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Dickens' Life Linked to a Tale of Two Cities

Summary:   To Dickens, the most memorable people, places, and happenings in his life seemed appropriate to be used as a creative outlet and were portrayed by a character, setting, or event in his novels; hence the similarities between Dickens' life and A Tale of Two Cities.

Charles Dickens once said, "I do not write resentfully or angrily: for I know that all of these things have worked together to make me what I am." (Schlicke 409) Being such an intelligent man, he realized that characters and incidents in his novels could portray the traumatic, troubling times or the soothing, comforting times he personally had experienced throughout his own life. When Dickens was writing A Tale of Two Cities, he called upon a trusted friend to explain how he envisioned the design of this novel to be different from his others by saying, "I set myself the little task of making a picturesque story, rising in every chapter with characters true to nature, but whom the story itself should express...in other words, that I fancied a story of incident might be written in place of bestiality." (Schlicke 550) Even with scattered years of education, Dickens artistically combined people and occurrences, which were true to his nature, into the plot and characterization of this popular novel.

Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, into a working middle class family. He lived with his father John and his mother Elizabeth, who are both represented in A Tale of Two Cities, along with his three brothers, Fredrick, Alfred, and Augustus, and his sister Frances in Chatham. In Chatham, Charles began his education when he was five years old, and he and his family lived in "the best of times" (Dickens 10) but that was soon about to change. In 1824, John Dickens, kindhearted like Sydney Carton, was too generous with his family's finances and went into terrible debt, which began "the worst of times" (Dickens 10) for the Dickens family. As Doctor Manette was imprisoned in Dickens' novel, John Dickens was sent to Marshalsea Debtors' Prison, and the children had to stop their schooling. John's wife had to dismiss their housekeeper and move into the slums of London, also relevant to A Tale of Two Cities, because of their unfortunate funds. Elizabeth Dickens, compassionate like Lucie but protective and strong like Miss Pross, taught Charles and the rest of her children. In that time, Charles grew to love theater and pantomime, and retreated to a little room with a small collection of books to take refuge from the difficult period without his father. After John was released from Debtors' Prison, Charles Dickens became very motivated and ambitious and wanted nothing more than to continue through life with his passion for writing. He was first employed at the Morning Chronicle and began to publish essays and stories in magazines in 1833. Charles composed and published his first novel at the age of twenty-six called Pickwick Papers and continued to write for many years to come.

As Charles went on in life, he stumbled upon a beautiful, cultured woman whom he described as "perfect." This woman was Maria Beadnell, depicted by Lucie because of her beauty and munificence. She was, in fact, Charles' first love but never made her feelings for Charles clear. She would often confuse him by treating him with indifference though encouraging him to show his affection for her. Charles eventually proposed to Maria but was turned down because her parents did not approve of the young man and his lack in prospects. This rejection was a substantial downfall in the eyes of Dickens. Later, he met a woman by Catherine Hogarth, and, even though Charles was not in love with her, the two married in 1836. The lack of love in the relationship showed by the many affairs Dickens had with other women. Catherine was characterized somewhat by Mrs. Cruncher because of the impassiveness from Charles and by Gabelle because she remained loyal and faithful to Charles. Catherine and Charles had ten children, Charles, Mary, Kate, Walter, Francis, Alfred, Sydney, Henry, Dora, and Edward, although, this did not stop the relationships between younger women and Charles. After twenty-two years of marriage, Dickens met an eighteen-year-old actress, Ellen Ternan, separated from his wife, and refused to visit Catherine for the remainder of her life. Kate Dickens spoke out against her father's cruel intentions against her mother in 1860 by disclosing, "My father was a wicked man - a very wicked man...my father was not a gentleman - he was too mixed to be a gentleman...my father did not understand women...he was not a good man." (Schlicke 91) The relations with "Nelly" Ternan persisted until Dickens death in June of 1870.

