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Book 3, Chapter 6
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
The next day, Manette remains confident and proud at having saved Charles, but Lucie continues to fear for her husband's safety because so many other innocent people have been imprisoned and killed. For safety's sake, they keep no outside servants, using only Jerry and Miss Pross. Miss Pross vehemently and regularly voices her distaste for the French.
Lucie's worries counter Dr. Manette's confidence in his political power. As Lucie suspects, everyone in France succumbs to the Reign of Terror. Miss Pross embodies the inherent English distrust of the French.
Themes
Quiz
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That afternoon, as Miss Pross and Jerry are out on errands, Lucie hears footsteps on the stairs outside the apartment. Then there is a knock at the door. Four armed revolutionaries enter and declare that Charles Evrémonde is again the prisoner of the Republic.
In the revolutionary Republic, laws can change in an instant as the new people in power begin to abuse it. The footsteps in the hall echo the footsteps Lucie used to hear in England.
Themes
Quiz
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Dr. Manette tries to intervene, but the soldiers tell him that he must make sacrifices if the Revolution demands it. Still, out of respect for Manette, the men explain that evidence for the charge comes from three people: Monsieur and Madame Defarge, and one other, whom they refuse to name.
The Revolution demands that the revolutionaries be willing to sacrifice the lives of others, even family members, without question. Manette's political power can't stand up to the pull of fate and history or to the Revolution's all-consuming desire for blood.
Themes
Quiz
Test Yourself
