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How old are Sydney Carton, Madame Defarge, Charles Darnay, Lucie Manette, and Doctor Manette in A Tale of Two Cities?
Quick answer:
In A Tale of Two Cities, Lucie Manette is introduced as 17 years old, Charles Darnay as 25, and Madame Defarge as 30. Sydney Carton's age is not specified, but he is presumed to be in his 20s due to his ability to switch places with Darnay. Doctor Manette, having been imprisoned for 18 years shortly after marriage, is likely in his 40s or 50s when introduced.
A Tale of Two Cities is a historical fiction classic written by
Charles Dickens. The story is organized or split up into three "books," which
span the time period 1775 in Book One to 1792 in Book Three. Therefore, the
ages of the characters can be different depending on what part of the story you
are analyzing.
The ages of the characters explicitly mentioned by Dickens are as follows,
listed in the order in which their age is mentioned:
- Lucie Manette is told to be 17, in Book One, Chapter Four.
- Madame Defarge is told to be 30 in Book One, Chapter Five.
- Charles Danay is told to be 25 in Book Two, Chapter Two.
We must use context clues to determine the ages of characters not explicitly
stated. We can assume that Sydney Carton is in his 20s, as he switches places
with Charles without notice.
There are chronological clues given for Dr. Mannette. He was imprisoned for 18
years just after being married. If we assume he was married between 18 and 25
years of age, then Dr. Mannette is most likely in his 40s.
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