# The Sea Still Rises explained — A Tale of Two Cities > Chapter companion for A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. ## What happens In the aftermath of the storming of the Bastille, Saint Antoine is transformed by a newfound sense of power. Madame Defarge presides over her wine-shop as the people, driven by hunger and rage, capture and brutally execute the hated Foulon, who once told the starving to eat grass. The mob's fury continues as they also seize Foulon's son-in-law, parading their victims' heads on pikes. The chapter ends with the Defarges acknowledging that the revolution has truly begun, though Madame Defarge notes it is 'almost' complete. ## Themes in this chapter ### Social Injustice and Revolution The chapter vividly depicts the uprising of the starving masses against the aristocracy, embodied by Foulon's torture and execution. ### Vengeance vs. Justice The mob's brutal revenge on Foulon blurs the line between righteous justice and savage vengeance, as women swear oaths to avenge their dead children. ### Resurrection and Renewal Foulon's 'resurrection' from his feigned death leads to his actual death, and Saint Antoine's violent renewal through revolution is portrayed as a dark rebirth. ## Character check-ins ### Madame Defarge Presides over her wine-shop, orchestrates the mob's fury, and personally participates in Foulon's capture and execution. ### Monsieur Defarge Brings news of Foulon's capture, leads the charge into the Hall of Examination, and declares the revolution has come. ### The Vengeance Acts as Madame Defarge's lieutenant, beats the drum, and rouses the women of Saint Antoine to frenzy. ### Jacques Jacques Three is among the first press in the Hall of Examination, participating in the mob's actions. ### Foulon The hated official who told the starving to eat grass; captured, tortured, and executed by the mob. ## Key lines > Haggard Saint Antoine had had only one exultant week, in which to soften his modicum of hard and bitter bread to such extent as he could, with the relish of fraternal embraces and congratulations The starving people of Saint Antoine had enjoyed just one week of celebration, during which they could make their meager bread more palatable with the warmth of brotherly hugs and congratulations. _Sets the scene of brief joy after the Bastille's fall, before the next wave of violence._ > The fingers of the knitting women were vicious, with the experience that they could tear. The women who knitted had fingers that were now cruel, knowing they could rip and destroy. _Highlights the transformation of ordinary women into instruments of revolutionary violence._ > Villain Foulon taken, my sister! Old Foulon taken, my mother! Miscreant Foulon taken, my daughter! The villain Foulon has been captured, my sister! Old Foulon captured, my mother! The wicked Foulon captured, my daughter! _The women's cries spread the news of Foulon's capture through familial bonds, intensifying the mob's frenzy._ > At last it is come, my dear! Finally, it has arrived, my dear! _Defarge's husky declaration that the revolution has truly begun, though Madame Defarge tempers it with 'Almost.'_ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/chapters/xxii-the-sea-still-rises - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/chapters