# II: Jean Valjean as a National Guard explained — Les Misérables

> Chapter companion for Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.

## What happens

Jean Valjean, living quietly in the Rue Plumet with Cosette and their servant Toussaint, maintains a modest and hidden existence. He serves as a national guard to blend in with society, dresses as a workingman when alone, and takes Cosette on walks to the Luxembourg and to mass. He gives alms to the poor, keeps the house secluded, and lives simply, with Cosette managing the household. His disguise and anonymity are crucial to his life of concealment.

## Themes in this chapter

### Redemption and Transformation

Jean Valjean's quiet, humble life and his service as a national guard reflect his ongoing transformation and desire to live as an ordinary, virtuous man.

### The Human Condition and Fate

Jean Valjean's constant concealment and the enigmatical side of his destiny highlight the human struggle with identity and fate.

## Character check-ins

### Jean Valjean

Lives in the Rue Plumet with Cosette, serves as a national guard, dresses in disguise when alone, and maintains a humble, hidden life.

### Cosette

Lives with Jean Valjean in the Rue Plumet, manages the household, and accompanies him on walks and to mass.

### Toussaint

Servant to Jean Valjean and Cosette, venerated Jean Valjean as a saint, and brings provisions for the household.

## Key lines

> This man had for his ideal, within, the angel, without, the bourgeois.

His inner aspiration was to be saintly, while outwardly he aimed to appear as an ordinary middle-class citizen.

_Describes Jean Valjean's dual nature and his desire for anonymity and virtue._

> I am a much better thing than the master, I am the father.

He told Toussaint that he was not the master of the house but something greater: Cosette's father.

_Highlights Jean Valjean's paternal role and his humility._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters/ii-jean-valjean-as-a-national-guard
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