Les Misérables · Chapter
I: Mines and Miners explained
This chapter presents a philosophical meditation on the subterranean layers of society, comparing social structures to mines with various levels of excavation.
What happens
This chapter presents a philosophical meditation on the subterranean layers of society, comparing social structures to mines with various levels of excavation. It describes how different ideologies—religious, philosophical, economic, and revolutionary—operate in these underground spaces, with the deepest level representing a terrifying abyss. The text emphasizes that all these workers, from the highest to the lowest, share a disinterested pursuit of the absolute, but warns of the 'black miners' whose lack of a glance signifies evil.
Themes in this chapter
Revolution and Social Upheaval
The chapter extensively explores the underground 'revolutionary mine' and the figures like Marat and Babeuf who represent the most radical, subterranean forces of social change.
The Human Condition and Fate
The text reflects on the universal human endeavor to seek the absolute, the disinterestedness of all toilers, and the ominous presence of those without a 'glance,' touching on existential and fated aspects of humanity.
Key passages
“The social order has its black miners. There is a point where depth is tantamount to burial, and where light becomes extinct.”
Society contains destructive elements that operate in the deepest, darkest recesses, where hope and visibility are completely lost.
This metaphor warns of the most dangerous and hidden forces within the social structure.
“Venerate the man, whoever he may be, who has this sign—the starry eye. The shadowy eye is the other sign. With it, evil commences.”
Respect those who look toward the light and the infinite, but beware of those whose gaze is dark, for that is the beginning of wickedness.
The contrast between the 'starry eye' and 'shadowy eye' symbolizes the moral distinction between seekers of truth and those who embody evil.