Mme. Defarge indicates the more negative themes of the story by revealing her motives, utilizing the art of deception and keeping a suspenseful mood to the passage, which is all proven with the literary devices the author uses in this passage. The author uses imagery in the first paragraph to set an intriguing mood for the rest of the passage and for the upcoming passages as well. The diction in the first paragraph allows the reader to understand that it was just another day in the wine-shop, everything was following the habitual routines, and yet the choice of words indicates that something will happen later on. Secondly, the author uses characterization to further describe the mysterious mans’ appearance and his similarities with the spy
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Defarge and her motives, as it reveals her true colours. The context affirms that Mme. Defarge is covertly alive to whatever problem arises in her midst or whatever minor detail emerges that can assist her on her crusade. “…age about forty, height about five feet nine, black hair, generally handsome visage, complexion dark, eyes dark, thin, long and sallow face, aquiline nose but not straight, having a peculiar inclination towards the left cheek which imparts a sinister expression!” (Dickens 166) This portrait of the man was described to Mme. Defarge prior to the emergence of this conversation, hence leading Mme. Defarge to believe that the man in her shop was in fact the English spy. This furthers our judgement on Mme. Defarges’ character by introducing the more wicked aspect of her, as it promotes the sneaky, scary but intelligent wit of Mme. Defarge. This also extends the readers’ viewpoint on the plot, as it sketches a more accurate portrait of Mme. Defarge, which in turn can help understand the motives of the revolution and whatever occurs during the tragic event.
Overall, this passage implies important themes such as deceit and iniquity in France at the time. The spy tries to deceive Mme. Defarge about his identity, only to end in failure. On the contrary, Mme. Defarge was deceiving the spy with her use of the knitting machine, as no aristocrat has had knowledge of her plans or her true intention.
Defarge and her motives, as it reveals her true colours. The context affirms that Mme. Defarge is covertly alive to whatever problem arises in her midst or whatever minor detail emerges that can assist her on her crusade. “…age about forty, height about five feet nine, black hair, generally handsome visage, complexion dark, eyes dark, thin, long and sallow face, aquiline nose but not straight, having a peculiar inclination towards the left cheek which imparts a sinister expression!” (Dickens 166) This portrait of the man was described to Mme. Defarge prior to the emergence of this conversation, hence leading Mme. Defarge to believe that the man in her shop was in fact the English spy. This furthers our judgement on Mme. Defarges’ character by introducing the more wicked aspect of her, as it promotes the sneaky, scary but intelligent wit of Mme. Defarge. This also extends the readers’ viewpoint on the plot, as it sketches a more accurate portrait of Mme. Defarge, which in turn can help understand the motives of the revolution and whatever occurs during the tragic event.
Overall, this passage implies important themes such as deceit and iniquity in France at the time. The spy tries to deceive Mme. Defarge about his identity, only to end in failure. On the contrary, Mme. Defarge was deceiving the spy with her use of the knitting machine, as no aristocrat has had knowledge of her plans or her true intention.