Throughout A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens uses symbolism to create meaning in the story and to establish a point. One of the most prominent and important symbols that is woven throughout the novel is the motif of the “echoes of footsteps coming and going” (103). However, these footsteps signify different ideas dependent upon where Lucie and the family are. In London, England, the footsteps are merely echoes of people who could someday enter the family’s lives, while in Paris, France, the family is directly confronted with the footsteps of the patriot mob. Therefore, the footsteps essentially represent a path that connects the present and the future of the French Revolution and the people that the rebellion impacts. Meanwhile, Doctor Manette’s
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For, as Lucie sits in her parlor in Soho, she imagines the echoes are of “people coming by-and-by into [their] lives” (104), revealing the continual coming and going of people throughout the years. Nevertheless, in England, the footsteps are often those of her husband, Charles Darnay, or of Sydney Carton, strolling through their neighborhood, allowing the echoes to be “none but friendly and soothing sounds” (208). Thus, the footsteps in England possess a more personal quality, as they are often of those dearest to Lucie, allowing her to sit “in the still house in the tranquilly resounding corner, listening to the echoing footsteps of years” (207). The echoing footsteps, therefore, are generally peaceful, however, as time continues to pass while the storm of the French Revolution begins to rage, the footsteps become louder and more dreadful, sounding “as of a great storm in France with a dreadful sea rising” (210). Thus, the rising sound of the footsteps begins to parallel the rising ferocity of the revolutionaries, causing Lucie to have “doubts, of her remaining upon earth” (208), for “perhaps…the great crowd of people with its rush and roar, [will bear] down upon them, too” (105). Lucie’s doubts are a foreshadowing of the more tangible, oppressing footsteps of the patriot mob that the family will encounter in France. …show more content…
Since the rising sound of the footsteps parallels the rising sea of revolutionaries, the footsteps are also congruent with the eventual diminishing of the French Revolution near the end of the story. For, the last chapter’s title, “The Footsteps Die Out Forever,” not only refers to Carton’s footsteps outside of Lucie’s house dying out forever as he is executed, but also refers to Carton’s final thoughts, as he imagines the rebellion ending and the footsteps of the mob dying out forever. Thus, as Lucie and her family return to England, leaving the footsteps of the patriot mob, while Carton’s footsteps cease as he is executed, the French Revolution slowly begins to perish as well. This example also aids in reestablishing the idea of personal life as opposed to public life, as the story concludes with Carton’s intimate thoughts as his pacing footsteps end forever. However, the footsteps motif not only foreshadows and symbolizes, but also ultimately relates the two countries, England and France, and exposes their dissimilarities. For, the echoing footsteps reveal the peace and tranquility in England, while the “headlong, mad, and dangerous” (218) footsteps
For, as Lucie sits in her parlor in Soho, she imagines the echoes are of “people coming by-and-by into [their] lives” (104), revealing the continual coming and going of people throughout the years. Nevertheless, in England, the footsteps are often those of her husband, Charles Darnay, or of Sydney Carton, strolling through their neighborhood, allowing the echoes to be “none but friendly and soothing sounds” (208). Thus, the footsteps in England possess a more personal quality, as they are often of those dearest to Lucie, allowing her to sit “in the still house in the tranquilly resounding corner, listening to the echoing footsteps of years” (207). The echoing footsteps, therefore, are generally peaceful, however, as time continues to pass while the storm of the French Revolution begins to rage, the footsteps become louder and more dreadful, sounding “as of a great storm in France with a dreadful sea rising” (210). Thus, the rising sound of the footsteps begins to parallel the rising ferocity of the revolutionaries, causing Lucie to have “doubts, of her remaining upon earth” (208), for “perhaps…the great crowd of people with its rush and roar, [will bear] down upon them, too” (105). Lucie’s doubts are a foreshadowing of the more tangible, oppressing footsteps of the patriot mob that the family will encounter in France. …show more content…
Since the rising sound of the footsteps parallels the rising sea of revolutionaries, the footsteps are also congruent with the eventual diminishing of the French Revolution near the end of the story. For, the last chapter’s title, “The Footsteps Die Out Forever,” not only refers to Carton’s footsteps outside of Lucie’s house dying out forever as he is executed, but also refers to Carton’s final thoughts, as he imagines the rebellion ending and the footsteps of the mob dying out forever. Thus, as Lucie and her family return to England, leaving the footsteps of the patriot mob, while Carton’s footsteps cease as he is executed, the French Revolution slowly begins to perish as well. This example also aids in reestablishing the idea of personal life as opposed to public life, as the story concludes with Carton’s intimate thoughts as his pacing footsteps end forever. However, the footsteps motif not only foreshadows and symbolizes, but also ultimately relates the two countries, England and France, and exposes their dissimilarities. For, the echoing footsteps reveal the peace and tranquility in England, while the “headlong, mad, and dangerous” (218) footsteps