The Godmother

In chapter 16, I came to a realization about the small "organization" for the freedom of France. Basically, I realized who the real leader of the cause is, and that is Madame DeFarge. I had been trying to identify who truly ran the show in this organization and there has been a lot of evidence that supports that little old Madame DeFarge runs everything. I found this out mainly because of the typical protocol of the group. They believe in small assassinations of monarchs and aristocrats in order to bring down the French government. In order to decided and record who is next on the list, Madame DeFarge knits their name in a code that only she can read. She has literally all say in who dies and who lives. She clearly believes in the cause and is not deterred by murder. Not even in the mafia is one person given that much power. Maybe, the Godfather of the Mafia has a lot of say in how it goes, but the idea that the decision can ultimately only be made and recorded by one person is simply on heard of. One of my favorite movies is the Gangster movie Scarface. Madame DeFarge has always reminded me of the ruthless cocaine lord, Tony Montana. In the movie, Tony (aka Scarface) has literally all say in what happens next in his invasion on Miami. The movie is incredibly violent and shows that when a person who is dangerous, violent and unpredictable gets power, it takes an army to take him down. Madame has the entire organization in the palm of her hand and has the power to kill at any time. In chapter 16, Madame DeFarge is told by Monsieur that there is any enemy spy who is waiting to infiltrate their organization. She doesn't hesitate and says, "he should be registered". Monsieur says nothing accept for a quiet nod. In another great Gangster movie, The Untouchables, Al Capone is explaining his plan to take over the bootlegging of Chicago and a possible expansion. When one of his Generals politely objects to the idea, he bashes his head in with a baseball bat in front of everyone. I honestly think that Madame has more power over others around her than Dickens directly says. Monsieur doesn't even try to debate what she said, he doesn't question it. Perhaps because he completely agrees, or rather because he does not want to cause an impass with the real leader of the resistance.