Book II - Chapter XXIII. Fire Rises Practice Quiz — A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Book II - Chapter XXIII. Fire Rises
What has changed in the village at the opening of Chapter 23?
The aristocrats (Monseigneur) have fled, and strange new faces of low caste—revolutionary agents—have begun appearing in their place.
How does Dickens describe the condition of the French countryside?
Everything is "bowed down, dejected, oppressed, and broken"—habitations, fences, animals, men, women, children, and the soil itself, all worn out.
What code name do the mender of roads and the stranger use to identify each other?
"Jacques"—the shared name of the revolutionary network. They greet each other with "How goes it, Jacques?" and the ritual gesture "Touch then."
What does the stranger do with his pipe that signals his revolutionary identity?
He drops something into the lit pipe that "blazed and went out in a puff of smoke"—a symbolic gesture that prompts the mender of roads to say "Touch then" in recognition.
Where is the stranger headed, and when does he plan to act?
He is headed to the Marquis's château, about two leagues beyond the hill. He plans to act "to-night."
What change in the mender of roads' clothing signals his revolutionary allegiance?
He now wears a red cap in place of his former blue one—the red cap being the symbol of the Revolution.
Who is Monsieur Gabelle, and why is he significant?
Gabelle is the local tax collector and chief functionary. His name alludes to the gabelle (salt tax), one of the most hated taxes of the ancien régime. He becomes a target of the mob.
How many figures set fire to the château, and from which directions do they approach?
Four figures approach from East, West, North, and South, converging in the courtyard. Four lights break out and move in different directions before the fire begins.
What is the soldiers' response when asked to help save the burning château?
The officers look at the soldiers, who look at the fire. They give no orders and answer with shrugs: "It must burn."
How do the villagers react to the burning of the château?
The mender of roads and "two hundred and fifty particular friends" stand with folded arms watching. They then light candles in their windows in celebration and seize the church bell to ring it for joy.
What threat does the mender of roads make to Gabelle?
When Gabelle hesitates to lend candles, the mender of roads remarks "that carriages were good to make bonfires with, and that post-horses would roast."
What does the stone face with "two dints in the nose" represent?
It evokes the face of the cruel Marquis St. Evrémonde, appearing to burn at the stake as the château collapses—a symbolic punishment for aristocratic cruelty.
How does Gabelle survive the night?
He barricades his door, retreats to his rooftop behind his chimneys, and resolves to throw himself over the parapet if his door is broken in. At dawn the crowd disperses, and he comes down alive.
What does Dickens reveal is happening across France beyond this single village?
Within a hundred miles, other functionaries have been hanged in the streets, other villages attacked by soldiery, and the "four fierce figures" march steadily in all directions, spreading fire everywhere.
What is the meaning of the chapter title "Fire Rises"?
It refers both to the literal flames consuming the château and to the metaphorical rising of revolutionary anger that cannot be extinguished by any authority.
How does Dickens personify the château before the fire?
The wind shakes the trees as though they "threatened" the building; rain beats at the door "like a swift messenger rousing those within"; wind rushes through the hall among old spears and knives.
What does Dickens mean by saying the château "began to make itself strangely visible by some light of its own"?
The fire inside illuminates the château from within before bursting through the windows—as if the building itself is generating the light of its own destruction.
What does Dickens describe happening to the château's fountain during the fire?
"Molten lead and iron boiled in the marble basin of the fountain; the water ran dry"—the fountain that once symbolized the village's oppression is destroyed along with the château.
What imagery does Dickens use to describe the fire's wind?
"A red-hot wind, driving straight from the infernal regions, seemed to be blowing the edifice away"—connecting the fire to hellish punishment.
What is the closing image of Chapter 23?
The fierce figures march in all four directions, fire burns wherever they go, and "no functionary, by any stretch of mathematics, was able to calculate" a gallows tall enough to quench the flames.