A wine cask has broken, and people are rushing to drink the spilled contents. Everyone is playful, enjoying the camaraderie. As soon as the wine runs out, they return to whatever they had been doing. The wine looks like blood on the street and on people’s skin. Hunger is prevalent here.
The wine shopkeeper yells at a joker who is writing on the wall. After erasing the graffiti, he returns inside. His wife indicates some new customers. He talks to old customers about the incident that occurred outside and the hardships of the poor.
Jacques goes up to the new customers and talks with them. He leads them out the back into a courtyard. He takes them upstairs to a room where he is keeping the child of his former master. He tells Lorry he should start slowly. The man in the room is greatly changed.
The air is bad from the refuse. Defarge says he leaves the man alone in the room and locks it behind him. He is afraid the man would harm himself otherwise. Miss Manette is becoming more upset and anxious. Jarvis Lorry tells her to keep her courage up—the worst is almost over.
They encounter three men at the top. Lorry is angry that Defarge shows the man to other people. Defarge says he only shows a select few—real men to whom the sight is likely to be good for them.
Defarge knocks, unlocks the door, and enters. He calls to them waiting on the landing to come inside. Miss Manette is afraid to see “it.” Mr. Lorry ushers her inside, though she clings to him. Defarge locks the door behind them. Inside the room, there is a haggard, white-haired man making shoes.