# Adventures of the Letter U Delivered Over to Conjectures explained — Les Misérables

> Chapter companion for Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.

## What happens

Marius, deeply in love, visits the Luxembourg daily to see a young girl he has become obsessed with. He grows bolder, approaching her bench but avoiding the father's notice. The father, M. Leblanc, begins to change their routine, sometimes coming alone, but Marius remains blind to these signs. One evening, he finds a handkerchief marked with the initials 'U. F.' and assumes 'U' stands for 'Ursule,' treasuring it as a token of her soul.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Compassion

Marius's intense, romantic passion for the young girl drives his actions, leading him to idealize her and treasure a handkerchief as a symbol of her soul.

## Character check-ins

### Marius Pontmercy

Marius is consumed by his passion for the young girl at the Luxembourg, visiting daily and constructing fantasies around a handkerchief he believes is hers.

### M. Leblanc

M. Leblanc, the father of the young girl, notices Marius's attention and begins altering their routine, sometimes coming alone, and accidentally drops his handkerchief.

### Ursule

The young girl, referred to by Marius as 'Ursule' based on the initial 'U,' exchanges glances with Marius and smiles at him, though she remains unnamed in the chapter.

### Courfeyrac

Courfeyrac remarks on Marius's daily trips to the Luxembourg, saying 'He is on duty,' highlighting Marius's devotion.

## Key lines

> A full month elapsed, during which Marius went every day to the Luxembourg. When the hour arrived, nothing could hold him back.⁠—'He is on duty,' said Courfeyrac.

For an entire month, Marius visited the Luxembourg daily, and when the time came, nothing could stop him; Courfeyrac joked that he was on duty.

_Illustrates Marius's unwavering devotion to his daily ritual of seeing the young girl._

> He seized it with rapture. This handkerchief was marked with the letters U. F. Marius knew nothing about this beautiful child⁠—neither her family name, her Christian name nor her abode; these two letters were the first thing of her that he had gained possession of, adorable initials, upon which he immediately began to construct his scaffolding. U was evidently the Christian name. 'Ursule!' he thought, 'what a delicious name!'

Marius eagerly grabbed the handkerchief, which was marked with the initials U. F. Knowing nothing else about the girl, he used these letters as the foundation for his fantasies, deciding that 'U' must stand for 'Ursule,' a name he found delightful.

_Highlights Marius's romantic imagination and his tendency to build elaborate ideas from scant evidence._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters/vii-adventures-of-the-letter-u-delivered-over-to-conjectures
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters