The Virus Doesn’t Discriminate, But Society Does: Class Warfare from Dickens to COVID-19
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
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Panparosh, T. (2026). The Virus Doesn’t Discriminate, But Society Does: Class Warfare from Dickens to COVID-19. RESONET 1(1 (March 2026)), 50-58. https://resonetjournal.org/research-paper/the-virus-doesnt-discriminate-but-society-does-class-warfare-from-dickens-to-covid-19/
Panparosh, Thoufiq. "The Virus Doesn’t Discriminate, But Society Does: Class Warfare from Dickens to COVID-19" RESONET, vol. 1, no. 1 (March 2026), 2026, pp. 50-58. https://resonetjournal.org/research-paper/the-virus-doesnt-discriminate-but-society-does-class-warfare-from-dickens-to-covid-19/.
Panparosh, Thoufiq. 2026. "The Virus Doesn’t Discriminate, But Society Does: Class Warfare from Dickens to COVID-19". RESONET 1(1 (March 2026)), 50-58. https://resonetjournal.org/research-paper/the-virus-doesnt-discriminate-but-society-does-class-warfare-from-dickens-to-covid-19/.
Panparosh, T. (2026) "The Virus Doesn’t Discriminate, But Society Does: Class Warfare from Dickens to COVID-19", RESONET 1(1 (March 2026)), 50-58. Available at: https://resonetjournal.org/research-paper/the-virus-doesnt-discriminate-but-society-does-class-warfare-from-dickens-to-covid-19/.
Thoufiq Panparosh. The Virus Doesn’t Discriminate, But Society Does: Class Warfare from Dickens to COVID-19. RESONET. 2026;1(1 (March 2026)):50-58. doi: https://resonetjournal.org/research-paper/the-virus-doesnt-discriminate-but-society-does-class-warfare-from-dickens-to-covid-19/
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