A Tale of Two Cities Suffering Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Volume.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

"Eighteen years!" said the passenger, looking at the sun.

"Gracious Creator of day! To be buried alive for eighteen years!" (1.3.34)

Mr. Lorry’s imagination circles around the idea of imprisonment for several chapters. As he aptly describes it, two decades in the Bastille render Doctor Manette a walking corpse.

Quote #2

"I am going to see his Ghost! It will be his Ghost—not him!" (1.4.85)

Although Lucie almost immediately gives her life over to the protection and care of her father, her initial horror indicates her own suffering in this situation, as well.

Quote #3

And now that the cloud settled on Saint Antoine, which a momentary gleam had driven from his sacred countenance, the darkness of it was heavy—cold, dirt, sickness, ignorance, and want, were the lords in waiting on the saintly presence—nobles of great power all of them; but, most especially the last. (1.5.6)

The desperation of the people becomes personified as the desperation of Saint Antoine (the location where the Defarges live). Personification of a single location is a common technique in this novel.