After reading · Part I · Chapter 6

Part I · Chapter 6The Shoemaker Recalled

Reading boundary Start: Good day!” said Monsieur Defarge, looking down at the white head Stop after: I can’t say.

Summary

The shoemaker speaks faintly, often failing to understand a question until it is repeated. He identifies himself not by his name but as “One Hundred and Five, North Tower,” the prison location that has replaced his identity. Lorry briefly awakens a trace of Doctor Manette’s former intelligence, but the man returns to his compulsive work.

Miss Manette approaches. Her hair resembles the golden hairs Manette has preserved from his wife, and her voice and touch stir broken memories. She embraces her father and promises care and a home in England; at last he weeps in her arms. Lorry and Defarge arrange their immediate departure. Though confused, Manette responds to his daughter and keeps her hand in his. He asks for his shoemaking tools before their coach leaves Paris. Traveling beneath the stars, Lorry again imagines asking the buried man whether he cares to be recalled to life; the answer remains, “I can’t say.”

Who’s who

Doctor Manette — The former prisoner, psychologically marked by captivity and absorbed in shoemaking.
Miss Manette — His daughter, whose voice, hair, touch, and devotion begin to reach him.
Jarvis Lorry — The old acquaintance who tests Manette’s recognition and arranges the journey.
Monsieur Defarge — Manette’s former servant, who shelters him and helps secure the travelers’ departure.
Madame Defarge — The silent knitter who retrieves Manette’s tools before the coach leaves.