Charles Darnay
A French aristocrat by birth who rejects his family's rule over others but cannot make its history disappear.
He wants an independent life with Lucie and her father, without accepting the cruelty attached to his inheritance.
The book
Who they are in the book
Spoiler-freeDarnay tries to make a living and a moral identity apart from the Evrémonde name. His difficulty lies in assuming that his own intentions will be legible to people whose experience of that name is entirely different.
How the book draws them
- Refusing the family systemIn Book II, Chapter IX, he confronts his uncle and renounces the privileges he regards as inseparable from suffering. The disagreement establishes a real break in values within the same family.
- Living by instructionIn Book II, Chapter X, he earns money teaching French language and literature. Work gives substance to his rejection of inherited income, even though his connections to the estate remain unresolved.
- Waiting to disclose his nameIn Book II, Chapter X, he offers Doctor Manette the truth about his origins. The doctor asks him to wait until the wedding morning, so the later secret is not simply a deception Darnay imposes on him.
- Accepting an awkward friendshipIn Book II, Chapter XX, he agrees to Carton's request for a place among the family's visitors. Lucie's later appeal for kindness asks him to see more in Carton than an embarrassing acquaintance.
- Trusting a good intention too farIn Book II, Chapter XXIV, Gabelle's plea draws him back to France. He recognizes an unfinished obligation but underestimates the danger of returning as an emigrant with the Evrémonde name.
- Protecting the doctor's memoryIn Book III, Chapter XIII, his farewell letter absolves Doctor Manette of deliberate betrayal. Facing death, he distinguishes an old prison denunciation from the father's present love and attempts to save him.
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