80 pages • 2 hours read
Victor HugoLes Miserables
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1862A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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BetaPart 2, Books 1-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 2, Book 1 Summary: "Waterloo"
Napoleon Bonaparte and his French army were defeated in June 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo. The narrator claims to have witnessed the battle firsthand. They criticize the dominant historical narrative of the battle, which is largely constructed from the British perspective of events. The narrator hopes to correct the record, praising the French army and the commander whom they revered with an almost-religious devotion. The brilliant French, the narrator adds, were the victim of bad weather and, as such, "a few drops of water more of less decided Napoleon's fate" (245). The French possessed more artillery, but the sudden outbreak of a storm delayed the battle and allowed Prussian reinforcements to aid the British. The battle was decided by these "immense quirks of fate" (262). The real winners of the Battle of Waterloo, according to the narrator, were the individuals such as Pierre Cambronne, a commander in Napoleon’s army who defiantly stood up for his beliefs. When prompted to surrender by the British, Cambronne replied, “Merde!”—which in that context translates to “Go to hell!” The narrator views Waterloo as "a lottery won by Europe at France's expense" (268), which countered the progress made by the French Revolution and returned the balance of power to the European monarchies.
The narrator describes how, in the aftermath of the battle, unscrupulous "sneak thieves" (274) prowled the battlefield and looted the dead bodies, even though the victorious British commanders ordered any thieves to be executed. In one incident, a looter drags a lifeless body from beneath a pile of corpses. The officer is not dead, but the looter searches his pockets, nevertheless. The officer thanks the looter and welcomes him to take what he wants, though the looter pretends that he has not already helped himself. He weakly asks the looter for his name. The looter reveals that he is Thénardier. The officer, a man named Pontmercy, thanks Thénardier and promises that he will not forget the name of the man who saved his life.
Part 2, Book 2 Summary: "The Ship Orion"
The narrator provides newspaper articles that relate the brief escape of Jean Valjean. After his escape, Valjean was able to recover 600,000 francs. He buried his money in an unknown location before he was recaptured. A man in Montfermeil claimed to have seen a man disappear into the local woods with a shovel and a box. As a result of this and other rumors, a desperate and unsuccessful search for Valjean's fortune has ensued.
By October 1823, Valjean has been sent back to the notorious prison of Bagne of Toulon. There, he is forced to work alongside the other convicts. They are ordered to repair a warship that has returned to port. During the repairs, a sailor slips and falls. He becomes tangled in the ropes. Although the man seems sure to die, Valjean asks permission to mount a rescue attempt. Permission is granted, and Valjean shatters "the chain riveted to the shackle around his ankle" (286). With the aid of his tremendous strength, Valjean rescues the man. His fellow prisoners call for the guards to release him as a reward for his bravery. Amid the confusion, Valjean falls into the sea "without causing a ripple" (287). Boats are sent to search for the prisoner, but he is declared missing and presumed dead.
Part 2, Book 3 Summary: "A Deathbed Promise Is Honored"
On Christmas Eve in 1823, a month after the apparent death of Jean Valjean, Cosette is working at the Thénardiers' inn where they have "treated her as a servant" (288). She is eight years old and frequently abused by her adoptive family. They frequently mock her deceased mother, barely feed her, and beat her for their pleasure. At the same time, the Thénardiers spoil their own daughters, Eponine and Azelma. The family's son Gavroche is neglected nearly as badly as Cosette. Monsieur Thénardier is "a small, skinny, sallow-faced man" (290) who is obsessed with money, so Gavroche is a needless expense for him. Madame Thénardier is just as cruel and spiteful as her husband, helping him swindle as many customers as possible, and he controls her "by a kind of invisible and constant magnetic power" (292). Cosette is caught in their "paradigm of oppression" (293).
Cosette is sent to fetch a bucket of water from the well. The small girl carries a bucket that "she could have sat inside" (294) with her through the cold night. As she walks along the street, she stops to stare at a beautiful doll in the window of an expensive shop. Cosette struggles to carry the bucket of water back through winding, empty streets." She stops to rest frequently, and, as if in answer to her prayers, a "huge black figure" (299) of a man appears and offers to help her. They return to the inn.
The helpful stranger is Jean Valjean. He books a room at the inn, where the Thénardiers overcharge him, and carefully scrutinizes the innkeepers as they swindle, scheme, and steal from their patrons. He is appalled by the way the Thénardiers treat Cosette, and he tries to convince them to be nice to her in lieu of the festive season. While Valjean watches, the Thénardier children play with a doll while treating Cosette "like the dog" (308). When Cosette tries to play, Madame Thénardier is furious that the girl "has dared to touch the children's doll" (311). Valjean steps out of the inn and purchases the doll which earlier enthralled Cosette in the shop window. Reluctantly, she accepts the gift. Realizing that their guest may be rich, the Thénardiers conspire to fleece the guest of as much money as possible. The next day, Valjean asks the Thénardiers to allow him to take Cosette away. In an attempt to fetch the highest possible price for Cosette, Monsieur Thénardier insists that he is "soft-hearted" (319) and loves the young girl. Valjean pays the demanded sum of 1,500 francs to take her away from "that hated and hateful house" (321). As he walks away with Cosette, Thénardier pursues them. He tries to extract more money from Valjean. Despite his desperate demands, however, Valjean refuses and presents the note from Fantine—written on her deathbed—that instructs Thénardier to "hand over Cosette to this person" (323). Valjean's sinister expression and sheer size tell Thénardier not to press the matter further. As the narrator explains, Jean Valjean faked his drowning and escaped prison. He has reestablished himself under a new identity and followed through on his promise to Fantine to save her child. Cosette feels safe enough to fall asleep on Valjean's shoulder.
