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Book 2, Chapter 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Tale of Two Cities, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Tyranny and Revolution
Secrecy and Surveillance
Fate and History
Sacrifice
Resurrection
Imprisonment
Summary
Analysis
Lucie spends the last night before her wedding to Charles with her father. She asks Dr. Manette if he believes that her marriage will bring them closer. Dr. Manette assures her that he wants to see her fulfilled, and couldn't live with himself otherwise.
Dr. Manette clings to Lucie for his emotional security. But he does the noble thing and risks his mental health in order to ensure her happiness.
Themes
Quiz
Test Yourself
For the first time, Dr. Manette talks to Lucie about his imprisonment in the Bastille. He tells her that while there, he passed the time by imagining how his unborn daughter would grow up. Would she know nothing about him, or think about her lost father and weave his memory into the family of her own?
Manette's thoughts about living on in his daughter's memory after death hint at Carton's reward for his sacrifice at the end of the novel: a legacy carried on by Lucie's future family.
Themes
Quiz
Test Yourself
Late that night, Lucie sneaks downstairs to check on her sleeping father. Dr. Manette's face is deeply worn from his trials, but he is peacefully asleep.
Manette's peaceful face is "imprisoned" in a worn body, hinting that he won't be able to escape his past quite so easily.
Themes
Quiz
Test Yourself
