Les Misérables · Chapter
The Gropings of Flight explained
Jean Valjean, carrying Cosette, flees through the streets of Paris and seeks refuge in a secluded lane.
What happens
Jean Valjean, carrying Cosette, flees through the streets of Paris and seeks refuge in a secluded lane. He examines a dilapidated building with a lead pipe and two doors, hoping to find a way inside, but discovers the doors are false or impracticable, leaving him trapped and desperate.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Sacrifice
Jean Valjean's desperate flight and the physical and emotional strain of protecting Cosette highlight the theme of suffering and sacrifice.
Characters to notice
- Jean Valjean
Desperately seeks a hiding place for himself and Cosette, examining the building's facade and doors.
- Cosette
Accompanies Jean Valjean; he seats her against a stone post and instructs her to be silent.
Key passages
“In the imminent peril in which Jean Valjean found himself, this sombre building had about it a solitary and uninhabited look which tempted him.”
Facing immediate danger, Jean Valjean was drawn to the gloomy, deserted building as a potential refuge.
Valjean's instinct to hide in the abandoned structure.
“He seated Cosette with her back against a stone post, with an injunction to be silent, and ran to the spot where the conduit touched the pavement.”
He placed Cosette against a stone post, told her to stay quiet, and hurried to the drainpipe.
Valjean's protective yet urgent actions.