# I: The Evening of a Day of Walking explained — Les Misérables

> Chapter companion for Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.

## What happens

In early October 1815, a weary and ragged traveler, Jean Valjean, arrives in Digne after a long day's walk. He is turned away from the best inn, the Cross of Colbas, after the innkeeper identifies him as a former convict. He seeks shelter at a humble public house but is again refused. A peasant also rejects him, threatening him with a gun. He tries to sleep in a dog kennel but is driven out by the dog. Exhausted and without refuge, he sits on a stone, exclaiming that he is not even a dog, then continues his search for shelter.

## Themes in this chapter

### Social Injustice and Poverty

Jean Valjean's rejection from every lodging despite his willingness to pay highlights the societal exclusion and harsh treatment of the poor and former convicts.

### Suffering and Sacrifice

Valjean's physical exhaustion, hunger, and homelessness after a day of walking and repeated rejections underscore his profound suffering.

### The Human Condition and Fate

Valjean's solitary, desperate wandering and his lament 'I am not even a dog!' reflect the existential struggle and fate of an outcast.

## Character check-ins

### Jean Valjean

Arrives in Digne as a ragged, exhausted traveler; is identified as a former convict and turned away from multiple lodgings; ends up homeless and desperate.

### Thénardier

The host of the public house in Rue de Chaffaut who initially offers supper and bed but later, upon suspicion, threatens the traveler with a gun and drives him away.

### Madame Thénardier

The wife of the public house host; she hides her children in terror when her husband identifies the traveler as a dangerous man.

## Key lines

> Do you want me to tell you your name? Your name is Jean Valjean.

The innkeeper reveals that he knows the traveler's identity as Jean Valjean, a former convict.

_This moment of exposure sets the tone for Valjean's rejection and societal stigma._

> I am not even a dog!

Valjean cries out in despair after being driven from a dog kennel, feeling lower than an animal.

_This exclamation captures his utter degradation and isolation._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters/i-the-evening-of-a-day-of-walking
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters