This is one of Dickens' shorter works, which is one of the reasons I chose to read it; I wanted to add another Dickens novel to my rather short "read" list and the quicker, the better. The famous introduction makes for a rather vague beginning but a chapter or two later we are taken into a more "story-like" narrative. No doubt the oppositions in the introduction are continued through into the novel which generate many themes and features in the novel, some of which I'll explain in more detail individually.
There is no shortage of twins and look-alikes in the novel, which often construct oppositions in character, create a good-versus-evil dichotomy or simply to show 'what could have been' if the circumstances of one character had been different. A few examples include Carton resembling Darnay, Madame Defarge and Miss Pross who are not identical but rather put in opposition to each other, so that Mme Defarge eventually 'meets her match' and Lucie who gives birth to 'Little Lucie', while she is already the souvenir of her own mother, having inherited her blonde hair. The latter example and that of Cruncher (Jerry), whose son is his smaller and younger duplicate, remind us how similar people continue to exist through generations- being so exposed to certain traits and then the part of inheritance, it's no surprise. We also have the two Marquis, the aristocratic twin brothers who are both evil.
While one may argue that many of Dickens' protagonists are too simplified, being only good or only evil, this isn't necessarily wholly a bad thing because he successfully uses these characters to personify extreme vices or extreme virtues and these are only overlapped sparingly in a character. There is a clear distinction of what is good and bad in a person (even if it does sometimes feel somewhat too idealistic and narrow in its scope). Dickens details how the two Marquis are vile and how the aristocracy is corrupt and shallow. Also, Mme Defarge, though not of the upper classes, is calculating and sly. These evil characters are put in direct opposition to another host of characters, such as Lucie, who is the ultimate version of a perfect woman, beautiful, delicate, well-educated, never imposing and is able to react to each situation in the most perfect fashion. Mr Lorry is someone who is perfectly helpful at all times, despite his age; he is experienced, honest and simply wants to do his job quietly and keep the peace. Dr. Manette is consistently respected and respectable, being a character of dignity, with whom the reader sympathises. Any characters with more duality eventually lean closer to either vice or virtue based on their relationship with the nobler characters.
The opposition of youth and old age does not only come through the protagonists' descendants but also through Tellson's Bank, with the London branch being deeply rooted in tradition and being especially aged, dark and closed. In Paris, however, the Bank is youthful, fresh, artistic and open (not during the riots of course). In the end these oppositions come to show us the fluidity between the two, of good and evil, youth and age, justice and injustice. Despite the constant divisions we are exposed to the risks and the difficulties in having a worldview that is too black and white, that doesn't accept nuances, individuals and details.
I personally found this novel had an interesting and captivating engagement with the French Revolution. While it is something I have studied at university and it has cropped up several times in my life in passing, it never marked me in the same way Dickens managed to get me to think about it. He brought out the human side, the small details as well as the bigger picture, the values and the struggles. It is, of course, orchestrated with characters that do sometimes take the reality out of it, but nonetheless I found myself caring and being disgusted, feeling worried, relieved and even crying in the end. There was a constant desire for a happy ending and Dickens managed to fill my heart with enough hope and anxiety to make the ending particularly touching. I'm definitely glad I read this one as it felt so relevant, was equally enjoyable.
