SYDNEY CARTON: A Tale of Two Cities

 THE CHARACTER OF SYDNEY CARTON

A Tale of Two Cities

INTRODUCTION:

Charles Dickens is an extraordinary novelist of the Victorian age who has been loved and revered by the readers because of some of his immortal characters. Some of his characters are the mouthpieces of the labour class. In his novel ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ too we find the characters like Sidney Carton, Charles Darney, Lucie and Dr. Manette who win the admiration of the readers. Sidney Carton is presented as a dynamic character that changes through the course of the novel.

SYDNEY CARTON AS A WASTEFUL YOUTH:

Carton is presented as a carefree and wasteful youth in his forties in the beginning of the novel. He is one of Dickens’ most tragic and dynamic characters, a brilliant but immoral and self-pitying alcoholic lawyer who does not win our sympathy in the beginning.He describes himself as “a supreme waste of life”. Mark his words:

“I am a disappointed drudge (worker), sir,” he says. “I care for no man on earth, and no man on earth cares for me.”

SYDNEY CARTON AS THE VEHICLE TO CARRY THE THEMES OF REDEMPTION AND SACRIFICE:

Set in two European cities, London and Paris, both torn by war, the novel‘A Tale of Two Cities’by Charles Dickens paradoxically introduces his story in the following manner:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity (disbelief)…”

Accordingly, Dickens has presented paradoxes among the characters, both good and bad. Sidney Carton often termed as the hero of this novel is the main source of revealing the central ideas of resurrection, redemption and sacrifice in this novel. The paradoxical words used by Dickens in the beginning of the novel are apparent in the gradual transformation in Sidney Carton’s life. Presented as a carefree wasteful young man in the beginning sacrifices his own life at the end and becomes a martyr to project the themes of redemption and sacrifice in this novel.

Thus, it is through the character of Sydney Carton that Dickens presents a gradual change from wastefulness to sacrifice and resurrection.

SYDNEY CARTON – AN IDEAL LOVER:

Sidney Carton is a representative of the young generation of the Victorian era. He has idealism in his love but he is disillusioned in his professional life. He meets Lucy and falls in love with her in a very short period of time. He starts thinking that only Lucy can be a proper companion with whom he can leave a happy life. It was in his days of unhappiness that he meets Lucy and he starts thinking that only Lucy can be a rehabilitating force who can make him happy again.

But as Shakespeare rightly said “the path of true love is not always rosy”, Sydney Carton faces the harsh realities in his love life too. He comes to know that Lucie is in love with Charles Darney. But he fully understands that the nature of true love is always based on the principle of sacrifice. His love for Lucy was selfless and Sydney comes out as a symbol of true love in this novel. He realises that Lucy will be happier with Charles Darney. Charles Darney is mistakenly arrested and a case is filed against him and Charles is sentenced to death. When Sydney comes to know about this, he decides to throw away his own life for the safety of Charles Darney. He enters the prison and puts on Darney’s clothes and get him out of the prison. In this way, he sacrifices his own life for the sake of his devotion to Lucy. This is certainly a heroic quality in him which wins the sympathy of the readers. He comes out as a martyr in love and as a hero in the novel.

CONCLUSION:

In short, we may say that Sidney Carton is the true hero of the novel who sacrifices his own life to protect the happiness of the lady whom he loved truly. Though he is presented as a wasteful drunkard youth in the beginning, he turns out as a heroic figure at the end of the novel.