A Tale of Two Cities Lesson Plan

What do the reader learn about Madame Defarge's background in Book III, Chapters 10 and 12? What does this information and her subsequent actions reveal about her character?

In Chapter 10, Dr. Manette's letter of many years before is read aloud during Charles Darnay's second trial. In this letter, written during Manette's imprisonment in the Bastille, he tells a horrific story of egregious abuse and violence at the hands of the patriarch of the Evrémonde family. Also knowing that Charles Darnay is the son of this horribly immoral aristocrat, we can see the writing on the wall for the verdict in his trial, especially in a France that has become so bloodthirsty and...