Friends of Dickens, as well, are illustrated in A Tale of Two Cities, such as Catherine Hogarth's younger sister Mary Scott. She resided in the Dickens household on Doughty Street. Dickens' sister-in-law was a frequent visitor and said to be charming and a great friend of Charles. After a night at the Saint James's Theatre, "Dickens wrote, 'that Mary went up stairs to bed at about one o'clock in perfect health and her usual delightful spirits.' Hearing a cry from her room, Dickens rushed in and found that she had been taken severely ill." (Schlicke 272) The doctors were called but nothing could be done for the generally lively and amusing girl who died in Dickens' arms around three o'clock in the afternoon the next day. The seamstress comforted by Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities portrayed Mary Scott because of her early and sudden death which affected Dickens profoundly because of their companionship. Charles confided in his oldest friend, John Forster. The two came across one another at the end of 1836 and took a liking to each other at once on account of their similar lower-middle-class backgrounds, love for theater, and passion for literature. Forster helped Dickens by having him settle with a single publisher and proofread his following novels, and John revealed, "There was nothing written by him after this date which I did not see before the world did." (Schlicke 238) Like Jarvis Lorry was devoted to the Manette family in A Tale of Two Cities, Forster was Dickens' closest and most trusted friend. Throughout the years, Charles Dickens and John Forster preserved their closeness until the mutual understanding and sympathy started to fade. Forster disliked "the underlying tone of bitterness that runs through the books" (Schlicke 239) which he felt he had not been consulted with because of the new editor. Their friendship disintegrated as years went by, and Dickens made younger acquaintances that could lead him into a more daring life.

As Dickens' family, friends, and relatives were depicted in A Tale of Two Cities, he, too, could be compared to an array of characters in this novel. Sydney Carton worshipped and admired Lucie not unlike Charles Dickens loved Ellen Ternan. After finishing A Tale of Two Cities, he even contacted a friend to say, "I must say I like my Carton. And I have a faint idea sometimes, that if I acted him, I could have done something with his life and death." (Schlicke 552) Doctor Manette was similar to Charles because they both lived in two different worlds - one of which is reality but chosen to be forgotten and one of which is imaginary to make the unpleasant encounters more tolerable. Lastly, Charles Darnay exposed that even though Dickens had a troubled family life, he went against the grain and managed to find a way to change himself for the better and eventually reach his goal.

Dickens often looked toward the economy for the scheme of his novels. The point in time when he was creating A Tale of Two Cities was between the Victorian Age and the Age of Romanticism; between the standard ideals and the impractical ideals. These differing outlooks began the conflict in this novel: the French revolution. This revolution was a dominant historical influence on the nineteenth century in Europe. Charles distrusted Parliament greatly because of the changes being made, for instance, to be a candidate for elections, an individual did not have to own property. One change that is significantly represented in A Tale of Two Cities is the Molestation of Workmen Act, which allowed rebellion against Parliament. Madame Defarge, her husband, the Vengeance, the Jacques, along with the other revolutionaries who follow them depicted the rebels that disagreed with Parliament.

By editing a monthly magazine, serializing novels, and giving public readings, Dickens used every occupation as a learning experience, which helped him to a great extent. Due to Charles Dickens' great determination, he ultimately achieved his goal and became a world famous novelist. In the nineteenth century, he wrote some of the most popular and widely read novels including A Tale of Two Cities. When he first began to write the novel, after he took a year away from writing because of hardships, Charles complained, "I cannot please myself with the opening of my new story, and cannot in the least settle at it or take to it," and carried on by clarifying that he felt he had a responsibility whenever he took a pen in hand. Charles Dickens explained that, "Everyone in writing must speak from points of his experience," (Schlicke 80) so, instead of dwelling on his life full of contradictions comprised of distressed childhood, little education, severe rejection, hurtful affairs, strong changes, and abrupt death, Charles used his memories and rich imagination to a greater extent and found a way to express himself through his novels' plot and characterization. Dickens described how he believed he had "a strong perception of character and oddity, and a natural power of reproducing in my own person what I observed in others." (Schlicke 76) To Dickens, the most memorable people, places, and happenings in his life seemed appropriate to be used as a creative outlet and were portrayed by a character, setting, or event in his novels.