The intricate relationship between social upheaval and literary expression finds a poignant example in Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, which, although set during the 1780s, resonates with the concerns of Dickens' own time. England during the Victorian era was marked by industrial transformation and social tension, yet it avoided the violent revolutions that shook France and America. Dickens' novel serves both as an exploration of historical calamities and a warning to his contemporaries about the dangers of social neglect.

Revolutionary Backdrop

Set against the backdrop of the 1780s, A Tale of Two Cities explores a time when England was embroiled in a prolonged conflict with France. This period was defined by relative peace and prosperity in England but also growing apprehension about the revolutionary ideals spreading from France. Influential figures like William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge introduced these principles to England, arousing fear among the aristocracy and middle classes who worried about threats to their stable way of life. Despite England's own social inequities, a tradition of peaceful change and political unity against France helped stave off the kind of upheaval that revolutionized France.

The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution brought a mixed legacy to England, creating new wealth but also a class of urban poor who suffered from overcrowding, disease, and unending labor. As Ruth Glancy notes in A Tale of Two Cities: Dickens's Revolutionary Novel, "overcrowding, disease, hunger, long hours of work, and mindless, repetitive labor characterized the new life for this new class of urban poor." Unprotected by rights or unions, they were largely ignored or feared by the upper classes. This neglect fueled concerns that England might face a revolution similar to France's.

Reform and Resistance

In Dickens' day, the threat of a violent uprising still loomed over England, but it was mitigated by the efforts of reform movements like the Chartists. Though early reforms, such as the 1832 Reform Bill, addressed some issues, lasting change was slow. It wasn't until 1867 that Benjamin Disraeli's Reform Bill significantly expanded voting rights, quelling fears of revolution. Yet, as Glancy remarks, "there was no bloody revolution, but Dickens and others deplored the snail's pace that the government took to achieve peaceful reform." Dickens viewed this era with skepticism, equating it to the "epoch of belief ... the epoch of incredulity" of the French Revolution.

Dickens' Moral Vision

Charles Dickens, a foremost novelist of the Victorian Age, used his writings to highlight the moral failures of his society. While critics noted his sentimentality and plot coincidences, they also praised his capacity to bring characters to life, embodying moral principles. Dickens became a cultural icon, crossing class lines through his serialized works, which were accessible to both the upper classes and factory workers.

Individual Responsibility

Critics sometimes accused Dickens of failing to provide solutions to the social injustices he depicted. However, this criticism misses Dickens' principal message: the importance of individual accountability and compassion. Believing economic systems alone could not alleviate poverty, Dickens stressed personal responsibility. He argued that individual efforts, however small, were vital in a world beset by violence and injustice.

Condemnation of Violence

In A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens does not shy from portraying the violence of his era, yet he refuses to glorify it. By illustrating the mistreatment of lower classes that fueled the French Revolution, he condemns the subsequent atrocities committed in its name. For Dickens, no cause justifies abandoning humanity and sympathy for others.

• 1780s: By the end of the Enlightenment, the majority of educated individuals believed the universe was fundamentally understandable and governed by fixed laws that humans could comprehend.

  1850s: Following the release of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species in 1859, conservative Victorians responded with a religious backlash opposing scientific progress.

  Today: With advancements in technology like space travel and cloning, modern science seems capable of solving nearly any issue. However, as scientific specialization grows, few people possess extensive knowledge across various scientific fields.

• 1780s: French intellectuals and philosophes such as the Marquis de Montesquieu advocated for an enlightened government system with balanced and divided powers.

  1850s: After years of political stagnation, England began liberalizing its voting rights, extending the vote to all male citizens regardless of property ownership.

  Today: With the fall of Communist regimes globally, the democratic model pioneered by the United States—on which the French Revolution was based—has become the template for most national governments.

• 1780s: Anatomical science was so rudimentary that new bones were still being discovered in the human body. In 1784, German Romantic poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe identified one, later named the intermaxillary bone.

  1850s: By this period in England, the practice of body-snatching, as conducted by Jerry Cruncher, had been obsolete for over twenty years due to Parliament's Anatomy Act of 1832.

  Today: Modern medical science can replace parts of the human body with artificial bones or perform transplants using animal organs to replace failing human ones. The success of transplants has revived the demand for human organs, rekindling the trade of body-snatching.

• 1780s: English sailors aboard H.M.S. Bounty mutinied in the South Pacific when Captain Bligh reduced their water ration to hydrate his cargo of breadfruit trees. The sailors hid on Pitcairn Island and went undiscovered for years.

  1850s: European seafarers had charted most landmasses, and other Europeans began exploring the interiors of continents like Australia, North America, and Africa.

  Today: Modern satellite technology can map the entire globe within a few days. Very few areas remain unknown to Europeans or their cultural descendants, the North Americans.

• 1780s: During the French Revolution, drinking was widespread across all societal classes.

  1850s: The "temperance movement," primarily in Protestant countries like the English commonwealth and the United States, condemned alcohol consumption and sought to abolish drinking on moral grounds.