Sydney Carton

Dissolute lawyer in love with a woman he believes himself unworthy of; trades places at the guillotine for her husband, his look-alike; goes to the blade saying it is a far, far better thing. Failure mode: A wasted life before the trade. Restoration path: Spend the wasted life in one decisive act for the one you cannot have. Markers: dissolute and self-loathing; love that cannot be returned; look-alike opportunity; trades self for the loved ones beloved; peace at the blade — Sydney Carton, Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (Literature)