# Last Flickerings of a Lamp Without Oil explained — Les Misérables

> Chapter companion for Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.

## What happens

Jean Valjean, in deep sorrow, gradually withdraws from life, ceasing to eat and leaving his bed. His portress worries and calls a doctor, who diagnoses a broken heart from losing a loved one.

## Themes in this chapter

### Suffering and Sacrifice

Jean Valjean's physical decline mirrors his emotional suffering from loss, embodying silent sacrifice.

## Character check-ins

### Jean Valjean

In his final decline, he stops eating and stays in bed, showing signs of profound grief.

## Key lines

> He is a man who, to all appearances, has lost some person who is dear to him. People die of that.

The doctor diagnoses Jean Valjean's illness as grief from losing a loved one, which can be fatal.

_The doctor identifies the root of Valjean's decline as emotional rather than physical._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters/ii-last-flickerings-of-a-lamp-without-oil
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters