Date of Publication: 12/15/2025
Abstract:
Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities remains one of the most prophetic novels in
literary history, offering a devastating critique of class warfare that resonates powerfully in
the age of COVID-19. Through his depiction of the French Revolution of 1789 and Victorian
society’s stark inequalities, Dickens exposes how systemic oppression creates cycles of
violence and suffering that transcend centuries. The novel’s iconic opening—”it was the best
of times, it was the worst of times”—captures a fundamental truth about human society:
technological progress and material comfort for some coexist with exploitation and misery
for others. The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare this same paradox, revealing that while
the virus itself may be indiscriminate, societal structures determine who suffers most, who
receives care, and who is deemed expendable. Just as the two cities of London and Paris
struggled with issues of liberty, equality, and fraternity during revolutionary upheaval,
contemporary society faces its own reckoning with class division, healthcare access, and
economic justice. This article examines how Dickens’s portrayal of class struggle in
revolutionary France and Victorian England illuminates the social inequities exposed by the
pandemic, demonstrating that the fight against systemic injustice remains as urgent today as
it was two centuries ago
Keywords :
French Revolution, COVID-19, class struggle, Victorian society, social
inequality, systemic injustice, healthcare access, essential workers