Mr. Lorry, the "man in brown" is a quiet, gentleman, meticulous in his dress as he sits at the inn, displaying his "brown stockings fitted sleek and close" much in contrast to the loud Mr. Stryver, who "shoulders his way through life." Unobtrusive, he is the consummate banker, who holds information in confidence and only deals with the facts, as he tells Lucie Manette when he meets her. As one of the "pair characters" of Dickens's novels, Mr. Lorry, like Dr. Manette, is a respectable, professional, older man. He and Dr. Manette are also significant as they advance the theme of Resurrection and Imprisonment/Death in the novel.
Mr. Lorry is significant in his protective role in Dickens's novel. He takes Lucie as an infant in England, rescues her father from France, and helps with the escape of his friends from Revolutionary France at the end of the novel. Although he is a bachelor, Mr. Lorry displays much affection for the Darnays, and acts often as an adviser to the family as in Chapter 19 he talks with Dr. Manette about his malady as though about another person so as not to disturb Manette. Humbly he asks the doctor,
'I am a mere man of business, and unfit to cope with such intricate and difficult matters....I do not possessthe kind of information necessary...I want guiding. There is no man in this world on whom I could so rely for right guidance, as on you. Tell me, how does this relapse come about?....Pray, discuss it with me; pray enable me to see it a little more clearly, and teachme how to be a little more useful.
Thus, in his quiet manner, Mr. Lorry aids Dr. Manette to break from his obsessive behavior of shoemaking in the night. In addition, he encourages Lucie to be brave when Charles is imprisoned. About this imprisonment he has some knowledge, since he has submitted himself for years to the dungeon-like environment of Tellson's Bank. Mr. Lorry, like Dr. Manette, has endures.
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