Tale Of Two Cities

6. How does Defarge's part in getting Mr. Lorry and the Manettes out of Paris indicate his knowledge of the workings of the acienne regime?

At the beginning of the book, “A Tale of Two Cities,” author Charles Dickens opens the novel in the year 1775, showing a comparison between England and France stating that, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” (Dickens 3) it was the central idea of love and hatred; hope and pessimism. This line from the novel has great impact because it shows that there were issues in both countries such as the French Revolution. Charles Dickens the author of, “A Tale of Two Cities,” demonstrates the transformation of the main villain Madame Defarge to portray the feeling of lose in hope and turning to violence to resolve her tragedies. Madame Defarge is a significant character in this novel shown as a villain especially towards the Evremonde family. As the story unfolds she is described as a cold, heartless, mean woman but this is the description before her tragic story of her family is told.

The French Revolution was a movement from 1789 to 1799 that brought an end to the monarchy, including many lives. Although A Tale of Two Cities was published in 1859, it was set before and during the French Revolution and had over 200 million copies sold. The author, Charles Dickens, is known for being an excellent writer and displays several themes in his writings. Sacrifice is an offering of an animal or human life or material possession to another person. Dickens develops the theme of sacrifice throughout the story by the events that occurred involving Dr. Manette, Mr. Defarge, and Sydney Carton.

The literature that came out of the French Revolution often shares common themes of death, rebirth, and destruction. Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is much the same way. Throughout the novel, Dickens clearly supports the revolution but also depicts the brutality of the revolutionaries. Dickens uses powerful metaphors of a sea to symbolize the revolutionaries destroying old France and the belittling name of “Jacques” to depict the narcissistic views of the French aristocracy to show his support for the revolution.

The character Madame Defarge plays a role as one of the leading villains in Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, whose actions turn out to be one of the major causes of the French Revolution in the book. The main influence of Madame Defarge's hatred is fueled by a self-centered issue that was germinated by another family who happens to be aristocratic. In Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, Madame Defarge is justified in her hatred against the St. Evremonde family because her sister was raped and her brother was killed by the two patriarchs.

Standing up for one’s beliefs and actions is imperative in maintaining justice. After all, being pushed around and submissive to threats and pressures only exacerbates the situation. Madame Defarge in A Tale of Two Cities can smoothly be described in this position. She has gone through severe trauma in her childhood and has been pushed by the French aristocracy her whole life. Her thought of retaliation and vengeance is no surprise to the reader. In fact, her revenge extends to the Evremonde family line which includes Charles Darnay and his wife Lucie Manette. Although some might say her longing for revenge is intemperate, Charles Dickens proves in A Tale of Two Cities that Madame Defarge is justified in her extreme desire for revenge throughout the plot.

Madame Defarge is first introduced as a stern woman with a rather ominous habit of knitting, with no indication of her bloodthirsty habits. However, it is later noted that Madame Defarge is actually knitting the names of the victims of the Revolution, and we find out that she wants to eliminate the aristocracy because the Marquis and his brother raped her sister and stabbed and killed her brother-in-law. She eloquently describes her destroyed childhood to the Vengeance and her husband at the tavern.“Defarge, that sister of the mortally wounded boy upon the ground was my sister, that husband was my sister’s husband, that unborn child was their child, that father was my father, those dead are my dead, and that summons to answer for those things descends to me (346)”.

This is significant because Madame Defarge is eager to kill Darnay. Since Darnay is related to Marquis, she does not want any relations with him because Dr. Manette spent time in their wineshop. As a result, Madame Defarge is wise and creates a strategy when she finds conflict with Darnay. Because

Madame Defarge is a pivotal character in A Tale of Two Cities and throughout the revolution. She begins as a quiet character and later turns out to be cruel and antagonistic. She is angry because of the crimes committed against her family and uses that vengeance during the revolution against Charles, Lucie, and the aristocracy. She begins the novel knitting to help her alliances and later becomes obsessed with her revenge against Lucie and Charles and it ultimately leads to her demise.

