Les Misérables · Chapter
I: The Lark’s Meadow explained
Marius, heartbroken and impoverished after losing sight of the young girl he loves (whom he once called Ursule and now thinks of as 'the Lark'), moves in with Courfeyrac following the failed ambush.
What happens
Marius, heartbroken and impoverished after losing sight of the young girl he loves (whom he once called Ursule and now thinks of as 'the Lark'), moves in with Courfeyrac following the failed ambush. He secretly sends money to Thénardier in prison, but remains consumed by despair and reverie, neglecting his work. Wandering aimlessly, he discovers a field called 'the Lark’s meadow' and becomes convinced it is connected to her, returning there daily.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Sacrifice
Marius endures profound emotional suffering from unrequited love and poverty, sacrificing his work and stability for his obsessive reverie.
The Human Condition and Fate
Marius's descent into reverie and his inability to act reflect the human struggle with uncertainty, fate, and the search for meaning in love and loss.
Characters to notice
- Marius Pontmercy
Marius is in deep despair, having lost all trace of the young girl he loves. He moves out of his lodging, borrows money from Courfeyrac to send to Thénardier, and spends his days in reverie, neglecting work. He discovers the Lark’s meadow and begins visiting it daily.
- Courfeyrac
Courfeyrac provides lodging for Marius after he leaves his old room, and lends him five francs each week for Marius to send to Thénardier.
- Thénardier
Thénardier is in close confinement in La Force prison. Marius anonymously sends him five francs every Monday, which puzzles Thénardier.
- Javert
Javert leads the ambush on Thénardier and later returns to question Marius, but finds he has moved away without leaving an address.
- Ma'am Bougon
Ma'am Bougon is Marius's former landlady. She tells Javert that Marius has moved away, suspecting him of being involved with the robbers.
Key passages
“Marius had witnessed the unexpected termination of the ambush upon whose track he had set Javert; but Javert had no sooner quitted the building, bearing off his prisoners in three hackney-coaches, than Marius also glided out of the house.”
Marius saw the ambush end unexpectedly; as soon as Javert left with the prisoners, Marius slipped out of the building.
Marius observes the aftermath of the failed ambush and quickly leaves.
“He no longer saw anything before him; his life was again buried in mystery where he wandered fumblingly.”
He could see nothing ahead; his life was once again lost in mystery, and he groped through it blindly.
Marius's despair and confusion after losing sight of the girl and her father.
“It is her thoughts that are coming to me!... Perhaps my thoughts reach her also.”
He imagined that her thoughts were reaching him, and that his might reach her in return.
Marius's hopeful illusion that he and the girl are connected by thought.