Les Misérables · Chapter
The Malicious Playfulness of the Wind explained
The Thénardiers, burdened by debt and having two more sons, arrange with Magnon to secretly give her their youngest boys in exchange for ten francs a month, as Magnon had lost her own children to croup and needs replacements to keep receivi
What happens
The Thénardiers, burdened by debt and having two more sons, arrange with Magnon to secretly give her their youngest boys in exchange for ten francs a month, as Magnon had lost her own children to croup and needs replacements to keep receiving support from M. Gillenormand. Years later, after a police raid captures Magnon, the two boys are left homeless and wander the streets, losing the address that was meant to guide them.
Themes in this chapter
Social Injustice and Poverty
The Thénardiers' poverty drives them to sell their own children, and the boys are ultimately abandoned to the streets, illustrating how destitution corrupts family bonds.
The Human Condition and Fate
The children's fate is sealed by a gust of wind that tears away their only guide, symbolizing the random cruelty of life for the poor.
Characters to notice
- Thénardier
Arranges to give away his two youngest sons to Magnon for profit, justifying the act with a cynical reference to Rousseau.
- Madame Thénardier
Feels a brief scruple about abandoning her children but is easily persuaded by her husband.
- The Magnon
Takes the Thénardier boys to replace her own deceased children, receiving monthly payments from M. Gillenormand and paying Thénardier a fee.
- M. Gillenormand
Unknowingly continues to support the substituted children, visiting them every six months without noticing the change.
- Gavroche
Mentioned as one of the Thénardier children who barely had time to discover his younger brothers before they were given away.
- Éponine
Mentioned as having handed a note to Magnon relating to the Rue Plumet.
Key passages
““But this is abandoning our children!” Thénardier, masterful and phlegmatic, cauterized the scruple with this saying: “Jean Jacques Rousseau did even better!””
When Madame Thénardier protests that they are abandoning their children, Thénardier dismisses her guilt by claiming that even the famous philosopher Rousseau did worse.
Highlights Thénardier's cynical rationalization of child abandonment.
“At the corner of the Rue Clocheperce, a gust of wind tore it from him, and as night was falling, the child was not able to find it again. They began to wander aimlessly through the streets.”
A gust of wind snatches the address paper from the elder boy's cold fingers, and with night falling, they cannot retrieve it, leaving them to wander the streets without direction.
The wind's malicious playfulness seals the children's abandonment, giving the chapter its title.