Lucie Manette's Suitors Rachel Lynch 10th Grade

Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities artfully weaves the story of the Manette family through the background of the French Revolution. Though, as readers know, uprising and overthrow in France is imminent, M. Manette and his daughter Lucie deal will mundane aspects of life alongside the unusual. One such aspect: Lucie’s courting by three suitors and subsequent marriage to Charles Darnay. Lucie is sought after by Stryver, Carton, and Darnay, all of whom have strengths and weaknesses, but her eventual marriage to Darnay is the right choice.

While Stryver is wealthy and therefore powerful, and would be able to provide Lucie with a good life, the only thing bigger than his riches is his ego. Stryver makes a good living for himself as a lawyer and presents an image of himself to the public as hardworking and dedicated to his craft. However, behind the scenes, it is Carton who does all the work while Stryver takes the credit. Carton comments that Stryver “was always the front rank, while I was always behind” (93), which proves to be an accurate description of how Stryver sees himself in relation to the world: he is always the top, and others should do what he wants. This egotism is evident when he confesses to Carton that he plans to...