Men in A Tale of Two Cities

Men in the novels by Charles Dickens do not strictly adhere to any single set of traits that were predominant in the novels written in that period. The traits that were associated with the Victorian male are often positioned against a rival trait in another male in Dickens’ novels.

For instance, Dickens shows a very particular concern in the class tension. He juxtaposes the aristocratic gentleman with a middle-class nouveau rich gentleman. The Victorian male in A Tale of Two Cities belongs not only to the aristocracy (Charles Darnay, Doctor Manette) but also to the middle class (Jarvis Lorry, Monsieur Defarge). The aristocratic class portray a selfishness such as the the disdain for the lower class shown by the Marquis St. Evrèmonde. Charles Darnay, however, opposes this. 

The new middle class are often portrayed as economically-oriented and very class conscious as seen in the interaction between Mr Lorry and Lucie Manette. For Mr Lorry, it is all “ A business”. His polite manners are affected for what he believes is rightful behavior towards the aristocratic class and are not of an unconscious taste. Monsieur Defarge is reactionary and does not feel any shame to show case the plight of Doctor Manette to his fellow patriots. However, he continues to show loyalty towards the Manettes and helps them escape France.

The Victorian male is seen to be related in professional ways and seen performing their labor. Dickens sometimes shows this labor as comic and with the potential to consume one's soul rather than as something productive and glorified. He uses comic humor of the banker, Mr Lorry, who is incapable of handling sentimental or even explosive matters with a variation of delicacy, instead deals with it in an impersonal, banker-style such as delivering news of a languishing father to a daughter as a matter of business. Doctor Manette works at making shoes, a preoccupation acquired from years of languishing away in the Bastille. 

The private and the public sphere overlap in the life of the hero, Sydney Carton, who is presented as the barrister who intervenes and commits a heroic form of suicide for the love of his life. Before this, the domestic and the professional were entirely secluded spheres in a male’s life.

Dickens did not particularly challenge what was a male set of characteristics but in A Tale of Two Cities, a more realistic impression of its characters is formed by recognizing the fluidity of traits that became a common theme in much later times.