Plot Summary
Chapter 14 of A Tale of Two Cities opens as the fifty-two condemned prisoners await execution. Madame Defarge holds a secret council with Jacques Three and The Vengeance in the wood-sawyer's shed, plotting to denounce Lucie Manette, little Lucie, and Doctor Manette. She reveals that her husband has grown too sympathetic toward the Doctor, and she can no longer trust him with her plans. The wood-sawyer is recruited as a false witness, prepared to testify that Lucie signaled to the prisoners during her daily vigils beneath Darnay's prison window. Jacques Three, a member of the Revolutionary Jury, assures Madame Defarge that the verdict is already guaranteed.
Madame Defarge Unmasked
pauses the action to offer a chilling portrait of Madame Defarge. She is described as a woman "absolutely without pity," one who sees not an innocent man condemned for his ancestors' crimes but only the hated Evremonde bloodline that must be exterminated. Armed with a loaded pistol in her bosom and a sharpened dagger at her waist, she sets out for the Manette lodging, intending to catch Lucie in a state of grief that can be used as evidence of disloyalty to the Republic.
Miss Pross and Jerry Cruncher
Meanwhile, Miss Pross and Jerry Cruncher are preparing to leave Paris as part of the escape plan arranged by Mr. Lorry. Cruncher, shaken by the danger, makes solemn vows to reform his life—promising to stop his grave-robbing and to cease interfering with his wife's prayers. Miss Pross sends him ahead to secure the carriage, arranging to meet at the cathedral door at three o'clock.
The Confrontation
Left alone, Miss Pross encounters Madame Defarge in the deserted lodging. Though neither woman understands the other's language, both recognize the mortal stakes instantly. Miss Pross blocks the door to Lucie's chamber while Madame Defarge demands entry. The confrontation escalates into a physical struggle. writes that Miss Pross fights with "the vigorous tenacity of love, always so much stronger than hate." As Madame Defarge reaches for her concealed pistol, Miss Pross strikes at it. The gun discharges, killing Madame Defarge instantly. Miss Pross is permanently deafened by the blast.
Themes and Significance
The chapter's title—"The Knitting Done"—carries a powerful double meaning. Madame Defarge's knitting, which throughout the novel has served as a coded death register, is literally finished: she will never knit again. The confrontation between Miss Pross and Madame Defarge dramatizes the novel's central theme that love is stronger than hate. Miss Pross, who has "never struck a blow in her life," defeats the fearsome revolutionary through sheer devotion to Lucie. The chapter also fulfills 's moral argument that revolutionary violence ultimately consumes its own practitioners.