Part 2, Book 4 Summary: "The Gorbeau Tenement"
Jean Valjean and Cosette move into Gorbeau House in Paris. The tenement is falling apart, and it is located in a neighborhood with a bad reputation. Valjean, now aged 55 and alone, feels a new "dawn of love" (331) in his life due to Cosette's presence. As well as telling people that she is his granddaughter, he becomes her tutor. He teaches her to read, and together they take long walks through the parks of Paris. The housekeeper notices that her employer has the strange habit of keeping a "one-thousand-franc banknote" (334) sewed into the lining of his shabby clothes. Despite this strange behavior, Valjean has a reputation for charity. Whatever money he has, he gives to beggars, so that he becomes known as "the beggar who gives alms to the poor" (334). During one such act of charity, Valjean is surprised to discover that the man to whom he has handed money is not actually a beggar but seems to be Javert in disguise. Javert suspects that Valjean did not drown while in prison and has sought out the so-called beggar who gives alms to the poor. Valjean stays up all night, convinced that Javert is snooping around his home. When a mysterious new lodger named Dumont arrives at Gorbeau House, Valjean decides that he and Cosette should leave immediately.
Part 2, Books 1-4 Analysis
Throughout Les Misérables, the narrator interrupts the story to provide detailed accounts of related subjects. Part 2, for example, opens with an extended discussion of the Battle of Waterloo. These sections of the book play into the theme of infinite nuance, in that they deliver vital context on certain events and ideas which inform the audience's idea of the characters. For example, the narrator's interpretation of the Battle of Waterloo is that certain weather conditions and other unpredictable events caused Napoleon to lose the battle. This long explanation serves several purposes. Firstly, it illustrates the impossibility of trying to predict the future in an ever-changing world. If Napoleon Bonaparte, praised by the narrator as one of the greatest minds to have ever taken to a battlefield, could have his career ended by unforeseen rain, then a person like Fantine stood no chance in trying to navigate the chaos of existence.
Secondly, the Battle of Waterloo demonstrates the importance of perspective and how it affects the characterization of events. The narrator complains that the primary narrative of the battle derives from British sources, as the British were one of the main victors of the battle. The victory of the British does not necessary mean that the British sources or interpretations are correct, however. These accounts are infused with an inherent bias which depicts Napoleon as the villain and Wellington as the hero. Similarly, the events at the end of the battle are portrayed in the same way. Thénardier is looting corpses, and he accidently saves the life of Georges Montpercy. From Montpercy's perspective, Thénardier is a hero. The audience knows this is a lie, but this version of history nevertheless has an impact on the world. Thénardier folds Montpercy's version of events into his own identity, to the point where he names his inn after his act of supposed heroism. Furthermore, Marius's attitude toward Thénardier will forever be colored by his mistaken belief that Thénardier saved his father's life. The way in which events are portrayed, whether they are large battles or small-scale interactions between individuals, can shape the course of history. By expanding on these events, the narrator emphasizes the need for nuance in every respect.
It is also telling that the narrator insists that he witnessed Waterloo firsthand. Given that Hugo would have only been 13 years old at the time, among other biographical details that place the author far away from the battle, this supports the contention that the narrator and Hugo are not the same person. In turn, this raises the question of whether the narrator can truly be seen as a surrogate for Hugo, particularly in the chapters that read more like historical tracts or political pamphlets. Nevertheless, the narrator’s devotion to republicanism, combined with a tempered—and sometimes begrudging—admiration for figures like Napoleon and Louis-Philippe, suggests that the narrator and Hugo share a common worldview.
Valjean appears on Christmas Eve and saves Cosette from the Thénardier family. In this scene, he is depicted as a saintly figure: He emerges from the dark and saves a poor, innocent young girl from an abusive situation. Valjean demonstrates his selfless nature, and this contrasts with Thénardier's perpetual greed. Valjean pays a large sum for Cosette's freedom, even though he has a letter from Fantine which entitles him to take her away for far less. Even though the Thénardier family are abusive, Valjean sympathizes with their poverty and pays Thénardier 1,500 francs. Thénardier insists that this is not enough, and he pushes his luck, attempting to extract more money from Cosette's apparent savior. Thénardier has just been massively enriched, but he is—as ever—morally bankrupt. He never viewed Cosette as anything other than a moneymaking scheme, so even when she makes him a large sum of money, he demands more. The saintly figure of Valjean is emphasized by the beastly behavior of Thénardier, whose darkness only makes Valjean's light shine brighter.
