Who Is Madame Defarge A Victim In A Tale Of Two Cities

Perhaps one of the most well known fictional villains of all time, Madame Defarge is bloodthirsty for revenge against the aristocracy. She demands retribution against the aristocracy since they murdered her entire family. Her character evolves from a quiet observer to one of the most important figures in the revolution. Throughout the novel “A Tale of Two Cities”, Madame Defarge starts off as a quiet woman knitting on the sidelines then she turns into a vicious villain seeking revenge.
At the beginning of the novel, Madame Defarge is portrayed as a victim of the oppressive aristocracy. In the initial chapters, Madame Defarge is depicted as a silent observer. She listens closely to the conversations and interactions that take place in the

In Chapter Five, when we first are introduced to the Defarges in the wine shop, while a conversation occured among Lucie, Lorry, and Monsieur Defarge, "Madame Defarge knitted with nimble fingers and steady eyebrows, and saw nothing" (Dickens, 29). Through the conversations occurring around her, Madame Defarge silently observes what is happening around her. This provides her with useful information about the aristocracy and helps her plot her revenge. Her silence is important; she uses it to gain her power. Constantly throughout the book, Madame Defarge is always spotted knitting. She observes the action going on around her while knitting the names of her future victims. Dickens emphasizes Madame Defarge’s poise nature as he describes her face saying," Madame Defarge ... knitting steadily, but the intelligence in her

Her relentless pursuit of vengeance is evident in her unwavering commitment to the revolutionaries' cause. In a conversation with Monsieur Defarge, Madame Defarge explains to him that, "Vengeance and retribution require a long time; it is the rule”(Dickens, 155). Her commitment to the cause explains her silence in the beginning of the novel because she knows that one day, what she has been overhearinng will be important to help her succeed. Her unwavering desire to get revenge against the Evrémonde family has made her slowly gather information. She knows that soon the information will be useful to aid the revolution and that the process to domination could take awhile. Throughout the end of the novel, Madame Defarge embodies the dark side of the revolution, driven by a thirst for bloodshed and retribution. Dickens illustrates this change through her interactions with Lucie Manette. The women known as Vengeance, and Madame Defarge meet with Lucie to discuss her future and to give her a letter from Darnay. Lucie pleads with Madame Defarge to show Darnay some mercy. Madame Defarge responds by saying “We have borne this a long time, said Madame Defarge…Judge you! Is it likely that the trouble of one wife and mother would be much to us now”(Dickens, 236). As Lucie pleads with Madame Defarge to free her husband, Madame Defarge