# Light and Shadow explained — Les Misérables

> Chapter companion for Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.

## What happens

Enjolras returns from reconnaissance and delivers a sobering report to the insurgents: the entire army of Paris is about to strike, the populace is not stirring, and they are abandoned. Despite this, an unknown blouse-wearer inspires the group to raise the barricade and offer the protest of corpses, a resolution echoed at the Saint-Merry barricade.

## Themes in this chapter

### Revolution and Social Upheaval

The insurgents prepare for a final stand despite being abandoned, embodying the spirit of revolutionary sacrifice.

### Suffering and Sacrifice

The decision to raise the barricade and die to the last man highlights the theme of willing sacrifice for a cause.

## Character check-ins

### Enjolras

Returns from reconnaissance and reports the grim news that the army is attacking and the populace has not risen.

## Key lines

> The whole army of Paris is to strike. A third of the army is bearing down upon the barricades in which you now are. There is the National Guard in addition. I have picked out the shakos of the fifth of the line, and the standard-bearers of the sixth legion. In one hour you will be attacked. As for the populace, it was seething yesterday, today it is not stirring. There is nothing to expect; nothing to hope for. Neither from a faubourg nor from a regiment. You are abandoned.

Enjolras reports that the entire Paris army, including the National Guard, is about to attack the barricade within an hour. The populace, which was restless yesterday, is now quiet, leaving the insurgents with no hope of reinforcements.

_Enjolras delivers a devastating assessment of the military situation._

> So be it. Let us raise the barricade to a height of twenty feet, and let us all remain in it. Citizens, let us offer the protests of corpses. Let us show that, if the people abandon the republicans, the republicans do not abandon the people.

An unknown insurgent declares that they will build the barricade higher and stay to die, proving that republicans remain loyal to the people even when abandoned.

_The anonymous hero's speech rallies the insurgents to a defiant last stand._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters/iii-light-and-shadow
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters