Monsieur+Defarge

Monsieur Defarge begins the novel as a poor wine shop owner in Saint Antoine, a poor section of Paris. He and his wife, Madame Defarge are revolutionaries and their wine shop proves to be an important “home base” for the revolutionaries, called “Jacques” by one another. They seem to have a special hatred for Darnay because of his family in his “past life,” the Evremonde’s. Even thought Darnay has left that life behind, the Defarges do not seem to forgive him and go after him and his wife, as well as their new child. Novelguide.com calls the Defarges “instrumental in bringing the revolution to fruition and pursuing its bloody aims.” Monsieur Defarge seems to have a hold on the townspeople and in some ways acts as their main leader, as Dickens shows through this quote: "Not dead! He feared us so much- and with reason- that he caused himslef to be represented as dead, and had a grand mock funeral. But they have found him alive, hiding in the country, and have brought him in. I have seen him but now, on his way to Hotel de Ville, a prisoner. I have said that he had reason to fear us. Say all! Had he reason?" Although, Defarge is shown to have a soft spot for Dr. Manette, as he was his former servant before the doctor was imprisoned.

Throughout the novel, Monsieur Defarge and his wife carry with them the motif of shadows and darkness, symbolizing the darkness of the revolution and the awful acts involved in it. Whenever they are around Darnay or Lucie, the shadows seem to be especially dark. Dickens makes sure to emphasize the lack of light in order to portray to readers just how internally dark the Defarges really are. In Book 3 Chapter 3, Dickens writes "But the shadow of the manner of these Defarges was dark upon himslef, for an that, and in his secret mind it troubled him greatly." which further continues the comparison to shadows and darkness. He seems to have an extremely determined, yet very violent and tough mindset.

Monsieur Defarge remained an essential part of the plot throughout the whole novel. His dark presence and power of violence make him a character that readers love to hate. However, his soft spot when it comes to Dr. Manette make him more human than he may seem at times when it comes to his violence and lack of empathy.