"Then tell Wind and Fire where to stop...but don't tell me," (392)
Madame Defarge
Madame Defarge is one of the strongest and most memorable Dickens characters. She is a force to reckon with.
Madame runs a wine shop with her husband in Saint Antoine, France. This particular wine shop is the center of the Revolution. Madame Defarge is seen to be knitting all the time; she's knitting a record of who would be destroyed during the Revolution. Readers don't learn about Madame Defarge's background until the end of the novel; it isn't known why she hates the aristocrats so much. Dickens reveals that Madame Defarge's sister was raped by the Marquis St. Evremonde, her father died of grief, and her brother was killed while trying to avenge his sister. So it's really understandable why she hates the aristocrats so much. People who suffer that much pain can become either compassionate, or angry; take a gander at what Madame Defarge became.
She became a ruthless monster. Readers can't sympathize with her at this point because of the horrible acts that she has committed. She is the face of the Revolution. She chooses who goes and who stays, and she puts it on record in her knitting. Because of her sister's rape by the Marquis St. Evremonde, Charles Darnay is certainly at the top of her knitting record of who dies. She believes the entire Evremonde family should be exterminated, including Lucie and little Lucie. When Madame Defarge and Lucie meet for the first time, Lucie throws herself on her knees before Madame, begging and pleading for her to help Charles, who is in prison at La Force. Madame Defarge responds with a cold, hard look and continues knitting. She doesn't care who is affected by the death of the aristocrats. If she had it her way, Lucie and little Lucie would die too: "It was nothing to her, that an innocent man was to die for the sins of his forefathers; she saw, not him, but them. it was nothing to her, that his wife was to be made a widow and his daughter an orphan; that was insufficient punishment, because they were her natural enemies and her prey, and as such had no right to live. To appeal to her, was made hopeless by her having no sense of pity, even for herself," (3.14.413). Madame Defarge wants the extermination of all aristocrats and their families; no lines of upper class blood should be left.
SPOILER ALERT
Madame Defarge is killed in a fight by Miss Pross, Lucie's devoted guardian. It is ironic that Lucie's protector, another force to be reckoned with, kills Madame with a shot from her own gun. In essence, what goes around comes around. She sowed the seeds of her own destruction. Miss Pross fought for Lucie out of love and protection, while Madame fought out of hatred. In the end, love triumphed over evil.
Monsieur Defarge
Mr. Ernest Defarge is a true revolutionary at its finest. He is not acting out of revenge and hatred; rather, he is truly disgusted by what the aristocrats are doing to the peasants. His wife is also sadistic and Satanic.
Monsieur Defarge served Dr. Manette when he was younger. He was present when Dr. Manette refused to accept the bribe from the Marquis and witnessed him be imprisoned. This experience fueled his hatred for the aristocracy, which was exemplified when Monseigneur ran over a little peasant boy in town. Defarge was present, and watched Monseigneur toss a coin at the boy's grieving father. Monsieur Defarge threw the coin right back at Monseigneur; he knew that a single coin would not make up for the death of a young boy. After decades of oppression, Monsieur Defarge heads the storming of the Bastille.
Madame Defarge believes that her husband is not an effective revolutionary; of course, by her sadistic standards, who is? But she has a valid point. Monsieur Defarge produced the letter that Doctor Manette wrote while he was imprisoned that stated the Marquis St. Evremonde did that to him; however, he would not allow for Lucie and little Lucie to be killed. He loves and is loyal to Dr. Manette, so why would he want to kill his daughter and granddaughter and send him spiraling out of control again? Monsieur Defarge is hyper-focused on the individuals that he cares about getting hurt that he's missing out on the big picture of destroying the aristocrats to gain rights. Madame Defarge is all gung-ho about the killing, so next to her, he looks completely inadequate as a revolutionary.
Madame Defarge is one of the strongest and most memorable Dickens characters. She is a force to reckon with.
Madame runs a wine shop with her husband in Saint Antoine, France. This particular wine shop is the center of the Revolution. Madame Defarge is seen to be knitting all the time; she's knitting a record of who would be destroyed during the Revolution. Readers don't learn about Madame Defarge's background until the end of the novel; it isn't known why she hates the aristocrats so much. Dickens reveals that Madame Defarge's sister was raped by the Marquis St. Evremonde, her father died of grief, and her brother was killed while trying to avenge his sister. So it's really understandable why she hates the aristocrats so much. People who suffer that much pain can become either compassionate, or angry; take a gander at what Madame Defarge became.
She became a ruthless monster. Readers can't sympathize with her at this point because of the horrible acts that she has committed. She is the face of the Revolution. She chooses who goes and who stays, and she puts it on record in her knitting. Because of her sister's rape by the Marquis St. Evremonde, Charles Darnay is certainly at the top of her knitting record of who dies. She believes the entire Evremonde family should be exterminated, including Lucie and little Lucie. When Madame Defarge and Lucie meet for the first time, Lucie throws herself on her knees before Madame, begging and pleading for her to help Charles, who is in prison at La Force. Madame Defarge responds with a cold, hard look and continues knitting. She doesn't care who is affected by the death of the aristocrats. If she had it her way, Lucie and little Lucie would die too: "It was nothing to her, that an innocent man was to die for the sins of his forefathers; she saw, not him, but them. it was nothing to her, that his wife was to be made a widow and his daughter an orphan; that was insufficient punishment, because they were her natural enemies and her prey, and as such had no right to live. To appeal to her, was made hopeless by her having no sense of pity, even for herself," (3.14.413). Madame Defarge wants the extermination of all aristocrats and their families; no lines of upper class blood should be left.
SPOILER ALERT
Madame Defarge is killed in a fight by Miss Pross, Lucie's devoted guardian. It is ironic that Lucie's protector, another force to be reckoned with, kills Madame with a shot from her own gun. In essence, what goes around comes around. She sowed the seeds of her own destruction. Miss Pross fought for Lucie out of love and protection, while Madame fought out of hatred. In the end, love triumphed over evil.
Monsieur Defarge
Mr. Ernest Defarge is a true revolutionary at its finest. He is not acting out of revenge and hatred; rather, he is truly disgusted by what the aristocrats are doing to the peasants. His wife is also sadistic and Satanic.
Monsieur Defarge served Dr. Manette when he was younger. He was present when Dr. Manette refused to accept the bribe from the Marquis and witnessed him be imprisoned. This experience fueled his hatred for the aristocracy, which was exemplified when Monseigneur ran over a little peasant boy in town. Defarge was present, and watched Monseigneur toss a coin at the boy's grieving father. Monsieur Defarge threw the coin right back at Monseigneur; he knew that a single coin would not make up for the death of a young boy. After decades of oppression, Monsieur Defarge heads the storming of the Bastille.
Madame Defarge believes that her husband is not an effective revolutionary; of course, by her sadistic standards, who is? But she has a valid point. Monsieur Defarge produced the letter that Doctor Manette wrote while he was imprisoned that stated the Marquis St. Evremonde did that to him; however, he would not allow for Lucie and little Lucie to be killed. He loves and is loyal to Dr. Manette, so why would he want to kill his daughter and granddaughter and send him spiraling out of control again? Monsieur Defarge is hyper-focused on the individuals that he cares about getting hurt that he's missing out on the big picture of destroying the aristocrats to gain rights. Madame Defarge is all gung-ho about the killing, so next to her, he looks completely inadequate as a revolutionary.