Les Misérables · Chapter
The Zigzags of Strategy explained
Jean Valjean, with Cosette, flees through the streets of Paris, using intricate routes and backtracking to evade pursuers.
What happens
Jean Valjean, with Cosette, flees through the streets of Paris, using intricate routes and backtracking to evade pursuers. He spots Javert and three other men following him, confirming his fears. The chapter includes a nostalgic authorial aside about the old Paris that has since been transformed.
Themes in this chapter
The Human Condition and Fate
Valjean's flight and trust in an invisible guiding force reflect themes of fate and the human struggle for safety and survival.
Characters to notice
- Jean Valjean
Flees through Paris with Cosette, using evasive tactics; recognizes Javert among the pursuers.
- Cosette
Accompanies Valjean silently, trusting him completely; her past suffering has made her passive.
- Javert
Identified by Valjean as the leader of the four men following them.
Key passages
“Jean Valjean knew no more where he was going than did Cosette. He trusted in God, as she trusted in him. It seemed as though he also were clinging to the hand of someone greater than himself; he thought he felt a being leading him, though invisible.”
Valjean had no plan and relied on divine guidance, just as Cosette relied on him, sensing an unseen hand directing their path.
Highlights Valjean's faith and the parallel trust between him and Cosette.
“Jean Valjean described many and varied labyrinths in the Mouffetard quarter... he combined in various manners, with cunning strategy, the Rue Censier and the Rue Copeau, the Rue du Battoir-Saint-Victor and the Rue du Puits l’Ermite.”
Valjean took a deliberately confusing route through the Mouffetard district, weaving through multiple streets to throw off any followers.
Illustrates Valjean's strategic evasion tactics.