The Jacquerie is the group of revolutionaries that regularly meet in Defarge’s wine shop. They are each identified with the name “Jacque” along with a number (Defarge is Jacque Four). This preserves their secrecy, protecting them from arrest for the treason they are planning to commit. They have agreements to observe the monarchs as they pass, so that as a dog learns what his prey is, they will know who their enemies are. They are warned of the presence of a spy (John Barsad) when Madame Defarge wears a rose in her turban.

When the revolution comes, they become part of the larger mob that kills all those associated with the nobility and clerics. They are joined by women revolutionaries, such as Madame Defarge and the Vengeance, who are just as cruel and violent (perhaps more) than are the men.  Defarge does feel some hesitancy in the cruelty he will have to commit to Doctor Manette and Lucie, but his greater passion for the “liberty, equality, fraternity” overrides this compassion. Still, it is his wife, Madame Defarge, who eventually plans to kill Lucie and her daughter.