An excerpt from the original text.(complete · 1344 words)
Plea
When the newly-married pair came home, the first person who appeared, to
offer his congratulations, was Sydney Carton. They had not been at home
many hours, when he presented himself. He was not improved in habits, or
in looks, or in manner; but there was a certain rugged air of fidelity
about him, which was new to the observation of Charles Darnay.
He watched his opportunity of taking Darnay aside into a window, and of
speaking to him when no one overheard.
“Mr. Darnay,” said Carton, “I wish we might be friends.”
“We are already friends, I hope.”
“You are good enough to say so, as a fashion of speech; but, I don’t
mean any fashion of speech. Indeed, when I say I wish we might be
friends, I scarcely mean quite that, either.”
Charles Darnay--as was natural--asked him, in all good-humour and
good-fellowship, what he did mean?
“Upon my life,” said Carton, smiling, “I find that easier to comprehend
in my own mind, than to convey to yours. However, let me try. You
remember a certain famous occasion when I was more drunk than--than
usual?”
“I remember a certain famous occasion when you forced me to confess that
you had been drinking.”
“I remember it too. The curse of those occasions is heavy upon me, for I
always remember them. I hope it may be taken into account one day,
when all days are at an end for me! Don’t be alarmed; I am not going to
preach.”
“I am not at all alarmed. Earnestness in you, is anything but alarming
to me.”
“Ah!” said Carton, with a careless wave of his hand, as if he waved that
away. “On the drunken occasion in question (one of a large number, as
you know), I was insufferable about liking you, and not liking you. I
wish you would forget it.”
“I forgot it long ago.”
“Fashion of speech again! But, Mr. Darnay, oblivion is not so easy to
me, as you represent it to be to you. I have by no means forgotten it,
and a light answer does not help me to forget it.”
“If it was a light answer,” returned Darnay, “I beg your forgiveness
for it. I had no other object than to turn a slight thing, which, to my
surprise, seems to trouble you too much, aside. I declare to you, on the
faith of a gentleman, that I have long dismissed it from my mind. Good
Heaven, what was there to dismiss! Have I had nothing more important to
remember, in the great service you rendered me that day?”
“As to the great service,” said Carton, “I am bound to avow to you, when
you speak of it in that way, that it was mere professional claptrap, I
don’t know that I cared what became of you, when I rendered it.--Mind! I
say when I rendered it; I am speaking of the past.”
“You make light of the obligation,” returned Darnay, “but I will not
quarrel with your light answer.”
“Genuine truth, Mr. Darnay, trust me! I have gone aside from my purpose;
I was speaking about our being friends. Now, you know me; you know I am
incapable of all the higher and better flights of men. If you doubt it,
ask Stryver, and he’ll tell you so.”
“I prefer to form my own opinion, without the aid of his.”
“Well! At any rate you know me as a dissolute dog, who has never done
any good, and never will.”
“I don’t know that you ‘never will.’”
“But I do, and you must take my word for it. Well! If you could endure
to have such a worthless fellow, and a fellow of such indifferent
reputation, coming and going at odd times, I should ask that I might be
permitted to come and go as a privileged person here; that I might
be regarded as an useless (and I would add, if it were not for the
resemblance I detected between you and me, an unornamental) piece of
furniture, tolerated for its old service, and taken no notice of. I
doubt if I should abuse the permission. It is a hundred to one if I
should avail myself of it four times in a year. It would satisfy me, I
dare say, to know that I had it.”
“Will you try?”
“That is another way of saying that I am placed on the footing I have
indicated. I thank you, Darnay. I may use that freedom with your name?”
“I think so, Carton, by this time.”
They shook hands upon it, and Sydney turned away. Within a minute
afterwards, he was, to all outward appearance, as unsubstantial as ever.
When he was gone, and in the course of an evening passed with Miss
Pross, the Doctor, and Mr. Lorry, Charles Darnay made some mention of
this conversation in general terms, and spoke of Sydney Carton as a
problem of carelessness and recklessness. He spoke of him, in short, not
bitterly or meaning to bear hard upon him, but as anybody might who saw
him as he showed himself.
He had no idea that this could dwell in the thoughts of his fair young
wife; but, when he afterwards joined her in their own rooms, he found
her waiting for him with the old pretty lifting of the forehead strongly
marked.
“We are thoughtful to-night!” said Darnay, drawing his arm about her.
“Yes, dearest Charles,” with her hands on his breast, and the inquiring
and attentive expression fixed upon him; “we are rather thoughtful
to-night, for we have something on our mind to-night.”
“What is it, my Lucie?”
“Will you promise not to press one question on me, if I beg you not to
ask it?”
“Will I promise? What will I not promise to my Love?”
What, indeed, with his hand putting aside the golden hair from the
cheek, and his other hand against the heart that beat for him!
“I think, Charles, poor Mr. Carton deserves more consideration and
respect than you expressed for him to-night.”
“Indeed, my own? Why so?”
“That is what you are not to ask me. But I think--I know--he does.”
“If you know it, it is enough. What would you have me do, my Life?”
“I would ask you, dearest, to be very generous with him always, and very
lenient on his faults when he is not by. I would ask you to believe that
he has a heart he very, very seldom reveals, and that there are deep
wounds in it. My dear, I have seen it bleeding.”
