Esther Racah Writer & Literary Blogger

Tag: Charles Dickens

  • The Track Of A Storm – A Tale Of Two Cities Book 3

    The Track Of A Storm – A Tale Of Two Cities Book 3

    The Track Of A Storm is the third book of A Tale Of Two Cities. It is full of suspense and surprises. It is not a dull and ordinary book at all. Indeed, I found it to be a very alluring and breathtaking novel. 

    The Track Of A Storm

    The Track Of A Storm is the third book of the historical novel A Tale of Two Cities. It contains fifteen chapters, and most events occur in Paris. Charles Darnay goes to Paris to rescue one of his noble uncle’s servants, the Marquis St. Evremonde. Unfortunately, he is imprisoned in La Force Prison because he is an aristocrat. Dr Manette and Lucie, with her child and governess, Miss Pross, go to Paris to rescue Darnay. 

    In Paris, we find the vengeful couple Defarge; they will use an old letter from Dr Manette, dating back to his imprisonment, exposing the aristocratic family Evremonde. Since this noble family is guilty of several crimes, the tribunal sends Darnay to the Conciergerie, waiting for his death sentence with the guillotine. 

    The end of the book A Tale of Two Cities is surprising, even though there are sad aspects. Furthermore, I will not reveal what happens at the end. I can only say that I have read the last part twice. Moreover, I have been impressed by the fantasy and the narration of Charles Dickens in this historical novel. Indeed, he is well known for his Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol. Nevertheless, Dickens wrote several novels, stories, and nonfiction books.

    The Bitter-Sweet Taste of This Novel

    I must admit that at the end of A Tale of Two Cities, I had two simultaneous feelings of bitter discontent and sweet satisfaction. None of them won, but for the very first time, I felt well pleased to have read a book. The happiness of the Darnay family implies the sacrifice of the life of another innocent man. The tribunal’s justice system instituted by people experiencing poverty and plebe shows how much it was unjust this cruel revolution. They did not execute only the aristocrats and nobles but also other poor people who had the misfortune of being weak and vulnerable. 

    The unceasing knitting of the vengeful women corresponds to an unceasing procedure of executions of guilty and innocent people, all together, with a steady and rapid rhythm. The knitting women count each victim of their system with nonchalance. They never interrupt their knitting nor look at the guillotine. Although most of them lost some family members because of an aristocrat or nobleman, their purpose was social justice, where all men should be equal. The problem is that they behave like imperturbable tyrants, similar to that privileged society. At this point, you cannot see where social justice is because it is just a utopia. 

    It is also hard to sympathize with the peasants and the aristocrats. There are several waves of abuse of the aristocracy against people with low incomes. The peasants are so unfortunate that they must beg the aristocrats for food. However, they receive only humiliation and exploitation. This situation leads to an ideal revolution. Once well-organized, the indigent and weak peasants became the most potent force in France, and they did not hesitate to gain social power. They repay torture with torture and oppression with oppression. 

    My previous blog posts are about the first two books of Two Cities of Charles Dickens – First Part and A Tale of Two Cities Book 2 – The Golden Thread. 

  • A Tale Of Two Cities Book 2 – The Golden Thread

    A Tale Of Two Cities Book 2 – The Golden Thread

    A Tale of Two Cities Book 2 – The Golden Thread is the second book by Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities. The title refers to the golden Lucie Manette, the gold strand, because she connects some of this book’s characters, brightening their life.

    The Golden Thread

    The golden thread refers to Lucie Manette, the only daughter of Dr Manette. Her father spent eighteen years in the prison of La Bastille. She has golden blond hair, and she is beautiful. Miss Manette is sweet and kind, and she cares about her father very much. Lucie marries Charles Darnay, the nephew of the cruel and cynic aristocratic Monsieur Evrémonde. She represents a precious girl, as she is very compassionate and full of love for others. Her golden soul is brimful of virtues and far from vicious sins. The Golden Thread is the second book of A Tale of Two Cities and the continuation of the first book – Recalled to Life. 

    Knitting And Revolutionary Women

    In Paris, revolutionary people recognized the couple Defarge as leaders. In particular, Madame Therese Defarge supported this movement to remove the Crown from France. The plan includes the execution of all the nobility and aristocracy. In the same way as Lady Macbeth, in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Madame Defarge is cruel and plans which person must die. Furthermore, at the same time, she is the head of a group of women who knit mostly during the executions. They have a cold, detached, and ruthless mind. The knitting recalls the Greek myth of the Moirae, the three Fates who ruled each human’s life. Indeed, knitting is a metaphor for human fate and destiny, which unexpectedly ends up.

