary, providential
consequences” (Rosen 182).
Sydney Carton vs. Charles Darnay:
A Study in Contrasts?
James Barbour and Aaron Lazarin A Tale of Two Cities
on Broadway. 2008. Stage Review. A Tale of Two
Cities.” Oct. 3, 2008. EW.com. Web.
Lloyd, Frank.
Still. William
Farnum as
Sydney Carton.
1922. Frank
Lloyd: Master
of Melodrama.
Alt Film Guide.
Web. 1 March
2012.
Conversion Narrative?
“An important feature in all these delineations of moral change is the hero’s
ability to recognise and formulate his own limitations” (Barbara Hardy. “Change of Heart in
Dickens’ Novels.” Victorian Studies. 5.1 (Sept. 1961) 49-67.
Carton’s Pseudo-Conversion
 “From the very beginning,
Dickens forces the reader to
discriminate between the
popular judgment about
Carton’s degeneracy and the
possibility of his having hidden
merits, often by putting his
condemnation of Carton in the
wrong mouths (John Kucich. “The
Purity of Violence”: A Tale of Two
Cities.” Critical Essays on Charles Dickens:
A Tale of Two Cities. Ed. Michael A.
Cotsell, New York: G. K. Hall, 1998).
Not so much a converting
as a revealing
 The mark of Carton’s genius is
this very ability to penetrate to
the most important, the most
essential levels– to see beyond
the limited vision of others, or
to say what others dare not say.
In other words, Carton appeals
to us through his freedom
from convention, and from
constraint (Kucich, John. “The
Purity of Violence: A Tale of Two
Cities.” Critical Essays on Charles Dickens:
A Tale of Two Cities. Ed. Michael A.
Cotsell, New York: G. K. Hall, 1998.
136).
 In contrast, then, to the other
good characters , whose lives
are ruled by restraints of one
kind or another, and despite
our sense that we must
disapprove of him, Carton
stand out as the most vividly
authentic character in the
novel. (Kucich 136).
The Fullness of the Time
(My Hour)
 When was the decision made to die?
 At the time of the crisis?
 Just before the crisis?
 Long before the crisis?
If you remember the words that passed
between us long ago, you will readily
comprehend this when you see it. You do
remember them, I know. It is not in your
nature to forget them. I am thankful that the
time has come, when I can prove them. That I
do so is no subject for regret or grief.
Sydney Carton
Cooperating with the Traitor
Dickens
John
Sydney Carton filled another glass
with brandy, poured it slowly over the
hearth, and watched it as it dropped. It
being all spent, he said, rising:
“So when he had dipped the morsel,
he gave it to Judas, the son of
Simon Iscariot. Then after he had
taken the morsel, Satan entered into
him. Jesus said to him, ‘What you
are going to do, do quickly’” (John
13.26b-27, ESV).
“So far, we have spoken before these
two, because it was well that the merits
of the cards should not rest solely
between you and me. Come into the
dark room here, and let us have one
final word alone” (A Tale of Two Cities,
301).
Recognizing My Hour
These solemn words which had been read at his father’s grave, arose
in his mind as he went down the dark streets, among the heavy
shadows, with the moon and the clouds sailing on high above him.
“I am the resurrection and the life,” saith the Lord, he that believeth
in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth
and believeth in me, shall never die.”
In a city dominated by the axe, alone at night, with natural sorrow
rising in him for the sixty-three who had that day been put to death,
and for to-morrow’s victims then waiting their doom in the prisons,
and still of to-morrow’s and to-morrow’s, the chain of association
that brought the words home, like a rusty old ship’s anchor from the
deep, might have been easily found. He did not seek it, but repeated
them and went on. (A Tale of Two Cities, 308)
Finding Comfort
“‘I am the resurrection and the life’, saith the Lord: he that
believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and
whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die.”
Now that the streets were quiet, and the night wore on, the
words were in the echoes of his feet, and were in the air.
Perfectly calm and steady, he sometimes repeated them to
himself as he walked; but he heard them always. (A Tale of
Two Cities, 309).
Resolved about My Hour
A trading-boat, with a sail of the softened colour of a dead leaf,
then glided into his view, floated by him, and died away. As its silent
track in the water disappeared, the prayer that had broken up out of
his heart for a merciful consideration of all his poor blindness and
errors, ended in the words, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
Mr. Lorry was already out when he got back, and it was easy to
surmise where the good old man was gone. Sydney Carton drank
nothing but a little coffee, ate some bread, and, having washed and
changed to refresh himself, went out to the place of trial. (310).
A Face Like Flint
Isaiah 50. 7 “therefore I have set my
face like flint”
Luke 9:51 “When the days drew near
for him to be taken up, he set his face
to go to Jerusalem.” (ESV)
And it came to passe, when the time
was come that he should bee receiued
vp, he stedfastly set his face to goe to
Jerusalem. (King James Version)
Sense of resolution, purpose, wholeheartedness, commitment.
Photos from Wilson, Graham. “The Use of Flint in Church Walls
in England.” Rock of the Month. Turnstone Geological Services
Limited. 18 April 2004. Web. 2 March 2012 & “Arrowheads.”
Alibates Flint Quarries.” National Park Service. U. S. Department
of the Interior. 11 September 2011. Web. 2 March 2012.
