# V: A Suitable Tomb explained — Les Misérables

> Chapter companion for Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.

## What happens

After his arrest, Jean Valjean escapes from prison and returns to his home in Montreuil-sur-Mer. He retrieves the Bishop's candlesticks, writes a note for the curé, and hides when Javert arrives. Sister Simplice lies to protect him, and Valjean flees toward Paris. Fantine is buried in a pauper's grave.

## Themes in this chapter

### Mercy and Forgiveness

Sister Simplice's lie to protect Valjean exemplifies mercy and self-sacrifice.

### Social Injustice and Poverty

Fantine's burial in a pauper's grave and the town's abandonment of Valjean illustrate social injustice.

## Character check-ins

### Jean Valjean

Escapes prison, returns home, retrieves the Bishop's candlesticks, and flees to Paris.

### Javert

Pursues Valjean but is deceived by Sister Simplice's lie.

### Fantine

Is buried in a pauper's grave after her death.

### Sister Simplice

Lies to Javert to protect Valjean, sacrificing her truthfulness.

## Key lines

> In less than two hours all the good that he had done had been forgotten, and he was nothing but a 'convict from the galleys.'

Within two hours, everyone forgot his good deeds and saw him only as an ex-convict.

_Shows the fickleness of public opinion and the stigma of being a convict._

> The sister replied: 'No.' She lied. She had lied twice in succession, one after the other, without hesitation, promptly, as a person does when sacrificing herself.

Sister Simplice lied twice without hesitation, sacrificing her integrity to protect Valjean.

_Highlights the theme of mercy and self-sacrifice._

> So Fantine was buried in the free corner of the cemetery which belongs to anybody and everybody, and where the poor are lost.

Fantine was buried in a communal pauper's grave, where the poor are forgotten.

_Emphasizes social injustice and the dehumanization of the poor._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters/v-a-suitable-tomb
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters