# Monsieur Defarge — A Tale of Two Cities character guide

> Monsieur Defarge in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Defarge, friend Defarge, Ernest Defarge

**First appearance:** 0007-v-the-wine-shop

## Snapshot

A Paris wine-shop keeper who pours cheap rouge by day and quietly assembles the Jacques by night, patient keeper of a ledger written in blood.

## Who they are

Defarge runs a squalid Saint-Antoine shop that doubles as the nerve-center of a revolutionary cell, and he is the one who once retrieved a broken shoemaker from the Bastille's shadow. He moves with a publican's ease but speaks in subdued tones when the door is shut, deferring to his wife's colder certainty while nursing his own long patience. His careful, methodical recruiting gives the coming storm a human face and a paper trail.

## In the story

### [Book the First: Recalled to Life](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/chapters/book-the-first-recalled-to-life)

Keeps Dr. Manette hidden in his garret and shows Mr. Lorry and Lucie to him, revealing his role in the Doctor's concealment.

### [The Wine-Shop](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/chapters/v-the-wine-shop)

The keeper of the wine-shop, who leads Lorry and Lucie to the garret, reveals that Dr. Manette is locked in, and explains his reasoning to Lorry in a whisper.

### [The Shoemaker](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/chapters/vi-the-shoemaker)

Leads the visitors to the garret and facilitates the reunion; helps arrange the escape from Paris.

### [VII: Monseigneur in Town](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/chapters/vii-monseigneur-in-town)

The wine vendor who comforts the grieving father Gaspard and receives a gold coin from the Marquis. He is a silent witness to the injustice.

### [Knitting](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/chapters/xv-knitting)

Returns with the mender of roads, leads him to the secret garret meeting, and confirms the registration of the Evrémonde château and race for extermination.

### [Still Knitting](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/chapters/xvi-still-knitting)

Returns with Madame Defarge, gathers intelligence from Jacques of the police, and admires his wife's strength.

### [The Sea Still Rises](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/chapters/xxii-the-sea-still-rises)

Brings news of Foulon's capture, leads the charge into the Hall of Examination, and declares the revolution has come.

### [I: In Secret](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/chapters/i-in-secret)

Conducts Darnay to the guardroom, identifies him as the emigrant Evrémonde, and delivers him to prison.

### [III: The Shadow](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/chapters/iii-the-shadow)

Delivers Doctor Manette's note to Mr. Lorry, leads the group to Lucie's lodging, and shows a reserved, mechanical manner that troubles Mr. Lorry.

### [Calm in Storm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/chapters/iv-calm-in-storm)

Identifies Doctor Manette at the Tribunal in La Force.

### [Triumph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/chapters/vi-triumph)

Stands beside Madame Defarge in the audience; both are waiting with determination, focused on the Jury.

### [The Game Made](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/chapters/ix-the-game-made)

Testifies about the imprisonment and release of Doctor Manette; one of the three denouncers.

### [X: The Substance of the Shadow](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/chapters/x-the-substance-of-the-shadow)

Implied to have kept the document secret until the opportune moment; present at the trial.

### [Darkness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/chapters/xii-darkness)

Defarge shows some hesitation regarding the Doctor's fate but ultimately defers to his wife's more radical stance.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/characters/monsieur_defarge
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tale_of_two_cities_se/characters