Breaking gender stereotypes in A Tale of Two Cities The men and women of A Tale of Two Cites are violent, loving, cowardly, courageous and ruthless. Some people are weak and spoiled, while others are mistreated and vindictive. In this story you can find many contrasts between men and women. A Tale of Two Cities clearly portrays very stark divisions in the behavior of men. The aristocrats, or upper classes, rule and control all of France. Members of the aristocracy must never suffer hardship; they always have everything presented on a silver platter. They do whatever they want without any respect for the farmers. On the other hand, farmers always have to work hard for everything in life. Because of the aristocracy, the peasants are constantly hungry, so much so that they drink wine spilled from a filthy street (24-26). They hate the wealthy people who created these horrible living conditions. This pushes the peasants to revolution and the beheading of the aristocrats by guillotine. They have a mob mentality and kill anyone they believe is the enemy. Neither the aristocrats nor the peasants show any compassion towards the other social class. Some men in A Tale of Two Cities contrast greatly. Sydney Carton is a drunk who works for a disliked lawyer. He has no family; he is "a disappointed slave who cares for no man on earth, and no man cares for him" (75). He is referred to as "the Jackal" who is needed in society, but not welcomed or wanted (77). Sydney loves Lucie Manette, but he is not... a paper... man. The oppressed male peasants band together to form a group of Jacques, or soldiers, to overthrow the aristocracy. The Jacqueses use The Defarge wine shop as a meeting place. Throughout the story, Madame Defarge is killing someone or knitting. She is always "sitting in her usual place in the tavern, knitting assiduously" (162). Her friends are as twisted as she is. His closest confidant is known as The Vengeance. Both Madame Defarge and Jacques fight to the end. In A Tale of Two Cities, all gender stereotypes are broken. Women can be ruthless killers and men can be passive cowards. La Guillotine is the only authority in Paris, it is fueled by a mass mentality that recognizes class distinctions, not gender.