Charles John Huffam Dickens was one of the most critically acclaimed writers of the Victorian period, and his works are still highly regarded today. Dickens expanded his repertoire in 1859 with the publication of A Tale of Two Cities, a novel centered on the French Revolution. Dickens is well known for generating his themes through critiques of current events and the actions of characters. For example, in A Tale of Two Cities, sacrifice is a recurring motif, or theme, that develops through the actions of three seemingly ordinary, yet extraordinary characters. Throughout the novel, Charles Dickens develops the theme of sacrifice through Madame Defarge, Miss Pross and Sydney Carton. Madame Defarge, a staunch supporter of the French Revolution, is willing to sacrifice her life to avenge her family and advance the goal of the French Revolution. revolution. When she was just a young girl, Thérèse Defarge's father and brothers and sisters were killed by the cruel Evrémonde brothers. Therefore, this tragic loss creates Madame Defarge's hatred towards the French nobles and ultimately contributes to her leading position in the French Revolution. Readers see that avenging her family through the death of the Evrémonde brothers is not enough, as the narrator describes: “It was not for her that an innocent man should die for the sins of his ancestors; she saw, not him, but them. It was nothing to her that her wife became a widow and her daughter an orphan; it was insufficient punishment, for they were his natural enemies and prey, and as such, had no right to live” (Dickens 281). While his mission to exterminate Lucie and her daughter reinforces his satisfaction of vengeance, it also furthers the intentions...... middle of paper...... a very noble life, his final act of sacrificing himself for his true love is a redemptive and vital addition to Dickens's theme. The admirable actions of Madame Defarge, Miss Pross, and Sydney Carton are all used in this novel to formulate the theme of sacrifice. The way in which Dickens portrays these three characters as unyielding and persistent towards their sacrificial actions truly reinforces the development of this particular theme. These three characters are martyrs for each of their individual causes. Charles Dickens shows the theme of sacrifice in the everyday lives of simple people, but their actions are truly remarkable. Sacrifices in life are generally difficult to make, and how one responds to adversity is the only surefire way to understand one's character. Works Cited Dickens, Charles. A tale of two cities. Np: Dover, 1999. Print.