After the sentencing of Darnay to death, Sidney Carton stops for a drink in the Defarge's wine shop. Once there, he listens in on a conversation between the Defarges, Jacques Three, and the Vengeance. As he listens in, Ernest Defarge seems to be trying to moderate the personal vendetta that Mrs. Defarge has for the Darnay. On the very bottom of page 352, the Defarges have just resumed their conversation.
"'Why stop? There is great force in that. Why stop?' 'Well, well,' reasoned Defarge, 'but one must stop somewhere. After all, the question is still where?'...'Extermination is good doctrine my wife,' said Defarge, rather troubled; 'in general, I say nothing against it. But this Doctor has suffered much; you have seen him to-day..."(353).
In this reading, we can see that Ernest Defarge has developed a conscious about how bloodthirsty the revolution has become. Although earlier in the book, he showed no help or pity to both Darnay and Manette, we can see that behind the scenes, he is trying to curtail the innocent loss of human life. In his mind he knows that the revolution has gone too far, and he wants to spare Darnay's family the pain of his loss. This might prove to be important for many reasons. For one, he might help the Manettes or even Darnay escape because of a guilty conscious. Another reason that this might prove important is because maybe he will try and stop Madame Defarge in the future. Another thing that this chapter shows us is why Madame Defarge is hellbent on destroying Darnay.
On page 354, she says that the story in Doctor Manettes letter told the story of her sister, her brother, and her family, and how they were destroyed by the Evremonde family. This adds a whole new meaning to her asking if Little Lucy was his child, and the menacing doom that lurked about her. As a result, it is not hard to think of her killing both Darnay, Lucy, Doctor Manette, and even Little Lucy, in a thirst for revenge that cannot be quenched.
