Madame Defarge Personifies Fate Anonymous College

Fate is the development of events beyond a person's control that is determined by a supernatural power. In literature, fate works mysteriously to bring about the rise and fall of characters, love, death, and conflict. This idea is a universal theme that appears in many of the greatest works of literature throughout the ages. It makes its appearance in one of Charles Dickens’s greatest works, A Tale of Two Cities, in the character of Madame Defarge. The Fates of Greek mythology may have used a magical string and scissors to determine the futures of the humans on earth, but Madame Defarge uses knitting needles and yarn to determine the fate of her victims. Her role in the book is to both provide foreshadowing and take action that moves the plot of the book along, all the while moving towards the fated climax of the French Revolution. In his work A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens uses the character of Madame Defarge to represent fate.

Madame Defarge uses a knitted register as a tool to control the fate of others. Her register is carefully knitted together with the names of those who will be future victims of the French Revolution. (Dickens 146). Those who could be considered a threat to her mission may have their name knitted...