    Women In The Golden Thread

    In The Golden Thread, women have a central role, and they are not mere passive figures. Lucie Manette and Madame Defarge differ in appearance, manners, and spirit. Lucie is beautiful, delicate, feminine, and flawless. The wine shop owner, Madame Defarge, is a woman who seeks revenge. In the novel, she is burly, cold-minded, and pitiless.  

    We could think she is a human monster, but we understand her behavior when we proceed to the end of the third book, The Track of a Storm. After the rape of her sister and the murder of her brother, she is hurt and full of grief. The Marquis St. Evrémonde was the man who committed such ferocious acts when he was young. He is the uncle of Charles Darnay, the husband of Lucie Manette, and he is also guilty of the murder of a child. 

    As ingenious as she is, Lucie does not know all these past events that connect Therese Defarge and her husband, Charles. Nonetheless, her innocence does not move Madame Defarge because she is determined to exterminate all the Evrémonde family, including Charles Darnay. Madame Defarge never stops knitting and never ceases to plan and organize her vengeance against those aristocrats, including their descendants.

    Family And Loyalty

    In The Tale of Two Cities, the family is essential in every type of society, among ordinary people and aristocracy. Some families have a strong connection and love, such as between Lucie and her father. Nevertheless, sometimes the family links are unwelcomed and rejected, like in Charles Darnay’s case with his noble uncle, the cruel and abusive Marquis St. Evrémonde. 

    Loyalty and family do not always walk together; there is no connection between some families’ components. For example, Charles burns all the bridges with his aristocratic and wealthy family. He cannot bear the atrocities that stained his family; hence, he builds a new life in England, renouncing all the privileges coming from his birth and changing his surname. Lucie and Charles married and had a child, little Lucie. 

    The French peasants formed a secret society, which created a big family where people shared the same principles and helped each other with equality. Moreover, they were loyal to their common doctrine of liberty, equality, and fraternity, leading the French Revolution.  

    I cannot avoid recommending this book because it is an authentic masterpiece in its style and content. It is rare to find all these qualities in a novel, and I must confess that it is one of my favorite books. 

  • A Tale Of Two Cities By Charles Dickens – First Part

    A Tale Of Two Cities By Charles Dickens – First Part

    A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is a brilliant historical novel, which finds its roots in “The French Revolution: A History” by Thomas Carlyle. Dickens published this book in 1859 and his analysis during his travels to Paris had a significant impact in this masterwork.

    The three books inside the book

    A Tale of Two Cities consists of three books: “Book the First: Recalled to Life”, “Book the Second: The Golden Thread” and “Book the Third: The Track of a Storm”. This historical novel takes place in London and Paris, during the French Revolution and the Terror. The main characters are the French doctor Alexandre Manette, his compassionate daughter Lucie, the arrogant Sydney Carton, the revolutionary Madame Defarge, the businessman Jarvis Lorry and, the French aristocrat Charles Darnay. In this novel, the brightness and obscurity represent the virtue and sin personified by the different characters.

    The peculiarity of A Tale of Two Cities

    A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is a peculiar novel where, at the same time, the reader travels in London and Paris. We find the chronicles of the historical events, which simultaneously occur in these two cities and the personal circumstances of each character’s life. It is the tale of human tragedies inside the grand picture of historical dramas such as the French Revolution. The struggle of each character is a reflection of the tragedies of Dickens’s life in that period. He shows a life’s vision, where humans are victims of misfortunes. In this novel, the villains of this tragedy are the poor and the oppressed ones. Their violence and cruelty is a reaction to all the abuses they had to suffer.

    Part I – Recalled to Life 

    I’m currently reading the first book. I find exciting and unique how Dickens narrates all the life occurrences of the characters such as Jerry Cruncher, who works as a bank employee and brings a message for Jarvis Loris, a bank manager. This message concerns a man, Alexandre Manette, a French doctor, who was finally set free from the Bastille prison. Lorry helps the daughter of Manette, Lucie, to meet her father in France. One of my favourite parts is at the beginning of Chapter Three. Indeed in this section, every human creature is described as a profound secret and mystery. Every house and room enclose secrets, and subsequently, each heart is a secret itself. 

    I’m in the last chapter of this first book, Chapter VI, The Shoemaker. I find fascinating the ambience of this book, a microcosm inside a historical macrocosm. We can consider how fragile and dainty is life mostly when terrible and uncontrolled occurrences happen. And as James Joyce wrote in the Ulysses, “To learn one must be humble. But life is a great teacher”.