Sydney Carton Quotes

This quote shows that Carton wishes he had been a better person, and knows that he could have been as successful as Darnay if only he had applied himself to his job or found love. Sydney Carton is a man deep in self-doubt and self-hatred. He is an alcoholic who is often moody and depressed (Moss and Wilson). Carton has an extremely low opinion of himself, and has no happiness or love in his life. Carton’s sacrifice ultimately purifies him, and saves him from his own self-loathing. Though Carton’s strength comes from his love for Lucie, his apathy for his life does as well; “he is a brooding individual, socially outcast, and both driven and tormented by an impossible love.” (Gonzalez-Posse 346) This quote shows Carton’s unattainable need to

be loved by Lucie, and that Carton’s love for Lucie is the driving point behind his existence and sacrifice. While at the beginning of the novel, Carton seems like a failure, his self-hatred eventually becomes a beneficial attribute.

According to Gonzalez-Posse, “The conclusion of the novel, however, allows his lack of commitment to himself to become a virtue when it is used in service of protecting Lucie’s happiness and the unity of the Manette Circle” (346). This quote shows that Carton is not scared of dying because he has no commitment to his life outside of Lucie. Carton’s low opinion of himself and his existence is ultimately beneficial to the Manettes, because he is able to give his life without extreme repercussions and protect those who would have been destroyed by their grief had Darnay died. Carton’s sacrifice is heroic because he willingly gives his life for another. He is able to do this because “His existence has no meaning outside of his love for Lucie Manette” (Gonzalez-Posse 346). The reason Carton sacrifices himself is because of his love for Lucie Manette, and because he has no other reason to

live. One of the most moving lines in the entire novel, is Carton’s last words, “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known” (Dickens 386). Carton believes that in giving his life to save another’s and protecting his family from pain, he is doing a truly good thing, the likes of which he has never done before, and that he can finally be at peace knowing he has redeemed himself. Carton’s sacrifice is pure in the sense that he is literally ridding himself of past sins and wrongdoings, that he is purifying himself through this heroic sacrifice. In order to be able to do the “better thing” that he speaks of and become a better person, Carton must sacrifice himself (Glancy 118). Carton’s opinion of himself is so low that he feels he can only be saved by the ultimate sacrifice for another, yet he chooses to do it not only because of his personal reasons, but also out of his love for Lucie, which makes his sacrifice heroic. Carton’s only way to redeem himself in his mind is through death, and an act that is done willingly. He believes death is the only way to achieve peace for himself (Herst 150-151). Carton is saved from himself and finally finds peace in his death, and he is redeemed and made pure through his willing sacrifice. Carton is redeemed by his sacrifice, morally saving himself through his choice to save Darnay and in turn, Lucie and their children (Zabel). Again, this shows how Carton is saved from his own disappointment in himself. Carton’s violent death is made pure by the selflessness in the action. Carton’s act of self-violence is acceptable because it is voluntary, and he gives his life because of his passionate love for Lucie and his desire to preserve the Manette family (Kucich 43-45). This shows how willingly Carton gives his life and how he is purified through it. This quote shows Carton’s redemption and purification, as well as the willingness behind the sacrifice because it comes from his love for Lucie. Carton is a unique character because in order to save himself, he must die. According to Herst, “It is the essence of his predicament that self-fulfilment can be found only in the ultimate self-sacrifice. He is, finally, resurrected into death, not from it.” (150) This shows that Carton truly has no hope of being saved outside of his death, and how he is finally at rest, having been saved from his life through his death. Overall, Carton’s self-sacrifice renders him pure, cleansed of the sins he committed during his life.

Carton’s final sacrifice ultimately brings everything together, for he commits this act of self-violence out of his love for Lucie, in turn purifying and redeeming himself.

When Carton is being taken to the guillotine, he meets a young seamstress who was imprisoned with Darnay. She soon discovers that Carton is not actually Darnay, ““Are you dying for him?” she whispered. “And his wife and child. Hush! Yes.”” (Dickens 365). Caron is asked by the seamstress if he is sacrificing himself for Darnay. Carton replies that he is, but also for Darnay’s wife and child, Lucie and little Lucie. This shows why Carton is sacrificing himself. Carton, though he is saving Darnay’s life, is ultimately giving his life to save Lucie and her child, as well as the future children she and Darnay will have. His love for Lucie is the true reason he commits such an act of self-violence. Sydney Carton’s sacrifice is heroic because he willingly gives his life to save Darnay’s and to preserve the happiness of his family (Keck). Carton is ultimately driven by his love for the Manette family, and his desire to protect them and the love they have for one another. Though Sydney Carton is seemingly a failure, “his redeeming grace is his love for Lucie, which persuades him to sacrifice himself so that she and her family can escape” (Plot Summary). Again, this shows that Carton’s sacrifice is driven by the love he holds for Lucie. Everything Carton told Lucie he would do for her and her family has ultimately

come to pass. The things Carton says to Lucie in the conversation he held with her in the Manette home have come true, as Carton is now in the position he is able to sacrifice himself to help Lucie and the Manettes. While Carton is being taken to the Guillotine, he dreams of the Manettes and how they will be happy in England because he has saved the life of Darnay. He says “I see the lives for which I lay down my life, peaceful, useful, prosperous and happy, in that England which I shall see no more” (Dickens 386). Carton’s reason for sacrificing himself is he wants Lucie and Darnay to be happy when they return to England. Carton switches places with Darnay, taking his place under the guillotine, because he is so deeply in love with Lucie (Moss and Wilson). As in the above quote, this source shows that Carton switches places with Darnay because of his love for Lucie. In addition to protecting Lucie’s happiness, Carton’s final sacrifice allows him to find the meaning and reason for his life in his own death by sacrificing himself for Lucie and her family (Gonzalez-Posse 347). This reinforces the idea that Carton is able to find meaning in his existence and make up for all the wrongs he has already done. Carton purifies himself by giving his life for a good cause, redeeming himself of past sins by heroically and voluntarily sacrificing himself. According to Kucich, one of the most heroic moments in A Tale of Two Cities is “the “pure” self-violence of Sydney Carton, which liberates him from self-hatred” (38). This quote shows how Carton is purified through his act of violence that he willingly brings upon himself. Overall, Carton heroically sacrifices himself out of his love for Lucie and the Manette family. He is strengthened by his apathy for his life, and his sacrifice is pure because through it he redeems himself of past wrongs.

Dickens proves that the purest, most heroic sacrifices are driven by love, because Carton is made pure through his heroic sacrifice, which he commits out of his love for Lucie, which is shown through Carton’s conversation with Lucie, Carton’s opinion of his life, and Carton’s final sacrifice. What Charles Dickens has proven through his character of Sydney Carton is a everlasting theme in not only A Tale of Two Cities, but also of life. Though sacrifices in everyday life are never as drastic or violent as Sydney Carton’s, the ones that are truly good and pure, that require strength to do, are driven by the love for someone or something. The world we live in today is not the same one that Sydney Carton and Lucie Manette endured, however, we still live by the same principals that they did.