"Cancelled" by the Revolution?: The Limits of Celebrity in A Tale of Two Cities

Abstract:

Inspired by a teaching experience in which a group of students equated the mob violence of the French Revolution with the contemporary phenomenon of “cancel culture,” this article considers the ways in which Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities incorporates a consideration of the foundations and limits of celebrity power. By examining contemporary studies of the history and significance of “cancellation,” we can understand their relevance to a Dickens who was anxious about maintaining his celebrity status and controlling his image amid a marital scandal that threatened his ability to do both. Read through this lens, the experience of Doctor Manette, a character who uses his celebrity to protect his loved ones and whose celebrity power is then turned against him, speaks to our present moment as Dickens’s expression of concern at what might happen when a previously adoring public takes the reins of reputation from the prominent.