In Charles Dickens's "A Tale of Two Cities," Jerry Cruncher, poses as an errand runner, a clean booted man, for Tellson's Bank working side by side with his son. His clean boots return home far after the dinner hour. When darkness falls, one may spy him digging. He digs both for money and a better life for himself and his son. He trudges home, his soiled body insistent on sleep, but his boots need cleaning, for tomorrow brings forth another demanding day in the life of Jerry Cruncher.

Mr. Cruncher, the unloving anti-family man, returns home many nights to beat his wife for an act glorifying God: praying. If anything goes wrong at work, Mrs. Cruncher is to blame. Her and her flopping. Mr. Cruncher, superstitious and ill-educated, believes his wife, the mother of their child, prays against him. He criticizes her cooking, her dress, and that she...