Doctor Manette's Reaction to Darnay

Today, we discussed the way Dr. Manette reacted to Darnay's offer to tell him his true name. I thought back to the coutrroom secene. This really got me thinking. It's interesting that when Dr. Manette first saw Charles Darnay, he became upset and eventually needed to be taken out of the room. I think that Dr. Manette either has seen him before, or he has an inkling as to who Charles Darnay really is. Also, when Darnay offered to tell Dr. Manette his real name, the doctor yelled at him to stop. This leads me to believe that his resurrection is far from complete. Before he can be restored, he needs to come to terms with what may have happened to him in the past.

This poses several mysteries that I look forward to figuring out. I think it's very likely that Dr. Manette has seen Darnay before in France. It makes sense that he would have seen him probably when Charles was younger. This is part of the reason as to why he reacted so badly when he saw Darnay. Darnay's uncle may have been the one who imprisoned Dr. Manette. Because of this, I think that Dr. Manette was scared because he had seen Darnay before when he lived in France and knew he was related to the Marquis. I also believe that this is why he doesn't want to know who Charles Darnay really is yet. It will confirm his suspicions and he will not want Darnay, an honest gentleman, to marry his daughter anymore. He probably also knows that Darnay is probably innocent. He doesn't want to draw conclusions quite yet, thus ruining a possible marriage between his daughter and somebody she may come to love greatly.

Ben posed the question of why Dr. Manette, who we thought had been almost completely restored, had reverted back to his previous state for a while. I think it's because of Darnay's offer to tell him who he is. He remembered what had been done to him and started making shoes for a while again. He was scared and the horrible days before he had been resurrected came back to haunt him for a period of time. He is at the same time very close and very far from being restored to life.