Summary
In Book 2, Chapter 12 of A Tale of Two Cities, titled "The Fellow of Delicacy," Mr. Stryver—the ambitious and self-important barrister—resolves to bestow what he considers a magnificent favor upon Lucie Manette by proposing marriage. He approaches the matter as he would a legal case, seeing himself as plaintiff, counsel, and judge all at once, and concludes that "no plainer case could be." He plans to propose before he leaves London for the Long Vacation, first by inviting Lucie to Vauxhall Gardens, then to Ranelagh, and finally by presenting himself at the Manettes' home in Soho.
On his way to Soho, Stryver stops at Tellson's Bank to share the happy news with Mr. Lorry, whom he knows to be an intimate friend of the Manette family. The conversation that follows is one of the chapter's comic highlights. When Stryver announces his intention to propose, Mr. Lorry responds with an awkward "Oh dear me!" that immediately offends the barrister. Stryver demands to know whether he is not eligible, prosperous, and advancing, and Mr. Lorry concedes all three points—but gently suggests that the young lady herself might not be so easily convinced.
Stryver is incredulous and indignant, accusing Lorry of calling Lucie a "mincing Fool" for not recognizing his worth. Mr. Lorry fires back with rare anger, warning that he will not tolerate any disrespectful word about Lucie from any man. The tension between them is palpable: Stryver's blood vessels swell with suppressed fury, while even the methodical banker's veins are in a dangerous state. Lorry proposes a diplomatic solution: he will visit the Manettes that evening and quietly sound out their feelings, sparing all parties the embarrassment of a direct rejection.
Stryver reluctantly agrees to wait. When Lorry visits him later that night, he confirms that Lucie would indeed refuse the proposal. Rather than accepting this blow graciously, Stryver immediately rewrites the narrative. He pretends he was never truly interested, feigns surprise that Lorry has even brought the subject up, and declares that Lucie is a "mincing" girl guilty of a "folly" she will someday regret "in poverty and obscurity." He magnanimously insists he is satisfied on his own account, pities the Manettes, and claims he is not certain he would have proposed at all. By the chapter's end, Stryver has shouldered Mr. Lorry out the door with an air of "showering generosity, forbearance, and goodwill," having successfully recast himself as the generous party rather than the rejected one. The final image—Stryver "lying back on his sofa, winking at his ceiling"—captures his brazen self-satisfaction.
Analysis
uses the chapter to deliver a masterful comic portrait of self-delusion. The title "The Fellow of Delicacy" is deeply ironic: Stryver is anything but delicate. He "shoulders" his way through London, bursts into Tellson's, and treats personal relationships as forensic arguments to be won. His legal language pervades every interaction—he "calls himself for the plaintiff," puts Lorry "in a corner," and shakes a "forensic forefinger" at the Temple. This satirical contrast between Stryver's brute-force approach and the genuine delicacy required in matters of the heart underscores one of the novel's key themes: the difference between worldly success and true emotional worth. The chapter also serves as a foil for Sydney Carton's approach to Lucie in the very next chapter, where Carton's painful honesty and self-sacrifice stand in stark contrast to Stryver's bluster and self-aggrandizement.