Les Misérables · Chapter
II: Another Step Backwards explained
Jean Valjean continues to visit Cosette daily, but the dynamics have shifted: Cosette now addresses him formally as 'Monsieur Jean' and 'Madame,' and Marius arranges to be absent during these visits.
What happens
Jean Valjean continues to visit Cosette daily, but the dynamics have shifted: Cosette now addresses him formally as 'Monsieur Jean' and 'Madame,' and Marius arranges to be absent during these visits. The household adjusts to Valjean's peculiar habits, which are dismissed by Gillenormand as eccentricity. Valjean's deliberate efforts to distance himself from Cosette succeed, as she grows more cheerful but less tender toward him. A moment of warmth occurs when Cosette accidentally calls him 'father,' but he corrects her, hiding his tears.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Sacrifice
Valjean's deliberate self-effacement and emotional pain as he detaches Cosette from him for her own happiness.
The Human Condition and Fate
The metaphor of the hidden 'hydra' or 'secret monster' within a man, representing Valjean's concealed despair and the mysterious surface of his life.
Characters to notice
- Jean Valjean
Visits daily, accepts being called 'Monsieur Jean' and 'you,' hides his tears when Cosette calls him 'father.'
- Cosette
Now addresses Valjean formally, grows more gay and less tender, yet still loves him sincerely.
- Marius Pontmercy
Arranges to be absent during Valjean's visits, occupies himself with legal cases.
- M. Gillenormand
Dismisses Valjean's habits as eccentricity, compares him to the Marquis de Canaples.
- Toussaint
Supports Valjean's presence by saying 'Monsieur has always been like that,' but later leaves due to conflict with Nicolette.
- Basque
Helps tidy the lower room by removing bottles.
Key passages
“Many men have a secret monster in this same manner, a dragon which gnaws them, a despair which inhabits their night.”
Many people carry a hidden, consuming sorrow within them, a private torment that eats away at them in the darkness.
Narrator's reflection on Valjean's concealed suffering.
“You used to be my father, you are no longer my father, you were my uncle, you are no longer my uncle, you were Monsieur Fauchelevent, you are Jean. Who are you then?”
You were once my father, then my uncle, then Monsieur Fauchelevent, and now just Jean. I don't understand who you are anymore.
Cosette's confused and poignant questioning of Valjean's shifting identity.