What Are Some Important Quotes From Madame Defarge?

Madame Defarge’s most renowned line from “A Tale of Two Cities” is found in Book III, Chapter 12: “Then tell Wind and Fire where to stop, but don’t tell me.” Madame Defarge is a key figure in the Reign of Terror when the French Revolution breaks out.

Madame Defarge lost her entire family as a youngster, and the resulting fury and sadness make her a fearsome adversary in the novel. She seeks vengeance not just against the d’Aulnais family, who caused the death of her family, but also against the entire French noble elite. While she is patient and bides her time until the opportunity for revenge presents itself, she is anything from tranquil once it does. The manner in which she supervises Charles Darnay’s re-arrest displays her cunning and brutality. As she laboriously knits the names of each of her adversaries, her knitting is a representation of her patience and rage.

When the French monarch brings in foreign troops to fight the rebels in Paris, Madame Defarge makes a sage observation about the ineffectiveness of such a strategy: “The starving people of Paris might wait a long time before rising up against French soldiers, but against hired, foreign troops… any day… any hour,” highlighting the precarious situation in the French capital.

When Miss Pross encounters Madame Defarge, who is searching for Charles’ wife and kid, Madame Defarge attempts to frighten her by stating, “Pig, get out of my way or I’ll break you to pieces.” Miss Pross is unfazed, and she intends to put up a fight long enough for the two fugitives to escape the Revolution.