Just as "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times,"" Dr. Manette might be described as the greatest of men and the least of men. Throughout the novel Dr. Manette assumed two very different personalities: one of a feeble, humble, quiet, and pensive shoemaker; the other, an outgoing, well-educated man, who flourished in society. This duality of personality, although strange, was the most important factor in the preservation of Dr. Manette's sanity during these long terrible years of imprisonment.
Dr. Manette first appeared as a reclusive shoemaker isolated from the world and terrified of his new surroundings. We met the shoemaker in a single, dark room above Defarge's Tavern making a young women's walking shoe. His behavior was so peculiar that three customers of the tavern sat on the balcony and stared through a small hole in the door. Through the hole a shabby, old man, with haggard eyes sat in the dark with his shoemaking tools. The shoemaker at this point seemed incapable of comprehending the outside world. Denial and avoidance of the outside world lead Defarge to claim, "he would be frightened-rave-tear himself to pieces if the door were left open."".
Mr. Jarvis Lorry, the family's long time banker and caretaker, and Lucie, Dr. Manettes daughter, returned Dr. Manette to London. Dr. Manette had been "Recalled to Life- and Lucie no longer considered herself to be an orphan. However, several months after his return to England, Dr. Manette, an intelligent, warm, and respected physician had given the impression that his transition back into London social society had been very easy. Often he sat and chatted with his daughter and her fiancé in his quiet home in Soho. .
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How had Dr. Manette been a shoemaker one day and a Doctor the next? How had this man, imprisoned for eighteen years, have such an intact psyche? His intellect, his memory, his courage, his compassion, and his ability to function well in society have been preserved despite the long, isolated, emotionally devoid years in prison.