illustration of a guillotine

A Tale of Two Cities

by Charles Dickens

Start Free Trial

A Tale of Two Cities Questions on The Guillotine

A Tale of Two Cities Study Tools

Take a quiz Ask a question Start an essay

A Tale of Two Cities

Dickens refers to the guillotine as female because it aligns with the French nickname "Madame la Guillotine," used during the Reign of Terror. In French, nouns are gendered, and "la guillotine" is...

1 educator answer

A Tale of Two Cities

The "movable framework with a sack and a knife" in A Tale of Two Cities refers to the guillotine. The passage highlights the grim inevitability of revolutionary violence, describing how fate and...

1 educator answer