“ A strong woman is a woman determined to do something others are determined not be done”(Piercy). The women in A Tale of Two Cities show this rare type of strength just being who they are. The author, Charles Dickens, creates them as individuals who break barriers with their masculine behavior. Each, in effect of their special qualities, are determined in all they do. Madame Defarge, is a sinister middle-aged woman who strikes fear in all from her keen brute. But due to this uncivilized aggression, she becomes a key-figure in the choreography of the French Revolution in the book. Miss Pross is Lucie’s house maiden, and is closer to her than anyone else. She goes out of her way to roughly and shaggily

“...Madame Defarge, still heading some of her women, is visible in the inner distance, and her knife is in her hand” (223). Madame Defarge is not afraid of the battle, and is never ap. Unlike a typical Victorian women, she knows what is happening and wants not only partake in the riot, but lead them. From these examples, on may notice the complexity of Madame Defarge and how she may differ from Lucie Manette, an ideal Victorian

The French Revolution mainly took place in the city of Paris during the late 1700’s. The Revolution did not only affect the people of France, but also the citizens of England as well. The French Revolution is known as one of the most brutal and inhumane periods of history. If one studied the beliefs and views of the people involved at the time, one would see a reoccurring theme of “ being recalled to life”. Born from the world of literature, Charles Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities takes a deeper look at the culture of the late 1700’s, in both England and France. Dickens uses the character of Lucie Manette to further examine one of the major themes presented in the novel, consisting of the belief of one being

However, her hatred for them is justifiable at first. The nobles treat the peasants horribly and show no remorse for doing so. But since Madame Defarge’s animosity towards the aristocrats continues to grow as the revolution progresses, her intense nature of hatred, once useful and respected, is now too vicious to justify. It mars her virtue and takes away any pity that she ever has. For this reason, her hatred is her character’s flaw. In the beginning of the book, Ernest Defarge and Madame Defarge are given the knowledge that their friend Dr. Manette’s daughter, Lucie Manette, has married a nobleman, Charles Darnay. Though Defarge asks his wife keep Darnay off of her register of people who are to be punished, she refuses. He is not too perturbed by this, as he does not believe the couple will be in France while the revolution goes on, and says of his wife: “ ‘A great woman,’ said he, ‘a strong woman, a grand woman, a frightfully grand woman!’ ”(II.16.188). Though Madame Defarge will not show mercy to Dr. Manette and his family, Defarge respects and admires her. But as the revolution rages on, Madame Defarge’s hatred grows and corrupts her. After the epoch of the revolution, she succeeds in placing Darnay in jail and sentencing him to death. She is still not satisfied. Now her dearest wish is to execute Lucie and her child as well, due

Throughout the course of the novel A Tale of Two Cities, numerous comparisons and contractions can be made between the main characters. The showcased women, Lucie Manette and Therese Defarge, differ exceedingly for their response to opposition but relate strongly for their definitive influence on others. Compassionate, humble, and raised as an orphan, Lucie Manette is depicted as a strong young woman who became a savior to her. Madame Defarge distinctly contradicts Lucie’s state of mind for she feeds off of revenge. The author, Charles Dickens, presents them in part to reflect the prevalent theme of resurrection, characterizing them through actions, attitudes, desires, and values. Breaking down their characteristics and relation to the

Madame Defarge appears to be a minor character in the beginning, but turns spiteful and deceiving in the end. Always knitting, Madame Defarge seemed to be a watchful woman: “Madame Defarge, his wife, sat in the shop behind the counter as he came in. Madame Defarge was a stout woman of about his own age, with a watchful eye that seldom seemed to look at anything, a large hand heavily ringed, a steady face, strong features, and great composure of manner” (Dickens 21). Of this description, one would not assume anything of the character. In the end, it is realized that the two that were killed by Charles’ uncle and father were her siblings, leaving her the remaining sibling to carry the rage and hurt left by the wrong-doings of Marquis Evremonde and his brother. She is a strong advocate for the French Revolution, as she has been knitting the names of those whom the rebels, under the name “Jacques”, planned to kill. Once it became apparent Charles was the descendant left to take the repercussions for his family, Madame Defarge plans to attack Lucie and her child due to the fact that they were associated with Charles and his family. Her plan of murder ultimately fails, and in turn, she ends up dying herself at the hand of her own bullet.