Les Misérables · Chapter
X: The System of Denials explained
The trial reaches its closing arguments as the accused, Champmathieu, delivers a confused and impassioned defense, claiming he is a poor wheelwright who worked for M.
What happens
The trial reaches its closing arguments as the accused, Champmathieu, delivers a confused and impassioned defense, claiming he is a poor wheelwright who worked for M. Baloup and never stole. The district attorney presses for the testimony of convicts Brevet, Chenildieu, Cochepaille, and Inspector Javert to confirm the prisoner's identity as Jean Valjean. The President notes Javert's absence but reads his deposition, and Brevet testifies positively identifying the man. The accused struggles to articulate his innocence, eliciting laughter from the audience.
Themes in this chapter
Justice vs. Law
The trial highlights the tension between legal procedure and true justice, as the accused's confused testimony is dismissed while the district attorney relies on the word of convicts and a police inspector.
Social Injustice and Poverty
Champmathieu's defense reveals a life of hard labor, poverty, and family tragedy, yet the court treats him with suspicion and ridicule, illustrating how the poor are marginalized by the justice system.
Characters to notice
- Champmathieu
The accused, a poor wheelwright, gives a rambling defense of his innocence, claiming he picked up a broken branch with apples and never stole, and that he worked for M. Baloup in Paris.
- Javert
Though absent from the courtroom, his deposition is read, in which he positively identifies the prisoner as the ex-convict Jean Valjean, citing his time as adjutant of the galley-guard at Toulon.
- Brevet
An ex-convict and former companion in the galleys, he testifies under solemn appeal that he recognizes the prisoner as Jean Valjean, who entered Toulon in 1796 and left in 1815.
- Chenildieu
A prisoner for life brought from the galleys of Toulon, he is summoned to testify again regarding the identity of the accused.
- Cochepaille
Another convict summoned to be interrogated for the last time about the prisoner's identity as Jean Valjean.
Key passages
“I have stolen nothing. I am a man who does not have something to eat every day. I was coming from Ailly; I was walking through the country after a shower, which had made the whole country yellow: even the ponds were overflowed, and nothing sprang from the sand any more but the little blades of grass at the wayside. I found a broken branch with apples on the ground; I picked up the branch without knowing that it would get me into trouble.”
The accused insists he is innocent, explaining that he was walking through the countryside after a rainstorm when he found a broken branch with apples on the ground and picked it up, not realizing it would lead to his arrest.
Champmathieu's simple, earthy description contrasts with the legal accusations, emphasizing his lack of education and the harshness of his circumstances.
“I have been in prison, and they have been dragging me about for the last three months; more than that I cannot say; people talk against me, they tell me, 'Answer!' The gendarme, who is a good fellow, nudges my elbow, and says to me in a low voice, 'Come, answer!' I don't know how to explain; I have no education; I am a poor man; that is where they wrong me, because they do not see this.”
He complains of being dragged through the legal system for three months, unable to articulate his defense, and feels wronged because his poverty and lack of education are not taken into account.
This highlights the theme of social injustice, as the accused's inability to speak eloquently is used against him in court.