I just wanted to go back in Book the Second a little bit and talk about how not only Dr. Manette had to be reborn, but so did Darnay in a way. Back in chapter 3 (A Disappointment), the result of Charles Darnay's trial was being told to Mr. Lorry, and Jerry had to relay the outcome to the bank. Dickens describes that "hastily written on the paper was the word 'AQUITTED'. 'If you had sent the message, "Recalled to Life", again,' muttered Jerry, as he turned, 'I should have known what you meant, this time'" (Page 82).
Although this is earlier in the book, it has a lot to do with our motif and the character Darnay that we know. The important part of this quote is the fact that Dickens is trying to get the point across that Darnay was in a sense reborn. He was introduced back into his day to day life as a new man. He was free to go about his business, to start over. Andrew said that Dr. Manette had probably seen Darnay before in his earlier life, and that is why he seemed to be scared. This is true, but I also want to point out that here in chapter 3, as I explained above, Darnay is in a sense being reborn. He was rescued by his innocence in the trial. Instead of the reader viewing Darnay as a criminal as we first would, since he was a prisoner and was accused of a crime, Dickens wants us to see that Darnay is a sensible man instead. He is reborn to the reader as a good character, not a bad one, when he is proven innocent (which is rare). Therefore, when we say that Dr. Manette is scared of Darnay, we also have to keep in mind that Darnay is presented to us as a good man. We can then question his past, and figure that Darnay most likely did not imprison Dr. Manette and is still inncoent, like Andrew said.
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I think you make an interesting observation. I remember first reading about Darnay walking into the courtroom. I was prepared to think of him as a criminal, but my assumption was also wrong. Like you said, he was reborn into a good character. I do agree with you, but I think that he wasn't reborn specifically in the book, but more so in the eyes of the reader.
Yes, he did turn out to be a good character and not an evil one. However, I don't think that he was reborn plot-wise. Instead our assumption of him was wrong, and that was the rebirth which we saw. In at least my mind, and yours too, he was an evil character in those first few pages simply because he was a criminal. Then he was reborn to me as a good person, which was evident by his personality throughout the trial.
You make a really good point, and it is something that I didn't catch when I read that chapter. I completely agree with your point that he was reborn to the reader. Darnay wasn't who we assumed he was.
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