After reading · Part II · Chapter 6
Part II · Chapter 6The Quiet Corner and Its Echoes
Reading boundary
Start: The quiet lodgings of Doctor Manette
Stop after: bearing down upon them, too.
Summary
Mr. Lorry visits the Manettes in Soho, where Lucie has made a modest home beautiful. The Doctor practices medicine but keeps his shoemaking bench. Miss Pross tells Lorry that he avoids speaking of prison, sometimes paces at night as though mentally there, and is calmed by Lucie’s silent companionship.
Darnay and Carton join the household. Darnay’s story about writing hidden in a Tower dungeon visibly alarms the Doctor, though he blames raindrops. During the gathering storm, Lucie imagines the corner’s echoes as footsteps entering their lives. Thunder, crowds hurrying through nearby streets, and Carton’s intense response enlarge that fancy before the guests depart.
Who’s who
- Miss Pross — Lucie’s fiercely loyal attendant, who calls her “Ladybird.”
- Jarvis Lorry — A family friend concerned about the Doctor’s suppressed memories.
- Doctor Manette — Recovered in daily life but still vulnerable to reminders of prison.
- Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton — Visitors to the Soho home.