“the nation is to be congratulated because of its present abounding prosperity. Such prosperity can never be created by law alone, although it is easy enough to destroy it by mischievous laws.”
Theodore Roosevelt
Great literature should do more than entertain us. It should provide a roadmap to improving our lives.
In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens introduced readers to Sydney Carton, one of literature's most compelling and deeply flawed characters. Dickens also gives him an unusual title: the Jackal.
His struggles raise questions that remain relevant today.
Are we defined by our past mistakes? Can we overcome our weaknesses? What separates the people we are from the people we could become?
Lessons From the Jackal is a 25-day character study exploring these questions through Sydney Carton’s life, decisions, relationships, and personal development.
This is not a traditional course on A Tale of Two Cities. Our reading assignments will focus specifically on Carton, with sufficient background provided to understand his story. No previous knowledge of the novel is necessary.
Each day will feature selected readings, historical comparisons, reflection questions, discussions, and practical challenges ...
When Lucie and Darnay return home in Chapter 20, they have been married for approximately four weeks. Their wedding and travels offer a glimpse into customs that differed from those familiar to us today. In 1780s England, most couples had to marry in a Church of England church or chapel, although Jewish and Quaker marriages were exempt. Civil weddings at a register office did not exist.
A bride’s clothing could look different from what we might expect. White wedding dresses existed, but white had not yet become the widespread bridal convention it would become later. A surviving wedding outfit worn by Jane Bailey in 1780 features cream silk patterned with flowers rather than a distinctly modern bridal gown.
Dickens describes Lucie and Darnay’s small church wedding, followed by breakfast at home. They then depart on a wedding journey: two weeks in Warwickshire and the surrounding area, followed by two weeks in Wales. Doctor Manette joins them for the second half.
Such travel was a ...
“Earnestness in you, is anything but alarming to me.”
When Lucie and Darnay return from their wedding journey, Sydney Carton is their first visitor. He offers his congratulations, then takes Darnay aside with a request: “I wish we might be friends.”Darnay believes they already are. Yet Carton’s insistence suggests that something remains unsettled in his mind.
Carton returns to the evening following Darnay’s trial, when his drunken conversation revealed resentment toward Darnay. Now he asks Darnay to forget that behavior. Perhaps Darnay has already dismissed an encounter that Carton continues to remember with shame. What seems unnecessary to one man may require considerable courage from the other.
Is reconciliation sometimes necessary because of a burden we carry, even when another person holds nothing against us?
The circumstances make Carton’s approach particularly significant. Darnay has married the woman Carton loves. Carton could allow disappointment to deepen his resentment or...