Carton’s Last Night
Checking his steps, which had begun to tend towards an
object, he took a turn or two in the already-darkening street,
and traced the thought in his mind to its possible
consequences. His first impression was confirmed. “It is best,”
he said, finally resolved, “that these people should know there
is such a man as I here.” And he turned his face toward Saint
Antoine. (A Tale of Two Cities, 331).
Revealing himself to the
enemy
The Double Recognition by Phiz (Hablot K. Browne). Illustration to Dickens's
A Tale of Two Cities. Book III, Chapter 8. All the Year Round (December
1859); issued in weekly numbers 15 October.
Ambiguity of Being
“Lifted Up”
Isaiah 52:13-15 “See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be
exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. Just as there were
many who were astonished by him – so marred was his
appearance, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond
that of mortals – so he shall startle many nations; kings shall
shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not
been told them they shall see, and that which they had not
heard they shall contemplate.”
John 12:32 “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will
draw all people to myself.”
La Guillotine
 Construction of the guillotine began with the platform or
scaffold. A skilled carpenter cut the lumber for the major pieces
including post supports, interconnecting beams, the
floorboards, and the steps for the stairway underneath the
platform. The stairs bottomed at one open end of the scaffold
(on the front side of the guillotine) and opened in an entry or
hatch near the other end of the platform at the back of the
guillotine. The platform also had an open railing around three
sides of the scaffold; the side without the railing was toward the
front of the machine and the bottom of the stairs.
(“Guillotine.” How Products are Made, Vol. 7. Web.)
 <http://www.history.com/topics/guillotine/videos#guillotine
>
Carton’s Final Steps Not
Unlike His First Steps
 “The puritan ethic of
disciplined personal endeavor
demands renunciation such as
Carton has been neurotically
making all along, and its final
act is the renunciation of life
itself ” (J. M. Rignall. “Dickens and the
Catastrophic Continuum of History in A Tale of
Two Cities.” See Critical Essays on Charles Dickens: A
Tale of Two Cities).
Foster, Stephen D. Jr. “Rick Santorum:
‘President Obama Wants to Guillotine
Christians.’” Addicting Info.: The Knowledge You
Crave. 2012 Web. 2 March 2012.
More Alike than Different
Darnay’s Last
Hours
Carton’s Last
Hours
 “He had been apprised that the
final hour was three, and he knew
he would be summoned sometime
earlier, inasmuch as the tumbrils
jolted heavily and slowly through
the streets. Therefore he resolved
to keep two before his mind, as the
hour, and so to strengthen himself
in the interval that he might be
able, after that time, to strengthen
others.” ( 342)
 The supposed Evrèmonde
descends, and the seamstress is
lifted out next after him. He has
not relinquished her patient hand
in getting out, but still holds it as
he promised. He gently places
her with her back to the crashing
engine that constantly whirrs up
and falls, and she looks into his
face and thanks him. (365)
Sydney Carton’s Vision
 I see that child who lay upon her bosom and who bore
my name, a man winning his way up in that path of life
which once was mine. I see him winning it so well that my
name is made illustrious there by the light of his. I see the
blots I threw upon it fade away. I see him, foremost of
the just judges and honoured men, bringing a boy of my
name, with a forehead that I know and golden hair, to this
place – then fair to look upon, with not a trace of this
day’s disfigurement – and I hear him tell the child my
story, with a tender and faltering voice. (A Tale of Two
Cities, 367).
The Ambiguity of Glory
 “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified . .
. Father, glorify your name” (John 12.23).
 “I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts, and in the
hearts of their descendants, generations hence. . . . It is a
far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it
is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever
known (Sydney Carton, A Tale of Two Cities, 367).
The Rest in Work
 “And so, Carton, in his limited way, defeats the purpose
of the revolution (to slaughter the Evrémondes), and is
able to change the world for the better”
(David Rosen, “A Tale of Two Cities: Theology of Revolution.”
Dickens Studies Annual. 27. (1998) 171-85).
Question of Person
 First person, plural
 Sense of inclusiveness
 “we had everything before us, we had nothing before us,
we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct
the other way”
Shifting Subject
She kisses his lips; he kisses hers; they solemnly bless each
other. The spare hand does not tremble as he releases it;
nothing worse than a sweet, bright constancy in the patient
face. She goes next before him—is gone; the knitting-women
count Twenty-two.
“I am the Resurrection and the Life, saith the Lord: he that
believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and
whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”
(A Tale of Two Cities, 366)
Ex(change)
The murmuring of many voices, the upturning of many
faces, the pressing on of many footsteps in the outskirts of
the crowd, so that it swells forward in a mass, like one great
heave of water, all flashes away. Twenty-three.
(A Tale of Two Cities, 366)
Virtual Death
 Dickens draws the reader into Carton’s experience, hears
the jeering crowd, sees a blur of faces and hears the
deafening roar until . . . “all flashes away.”
 “Twenty-three” is not an accident, as Rosen points out:
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and
thy staff comfort me” (Psalm 23.4)
What two cities?
 Two cities: the city of man and the city of God
 “Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God”
(Psalm 87.4)
 Psalm 40.7-8: Then said I, See, I come: in the volume of
the book it is written of me, I delight to do your will, O
my God: yes, your law is within my heart.”
Additional Credits
 Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. New York:
Signet. 1997.
 Illustrations by Phiz for A Tale of Two Cities
(1859)Philip V. Allingham, Contributing Editor,
Victorian Web, Faculty of Education, Lakehead
University, Thunder Bay, Ontario. The Victorian
Web.