118 pages 3 hours read

Charles Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1859

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Themes

Personal and Societal Resurrection

The most overarching theme in A Tale of Two Cities is probably that of redemption or resurrection. Many prominent motifs in the novel (including debt, burial, and imprisonment) circle around this theme, and it’s at the heart of several major characters’ storylines. Doctor Manette, for instance, is metaphorically raised from the living death of imprisonment, while Charles Darnay is saved from death at the last minute through Sydney Carton’s sacrifice. The idea of resurrection even surfaces in moments of comic relief—most notably, in Jerry Cruncher’s work as a “Resurrection-Man”—that is, a graverobber.

The significance of this theme to the novel is best explained by the Bible verse Carton quotes in the moments before his death: “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” (325). A Tale of Two Cities often attempts to reconcile pairs of apparent opposites with one another, and the paradox contained in this statement is the culmination of that trend. Within the context of Christianity, the meaning of the passage isn’t simply that belief carries the promise of life after death, but also that certain forms of life aren’t really true life at all.

Related Titles

By Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

Barnaby Rudge

Charles Dickens

Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

Bleak House

Charles Dickens

Bleak House

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

David Copperfield

Charles Dickens

David Copperfield

Charles Dickens

Plot Summary

logo

Dombey and Son

Charles Dickens

Dombey and Son

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

Great Expectations

Charles Dickens

Great Expectations

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

Hard Times

Charles Dickens

Hard Times

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

Little Dorrit

Charles Dickens

Little Dorrit

Charles Dickens

Plot Summary

logo

Martin Chuzzlewit

Charles Dickens

Martin Chuzzlewit

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

Nicholas Nickleby

Charles Dickens

Nicholas Nickleby

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

Our Mutual Friend

Charles Dickens

Our Mutual Friend

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

Pickwick Papers

Charles Dickens

Pickwick Papers

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Charles Dickens

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

The Old Curiosity Shop

Charles Dickens

The Old Curiosity Shop

Charles Dickens

Study Guide

logo

The Signal-Man

Charles Dickens

The Signal-Man

Charles Dickens