# A Century Under a Guimpe explained — Les Misérables

> Chapter companion for Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.

## What happens

This chapter provides a detailed digression about a centenarian nun in the Little Convent of Petit-Picpus, who came from the Abbey of Fontevrault and lived through the Revolution. She shares anecdotes about pre-Revolutionary society, customs like the four wines, and guards a secret treasure—a Faenza platter depicting a comical scene of Love conquered by colic—which is discovered after her death.

## Themes in this chapter

### The Human Condition and Fate

The centenarian's secret platter, depicting Love conquered by colic, reflects the absurdity and fragility of human desires and the passage of time.

## Character check-ins

### Mother Crucifixion

Mentioned as one of the vocal mothers who frown upon the schoolgirls' laughter.

## Key lines

> She talked a great deal of M. de Miromesnil, Keeper of the Seals under Louis XVI and of a Presidentess Duplat, with whom she had been very intimate.

The centenarian frequently mentioned M. de Miromesnil, who served as Keeper of the Seals under Louis XVI, and a Presidentess Duplat, with whom she had a close friendship.

_Illustrates the nun's connection to pre-Revolutionary high society._

> On the first goblet this inscription could be read, monkey wine ; on the second, lion wine ; on the third, sheep wine ; on the fourth, hog wine . These four legends express the four stages descended by the drunkard; the first, intoxication, which enlivens; the second, that which irritates; the third, that which dulls; and the fourth, that which brutalizes.

The four goblets were labeled monkey, lion, sheep, and hog wine, representing the progressive stages of drunkenness: lively intoxication, irritability, dullness, and brutishness.

_Describes a pre-Revolutionary custom of offering wine to dignitaries._

> It was a Faenza platter representing little Loves flitting away pursued by apothecary lads armed with enormous syringes. The chase abounds in grimaces and in comical postures. One of the charming little Loves is already fairly spitted. He is resisting, fluttering his tiny wings, and still making an effort to fly, but the dancer is laughing with a satanical air. Moral: Love conquered by the colic.

The platter depicted cherubic Loves being chased by apothecary boys with large syringes, with one Love impaled and struggling, while a dancer laughs diabolically, conveying the moral that love is defeated by a stomach ailment.

_Reveals the centenarian's secret treasure and its humorous, ironic theme._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters/ix-a-century-under-a-guimpe
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters