# Explanation explained — Les Misérables

> Chapter companion for Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.

## What happens

On June 6, a police patrol searches the Paris sewers for fugitives from the uprising. Jean Valjean, hiding in the darkness, narrowly avoids detection when the patrol decides not to explore his direction. A sergeant fires a shot as a precaution, but the patrol moves on, leaving Valjean safe in the shadows.

## Themes in this chapter

### The Human Condition and Fate

Valjean's survival hinges on a series of chance decisions by the patrol, illustrating the precariousness of fate and the thin line between capture and freedom.

## Character check-ins

### Jean Valjean

Hiding in the sewer, he evades a police patrol by remaining still and silent in the darkness.

## Key lines

> On the day of the sixth of June, a battue of the sewers had been ordered. It was feared that the vanquished might have taken to them for refuge, and Prefect Gisquet was to search occult Paris while General Bugeaud swept public Paris; a double and connected operation which exacted a double strategy on the part of the public force, represented above by the army and below by the police.

On June 6, a coordinated search of the sewers was ordered, as authorities feared defeated insurgents were hiding underground. Prefect Gisquet led the subterranean sweep while General Bugeaud cleared the streets above.

_Sets the historical context of the police operation in the sewers after the uprising._

> If it had occurred to them to separate into two squads, and to go in both directions, Jean Valjean would have been captured. All hung on that thread.

Had the patrol split up to search both passages, Valjean would have been caught—his fate balanced on a single decision.

_Highlights the narrow margin of Valjean's escape._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters/ii-explanation
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters