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A TALE OF TWO CITIES - CHAPTER 5-6 (B)
Summary: Chapter 5: The Jackal
Sydney Carton, the “idlest and most
unpromising of men,” makes his way from the tavern to Mr. Stryver’s
apartment. The men drink together and discuss the day’s court proceedings.
Stryver, nicknamed “the lion,” compliments his friend, “the jackal,” for the
“rare point” that he made regarding Darnay’s identification. However, he
laments Carton’s moodiness. Ever since their days in school together,
Stryver observes, Carton has fluctuated between highs and lows, “now in
spirits and now in despondency!” Carton shrugs off Stryver’s accusation that
his life lacks a unified direction. Unable to match Stryver’s vaulting
ambition, Carton claims that he has no other choice but to live his life “in
rust and repose.” Attempting to change the subject, Stryver turns the
conversation to Lucie, praising her beauty. Carton dismisses her as a
“golden-haired doll,” but Stryver wonders about Carton’s true feelings for
her.
Summary: Chapter 6: Hundreds of People
Four months later, Mr. Lorry, now a trusted
friend of the Manette family, arrives at Doctor Manette’s home. Finding
Manette and his daughter not at home, he converses with Miss Pross. They
discuss why the doctor continues to keep his shoemaker’s bench.
Their conversation also touches on the
number of suitors who come to call on Lucie. Miss Pross complains that
they come by the dozen, by the hundred—all “people who are not at all
worthy of Ladybird.” In Miss Pross’s opinion, the only man worthy of Lucie
is her own brother, Solomon Pross, who, she laments, disqualified himself
by making a certain mistake. Lorry knows, however, that Solomon is a
scoundrel who robbed Miss Pross of her possessions and left her in poverty.
He goes on to ask if Manette ever returns to his shoemaking, and Pross
assures him that the doctor no longer thinks about his dreadful
imprisonment.
Lucie and Manette return, and soon Darnay
joins them. Darnay relates that a workman, making alterations to a cell in
the Tower of London, came upon a carving in the wall: “D I G.” At first,
the man mistook these for some prisoner’s initials, but he soon enough
realized that they spelled the word “dig.” Upon digging, the man
discovered the ashes of a scrap of paper on which the prisoner must have
written a message. The story startles Manette, but he soon recovers.
Carton arrives and sits with the others
near a window in the drawing room. The footsteps on the street below make
a terrific echo. Lucie imagines that the footsteps belong to people that
will eventually enter into their lives. Carton comments that if Lucie’s
speculation is true, then a great crowd must be on its way.