Of Charles Darnay, the opening antithesis expressed in the
novel holds true: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." For, when
Darnay renounces his family name of Evremonde and comes to London, he arrives with the
hopes of starting a new life, and he meets the love of his life, Lucie Manette. Despite
the inauspicious beginning to his life in London as he is tried for treason, Darnay is
acquitted and then finds himself in the advantageous position of finding work as a tutor
and marrying Lucie Manette. However, he is haunted by the past of his family name, and
he is drawn to the "Lodestone Rock" of his home, Paris, where his loyalty and duty to
Gabelle, his servant in charge of the estate in his absence, carry him back to his old
life.
With the French Revolution in progress, Darnay finds
himself arrested as an emigrant and taken to LaForce, a prison in Paris. At first his
good fortune appears to be with Charles as his father-in-law, Dr. Alexandre Manette, the
former Bastille captive, testifies on his behalf, and he is released. However, Charles
is soon re-arrested as he is denounced by Madame Defarge, the surviving daughter of the
murdered family by the brothers Evremonde. This, truly, is the "worst of times" for the
Darnay family as Charles is condemned to die.
Yet, the
release of Charles Darnay is effected by the clever Sydney Carton who has come to Paris
to keep his earlier pledge to Lucie that he will do anything for her. Seeking his own
resurrection from his failed life, Carton switches places with Darnay and becomes the
sacrificial victim for Charles so that he may live a full, rich life with his wife Lucie
and their children. Indeed, for Darnay it is again the "best of times," with the
spiritual rebirth of Sydney Carton as the sacrificial lambwhile he is likewise "reborn"
to his physical life and returns with Lucie and his children to
London.
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