“It is a painful reflection to me,” said Charles Darnay, quite
astounded, “that I should have done him any wrong. I never thought this
of him.”
“My husband, it is so. I fear he is not to be reclaimed; there is
scarcely a hope that anything in his character or fortunes is reparable
now. But, I am sure that he is capable of good things, gentle things,
even magnanimous things.”
She looked so beautiful in the purity of her faith in this lost man,
that her husband could have looked at her as she was for hours.
“And, O my dearest Love!” she urged, clinging nearer to him, laying her
head upon his breast, and raising her eyes to his, “remember how strong
we are in our happiness, and how weak he is in his misery!”
The supplication touched him home. “I will always remember it, dear
Heart! I will remember it as long as I live.”
He bent over the golden head, and put the rosy lips to his, and folded
her in his arms. If one forlorn wanderer then pacing the dark streets,
could have heard her innocent disclosure, and could have seen the drops
of pity kissed away by her husband from the soft blue eyes so loving of
that husband, he might have cried to the night--and the words would not
have parted from his lips for the first time--
“God bless her for her sweet compassion!”
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Let's Analyse the Pattern
When people feel fundamentally unworthy, they'll negotiate for minimal connection rather than risk asking for genuine love and belonging.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to hear what people are really asking for beneath their words, especially when shame makes them ask for less than they need.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when someone minimizes their own worth or asks for minimal consideration—they might actually be testing whether you'll see their hidden value.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"I wish we might be friends."
Context: Carton approaches Darnay privately after his wedding to make this unexpected request
This simple statement reveals Carton's profound loneliness and desire for genuine human connection. Coming from someone who usually pushes people away, it shows his desperate need to belong somewhere.
In Today's Words:
I need someone in my corner, even though I know I don't deserve it.
"I am like one who died young. All my life might have been."
Context: Carton explains his sense of wasted potential and lost opportunities
This captures the tragedy of unfulfilled potential - Carton sees himself as already dead inside, mourning the life he could have lived. It's both self-pity and genuine grief for his wasted talents.
In Today's Words:
I feel like I died years ago and I'm just going through the motions now.
"I have seen it bleeding."
Context: Lucie tells her husband she's witnessed Carton's hidden pain and goodness
Lucie's compassionate insight reveals her ability to see past surface behavior to someone's true heart. Her words suggest Carton's goodness is wounded but still alive, giving hope for his redemption.
In Today's Words:
I've seen how much he's hurting inside, and there's still good in him.
Thematic Threads
Worthlessness
In This Chapter
Carton explicitly calls himself 'dissolute' and 'useless,' negotiating for marginal acceptance rather than friendship
Development
Evolution from earlier self-hatred—now actively seeking connection despite feeling unworthy
In Your Life:
You might recognize this when you apologize for your needs or downplay your value to avoid rejection.
Compassion
In This Chapter
Lucie sees past Carton's performance to his 'bleeding' wounds and asks Darnay to be generous with his faults
Development
Lucie consistently demonstrates ability to see deeper truth in people beyond surface behavior
In Your Life:
You might practice this by looking for the pain behind someone's difficult behavior rather than just reacting to it.
Identity
In This Chapter
Carton and Darnay continue their strange doppelganger relationship, with Carton seeking proximity to his 'better' self
Development
The physical resemblance now extends to emotional dynamics—Carton wants access to Darnay's life
In Your Life:
You might notice this when you're drawn to people who represent who you wish you could be.
Class
In This Chapter
Carton positions himself as 'furniture'—useful but not truly part of the family, accepting a servant-like status
Development
Class dynamics now internalized as personal worth—Carton places himself in lower social position
In Your Life:
You might see this in how you position yourself in social or work situations, accepting less than equal treatment.
Redemption
In This Chapter
Seeds of change planted through Lucie's faith in Carton's hidden goodness, though he doesn't recognize it yet
Development
First hint that Carton might be capable of transformation through another's belief in him
In Your Life:
You might experience this when someone sees potential in you that you can't see in yourself.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What unusual request does Sydney Carton make of Charles and Lucie, and how does he describe his own worth?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Carton ask to be treated like 'useless furniture' rather than seeking genuine friendship?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today asking for 'scraps' of belonging instead of real connection - at work, in families, or friend groups?
application • medium - 4
How does Lucie's response to Carton differ from her husband's, and what does this teach about seeing past someone's self-destructive behavior?
analysis • deep - 5
When someone consistently puts themselves down or asks for minimal acceptance, what are they really communicating about their needs?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Decode the Hidden Request
Think of someone in your life who consistently apologizes for taking up space, volunteers for thankless tasks, or puts themselves down before others can. Write down what they actually say versus what they might really need. Then consider: how could you respond to the real need rather than just the surface request?
Consider:
- •People often ask for what feels safe rather than what they actually need
- •Self-deprecating behavior is usually a protection strategy, not true self-assessment
- •Responding to the hidden need requires seeing past the performance to the person
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you asked for scraps of acceptance instead of genuine connection. What were you really afraid would happen if you asked for what you actually needed?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 27: When the Past Comes Calling
As the Darnays settle into married life, the sound of footsteps begins to echo through their world—footsteps that will soon bring both joy and terror to their doorstep. The French Revolution's distant rumblings grow louder.
