Madame Defarge: A Symbol of the French Revolution The French Revolution is a turning point in history and the beginning of modern democracy; however, it is a bloody conflict that disgusts and shocks the world. In 1789, the French Revolution began with the creation of the National Assembly and the storming of the Bastille. The goal of the revolution was to end the absolute, tyrannical rule of the current despot, Louis XVI, and establish the common rights of man, as the motto suggests, “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.” The early stages of the revolution are somewhat peaceful as it starts to change the government, but things changed quickly as the revolution became dark and violent. This next stage of the revolution is referred to as the “Reign …show more content…
In the absolute beginning of the book Dickens quite famously says, “[i]t was the worst of times, it was the best of times” (Dickens 3). This time in France is strange because the noblemen flourished and are immensely wealthy and enjoyed new ideas and technology while the rest of France is oppressed and is starving. Madame Defarge is the oppressed. When she is just a child, Madame Defarge’s family is murdered and abused by the Evrémondes. In a letter written by Doctor Manette, it is revealed that Doctor Manette is asked by two Evrémonde twins to help these two siblings that they just raped and mortally wounded. Manette talks to both patients and discovers that their whole family is killed by the Evrémondes and that they have one surviving little sister, later to be revealed as Madame Defarge. This reveals the sad backstory of Madame Defarge and the hatred that has been bubbling up inside of her of the Evrémondes. This oppression and sad story is commonplace in the France’s poor. They are held down by the aristocracy of the land that would get away with everything. This motivates the people of France and Madame Defarge to fight the aristocracy. Madame is, as the rest of France at the time, oppressed by the aristocracy. When Monsieur Marquis enters the scene, he kills a boy by hitting him with a carriage. Instead of apologizing, he tosses a coin as to repay the death. Monsieur the …show more content…
In the beginning of the book, Madame Defarge is a reserved character; she does not speak much and continues to knit, making her appear as a sweet old lady unaware of her surroundings. This is expressed when Lorry and Lucy both enter the wine shop for the first time and see Madame Defarge, Dickens describes her, “there was a character about [her] from which one might have predicted that she did not often make mistakes against herself in any of the reckonings over which she presided” (Dickens 31). She was reserved and was there only to knit, yet we later learn that she is quite involved in the revolution and holds extreme views for the republic. One of the ways she is involved and shows her dedication to the revolution is her knitting. Her knitting is a complex code of the targets of the revolution. She is involved in her husband’s work because as she hears her husband and the four Jacques speaks ill of the Marquis’ family, she quickly knits in the names of the Marquis and his family. This involvement demonstrates the involvement of the people and the devotion the people had to make a better France. Madame Defarge also holds the extreme views many held during the revolution. When Madame Defarge is talking to her husband about when the revolution is going to happen, she says, “[l]ook around and consider the lives of all the world that we know, consider the faces of