Sydney Carton utters “It is a far, far better thing that I do” in A Tale of Two Cities. The line appears at the novel’s climax, when Carton prepares to sacrifice himself so that Charles Darnay can escape execution.
Carton is an English barrister who is intelligent but disillusioned, alcoholic, and bitter about what he sees as a wasted life. He strongly resembles Darnay, a resemblance that becomes crucial after Darnay is imprisoned during the French Revolution. Carton uses that physical similarity to exchange places with him in prison.
Carton’s sacrifice is motivated by his love for Lucie Manette, who loves Darnay and has married him. By taking Darnay’s place at the guillotine, Carton saves Lucie’s husband and allows her family to flee France. The quotation is often remembered as a general statement about self-sacrifice, but in Dickens’s novel it specifically marks Carton’s final act of redemption.