Miss Pross in A Tale of Two Cities

Who is Miss Pross?

Miss Pross is Lucie Manette’s stalwart companion and constant guardian in London and, briefly, in Paris. Practical, blunt, and unsentimental, she oversees household errands, shares night watches when Dr. Manette relapses, and keeps an ever-vigilant eye on every person who approaches Lucie. She provides comic relief with jealous proclamations about “hundreds” of suitors and steady moral muscle when crises arise. When political danger from France reaches the household, Miss Pross moves from watchful caretaker to active defender: she bars Madame Defarge from Lucie’s room, struggles with her to prevent access, and in the violent encounter disarms Madame Defarge and causes a pistol to fire, killing the revolutionary. The struggle leaves Miss Pross permanently deaf. Throughout the episodes recorded, she acts from fierce loyalty and common-sense courage to preserve Lucie’s safety and domestic peace, taking practical steps—staying up watches, running errands, confronting threats—that directly influence the family's security.

In the book: Miss Pross is Lucie Manette’s fiercely loyal companion and protector—practical, plainspoken, and unshakably devoted, forever calling Lucie “Ladybird.” She provides comic bluntness and moral backbone, embodying steadfast English common sense and courage, and her unwavering vigilance plays a key role in safeguarding the Manette family as political dangers rise.

Personality

Loyal

She calls Lucie “Ladybird,” keeps constant watch at the Doctor’s side during his relapse, and refuses to reveal whether the family is inside when Madame Defarge demands admission.

Practical

She performs errands, helps Mr. Lorry conceal the Doctor’s relapse, and arranges household subterfuges to preserve Lucie’s happiness.

Plainspoken

She bluntly complains that “hundreds” of people turn up to look after Lucie and speaks without affect in tense encounters.

Courageous

She grapples physically with Madame Defarge to bar her entry and seizes the woman’s pistol and dagger during the struggle.

Self-sacrificing

After the fatal struggle she flees with the bonnet and key, then discovers she has been struck deaf by the pistol blast.

Character arc

Miss Pross enters the narrative as Lucie’s comic, blunt, and fiercely devoted attendant—jealously guarding her charge with loud protests and practical service. In the peaceful domestic chapters she is mostly a ready presence: making errands, taking night watches with Mr. Lorry, and helping to conceal the Doctor’s relapse to spare Lucie distress. As political danger encroaches from France she shifts from guardian to active defender. In Paris she moves beyond errands into direct action—denying Madame Defarge entrance to Lucie’s lodging and physically resisting her. That resistance culminates in a life-or-death struggle during which Miss Pross disarms Madame Defarge and the pistol discharges, killing the revolutionary. The encounter removes Miss Pross’s hearing and forces her to abandon ordinary speech as a tool, but it secures Lucie’s safety. Her arc is thus consistent rather than transformative in temperament—her basic loyalty and courage are present from the start—but it deepens from everyday vigilance to a sacrificial, violent defense that exacts a permanent personal cost.

Relationships

• Lucie Manette Devoted companion, protector, and constant attendant who calls her “Ladybird.”
• Dr. Manette Watchful caregiver who shares night watches with him during his relapse and helps conceal his condition for Lucie’s sake.
• Jarvis Lorry Trusted colleague in protecting the family; he and she coordinate subterfuges and watches.
• Charles Darnay Member of the household she protects and whose safety she helps secure by keeping the family hidden and resisting attackers.
• Madame Defarge Hostile antagonist whom Miss Pross physically confronts to prevent her access to Lucie, resulting in Madame Defarge’s death.
• Jerry Cruncher Cooperative assistant who accompanies her on errands and helps arrange the family’s escape.

Quotes by Miss Pross

“There never was, nor will be, but one man worthy of Ladybird," said Miss Pross; "and that was my brother Solomon, if he hadn’t made a mistake in life.”

Chapter 6Miss Pross declares her fierce loyalty to Lucie and professes a single, idealized 'worthy' man in her life—illustrating her jealousy and devotion.

“Sometimes, he gets up in the dead of the night, and will be heard, by us overhead there, walking up and down, walking up and down, in his room.”

Chapter 6Miss Pross describes Dr. Manette’s nocturnal pacing, a repeated phrase that emphasizes his restless, haunted state and the household’s quiet vigilance.

“I feel," said Miss Pross, "as if there had been a flash and a crash, and that crash was the last thing I should ever hear in this life.”

Chapter 14After the pistol discharges and Madame Defarge falls, Miss Pross describes her altered perception and the traumatic silence that follows, marking irreversible personal loss.

Why Miss Pross matters

Miss Pross embodies steadfast, commonsense loyalty and the protective English domestic ideal set against revolutionary violence. Her practical courage and refusal to yield to threat dramatize the novel’s contrast between private devotion and public fanaticism. By directly confronting Madame Defarge and paying a permanent personal cost (deafness) to preserve Lucie’s safety, Miss Pross underlines themes of sacrifice, the moral worth of everyday fidelity, and the domestic sphere’s vulnerable but resilient defense against political hatred.

Chapters with Miss Pross

• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 17
• Chapter 18
• Chapter 19
• Chapter 20
• Chapter 21
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 14

More A Tale of Two Cities characters

• Dr. ManetteMajor character
• Lucie ManetteMajor character
• Jarvis LorryMajor character
• Charles DarnayProtagonist
• Ernest DefargeMajor character
• Madame DefargeAntagonist
• Sydney CartonProtagonist
• Jerry CruncherMajor character