Resurrection has been a recurring theme throughout the novel. It could also be said that resurrection is a powerful and predominant theme throughout the plot aside from the main theme revolution. Resurrection plays a major role in Tale of Two Cities as it brings out characters from a wretched spot back to who they were are could be. People that were mainly affected by this theme of resurrection were Dr. Mannet, Sydney Carton, and a bit of Charles Darnay. Dr. Mannet should be the main focus of this theme as he not only mentally, and emotionally resurrected, he also in a way physically was resurrected as well.
Dr. Mannet is without a doubt one of the most important and influential character in the novel. He also is one of the characters that show and almost represent resurrection as a subside theme of TOTC. Yet in order to show how resurrection has anything to do with him and how it will affect the novel later on, it is important to know how became insane which led to him being “resurrected”. Dr. Mannet had left his pregnant wife to help with a injured peasant women, who tells Dr. Mannet that Darnay’s father and uncle had raped her, killed her husband, and fatally injured her brother.
Knowing this information Mannet is put in jail because he knew information about the Evremonde brothers and they did not want this information to get out. Dr. Mannet is thrown into the Bastille for 18 years losing his sanity and picking up a new habit of making shoes. After 18 years he is finally released to the Defarges to their wine shop, where Lucie reunites with her father. The resurrection of Dr. Mannet is not immediate but is progressing through Lucie’s dedication and love to return her father from this insane state.
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When Mannet returns to England it is clear that he has returned back to his normal state once again, almost. Resurrection of Dr. Mannet influenced the story tremendously because if Lucie had never helped her father with his state, the novel would turn out very different as he was a huge contribution of Darnay’s trial. Lucie helping with the resurrection of her father is a great example of the recurring theme of resurrection, yet as Lucie takes care of her father, another man named Sydney Carton also needs her help to be “resurrected”.
Sydney Carton shows severval levels of spirtual resurection as starting off bad to ending it with a greater cause. Sydney Carton was first shown as a drunken, depressed man with no hope. Yet he meets Lucie who inspires him to be a getter person and that his life is not meaningless. Carton falls in love with her and conveys to her that “For you, and for any dear to you, I would do anything. I would embrace any sacrifice for you and for those dear to you. And when you see your own bright beauty springing up anew at your feet, think now and then that there is a man who would give his life, to keep a life you love beside you.” (Dickens,152). This reserrection seems to be on a emotional level as he has finnaly moved on from his traumatic past and starting to look anew.
Although the main resurrection that Sydney Carton has is when he sacrifices himself in the stead of Charles Darne. He expirences a few spiritual resurccetions as he, First sacrifices his life to allow Lucie and her family to live and thrive. Second, he states “ I see a 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.” (Dickens,372). This represents that he will live on in the memories and as the child of the Mannet. Finnaly he in a way shows the world that he no longer is the drunken sad man he was but in fact is something much greater and will live on as that. ‘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.” (Dickens,312).
As Dr. Mannet was also shown to be reserrected physically and mentally, Charles Darney shows alike similarities. One of the more broad and obvious resurrection of Darney, is that fact that he gave up his French aristocratic life for a modest one. He did not want to be associated with his uncle anymore so he gave up his freedom and priviliges of a powerful man to live a good and just life. Two other major reserrections that Charles Darney had were the times where Sydney Carton saved his life. The first being when Darnay is put on trial for treason in England. He has just been traveling back and forth between France and England and is suspected to be a spy.
Many people do not want Darney to be free because of his French backround and things do not look so good untill Carton represents himself to the court and show that him and Darney resemble each other abundantly. Darney is then freed, but called back to court after a while and imprisoned because of the crimes his uncle and father did many years before. Death of Charles Darney looks certain until Sydney Carton once again saves his life by switching places with him and sacrifisng himself. Charles Darney is now given a chance to start over anew man because of Carton’s sacrifice, he is now granted a new life and is “resurrected” once again.
Resurrection shows an important theme throughout the novel and should not be underlooked for it has a multiple big roles in it. Yet resurrection is mainly shown through Lucie or the fact that she in the very least is the reason the resurrection occurs. She is know as the golden thread for she in the time of no hope is there to inspire and make sure everyone important to her is loved and well. She is the reason why people such as Dr. Mannet and Sydney Carton were able to have their “reserrections” and why they were able to commit and influnce tremendously to their role into the novel. Resurection is the reason why the novel was able to turn out like the way it came out, it shows that if the characters in this novel could not be reserrected, they would die off. It could also be thought that Charles Dickenson chose reserrection as such an important theme because even though the French revolution was terrifying to some, in the end through resurrection the new life (Peacful Paris) will be much better.
