For those of you who have never read Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities or have never seen any of the movies versions, one of the central characters in the book is the bitter, vengeful woman, Madame Defarge, who has made it her life's work to bring all the "aristos" to justice on the guillotine. She takes advantage of the madness that the revolution has unleashed to take revenge on those whom she believes personally had abused and slighted her. Her guise as the loyal "citizen" of France allows her to spread rumors and lies about her "enemies" leading to their eventual arrest, trial, and public execution.
"As the novel progresses, Madame Defarge moves from a relatively passive position, we first see her knitting in the wine shop she owns with her husband, to a much more active place. It is this devious needlework that often gives people the chills when they first meet her character. The reader later finds that Madame is knitting the names of all those who will be guillotined or charged with crimes in the coming Revolution."
"In the end, Madame Defarge is defeated by the thing she lacks most, love of others."
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