We know that France is in complete chaos during the time of this book and that everyone is
acting in ways they never imagined they ever would, but one person seems to stick out more so
than others. Madame Defarge. I think one of the biggest questions that has really occurred throughout most of the book is: What is wrong with Madame Defarge? At first, all she does is knit, but she comes off as sinister and unwelcoming. It makes me wonder whether something bad happened in her past, what grudges she has against some of the main characters in the book (such as Darnay and the Manettes), and overall, why she is so mean. One action of hers that seems very over dramatic occurs on page 229,
"...she remained immovable close to him when he was got near his destination, and began to be struck from behind; remained immovable close to him when the long-gathering rain of stabs and blows fell heavy; was so close to him when he dropped dead under it, that, suddenly animated, she put her foot upon his neck, and with her cruel knife- long ready- hewed off his head."
We know that every one is acting in a crazed way based on the word choice Dickens uses to describe the way the people were stabbing this man. However, Madame Defarge is the one who in a sense, "finishes him off," and she has no problem in doing so. It does not affect her one bit, which is actually kind of scary. Another thing about Madame Defarge that is somewhat off putting, is seen multiple times in book three, such as on page 330.
"In a dead silence and stillness- the prisoner under trial looking lovingly at his wife, his wife only looking from him to look with solicitude at her father, Doctor Manette keeping his eyes fixed on the reader, Madame Defarge never taking hers from the prisoner, Defarge never taking his from his feasting wife..."
We know two things about Madame Defarge from this passage: one, she has a strong desire for proving Darnay guilty and sending him to the guillotine, and two, her husband seems to be afraid of her. Often times throughout the story, he will look to his wife for permission of some sorts, which was not a common thing to see back then. Everything about Madame Defarge is eerie, but was she always this way? And if not, what brought about this hatred that she has for so many people? Dickens tends to answer all of our questions at some point throughout the book, but for now, we can only wonder.
