Post Traumatic Stress Disorder In A Tale Of Two Cities

About 70% of adults in America have experienced a traumatic event. Around only 20% of them develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Dr. Manette from “A Tale of Two Cities” is one of those individuals. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a disorder that causes fight or flight reactions when faced by things related to the traumatic event. PTSD must consist of re-experiencing, avoidance, reactivity, and mood symptoms.

Dr. Alexandre Manette from “A Tale of Two Cities” shows significant signs of PTSD and it is highly likely that his imprisonment in the Bastille caused the disorder. This criticism on Dr. Manette is a psychoanalysis of PTSD. For this diagnosis to be true, he must show symptoms such as flashbacks, avoidance or emotional distress

This could be emotions like sadness, anger, fear, and/or feeling detached from reality. The dsmv5 puts it as “Feeling very emotionally upset when something reminded you of a stressful experience.” Dr. Manette often experiences emotional distress when even trying to discuss the topic of his imprisonment in the Bastille. “You have no idea how such an apprehension weighs on the sufferer’s mind, and how difficult - almost impossible - it is, for him to force himself to utter a word upon the topic that oppresses him” (Dickens 176). Manette expressed in this quote how undeniably difficult it is to tell the story of his imprisonment. Clearly this event inflicted everlasting trauma on him since he can barely even mention the topic. He also mentions how wearing it is to carry this trauma with him, like a weight he can’t get rid of. This connects back to the diagnosis because a true case of PTSD must have symptoms of emotional distress, which Dr. Manette clearly

Dr. Alexandre Manette displays high levels of avoiding his topic of trauma, which is also known as his imprisonment at the Bastille. This is avoiding discussion of the topic, certain objects or tasks, or just pretending the event never happened in the first place. According to the dsmv5, this could be “Trying to avoid thoughts, feelings, or physical sensations that reminded you of a stressful experience.” For the duration of “A Tale of Two Cities”, Dr. Manette has relapsed from the trauma he deals with from the Bastille. More than once, he has had memory loss of a span of days where all he does is make shoes, as he did in the Bastille. During one of Manette's relapses, Mr. Lorry was there to aid him. “He was not long in discovering that it was worse than useless to speak to him, since, on being pressed, he became worried. He abandoned that attempt on the first day, and resolved merely to keep himself always before him, as a silent protest against the delusion into which he had fallen, or was failing. He remained, therefore, in his seat near the window, reading and writing, and expressing in as many pleasant and natural ways as he could think of, that it was a free place” (Dickens 211). Dr. Manette was acting just as if he was back in the Bastille. He only spoke when he was asked to, ate what was given to him, and worked until after dark. “Nothing would induce him to speak more. He looked up, for an instant at