# VI: Which Possibly Proves Boulatruelle’s Intelligence explained — Les Misérables

> Chapter companion for Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.

## What happens

On Christmas Day 1823, a well-dressed but impoverished man walks through the deserted Boulevard de l’Hôpital in Paris, seeking lodgings. He is observed by the police during King Louis XVIII’s daily procession and is noted as suspicious. After evading surveillance, he takes a coach to Chelles, then proceeds on foot through the dark countryside to Montfermeil, where he carefully navigates the forest, examining trees and stones as if following a known route. He encounters a small child struggling with a heavy bucket of water—Cosette—and silently takes the bucket from her.

## Themes in this chapter

### Suffering and Sacrifice

Cosette's labor under the burden of the heavy water bucket symbolizes her suffering and the sacrifice of childhood innocence.

### Redemption and Transformation

Jean Valjean's careful, secretive journey and his act of taking Cosette's bucket hint at his ongoing transformation and quest for redemption.

## Character check-ins

### Jean Valjean

The man in the yellow coat, observed by police and later traveling to Montfermeil, who takes Cosette's bucket.

### Cosette

The young child encountered in the forest, struggling with a heavy bucket of water.

### Thénardier

Implied as the innkeeper at Montfermeil, though not directly present in the chapter.

## Key lines

> He wore a very old and very well brushed round hat; a coarse coat, worn perfectly threadbare, of an ochre yellow...

The man was dressed in shabby but meticulously clean clothes, suggesting a person of dignity despite extreme poverty.

_Describes Jean Valjean's appearance as he enters Paris._

> This infallible passage of the king at the same hour was, therefore, the daily event of the Boulevard de l’Hôpital.

The king's daily ride at two o'clock was a predictable routine for the neighborhood.

_Establishes the historical context of King Louis XVIII's habits._

> Then he approached the child, and silently grasped the handle of the bucket.

He walked up to the little girl and wordlessly took the bucket from her.

_The pivotal moment when Jean Valjean first interacts with Cosette._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters/vi-which-possibly-proves-boulatruelle-s-intelligence
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters