Abstract: A Tale of Two Cities is a historic novel against the background of the French Revolution in the 18th century. It connects Paris and London, telling the stories full of love and adventure in Doctor Manette’s family. In the fiction, Charles Dickens attacked feudal rulers’ barbarity intensely and demonstrated a deep sympathy to the lower class, confirming the justice of revolution. On the other hand, he opposed revolutionary violence against tyranny, considering its process too cruel. This paper reveals Dickens’ contradictory and melancholy side in his character by analyzing Dickens’ pessimistic conception of history and humane fantasy in A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens hoped to influence and reform exploiters to eliminate social contradictions by their charity in order to find an ideal humane society. However, it’s obviously not realistic. Dickens himself couldn’t find a method to solve those social problems because of his inner conflict.
Key Words: pessimism; A Tale of Two Cities; Charles Dickens
Introduction 1
1. The Origin of Charles Dickens’ Pessimism 1
1.1 The Introduction of Charles Dickens’ life 1
1.2 The Effect of English Diverse Society and Trends of Thought in the 19th century 4
1.3 Charles Dickens’ Pessimism in A Tale of Two Cities 6
2. The Analysis of the Reflection of Dickens’ Pessimism in A Tale of Two Cities 7
2.1 The Exaggerated Description of the Gloomy Atmosphere 7
2.2 The Creation of Tragic Characters 9
2.3 The Design of Tragic Plots 11
3. Conclusion 14
Bibliography 17
