Les Misérables · Chapter
How from a Brother One Becomes a Father explained
The chapter contrasts the indifference of nature-absorbed dreamers with the harsh reality of two abandoned children, the younger Thénardier boys, wandering the Luxembourg garden during the 1832 insurrection.
What happens
The chapter contrasts the indifference of nature-absorbed dreamers with the harsh reality of two abandoned children, the younger Thénardier boys, wandering the Luxembourg garden during the 1832 insurrection. A bourgeois father and his son encounter the ragged children, but the bourgeois remains detached, throwing a stale brioche to the swans while dismissing the distant sounds of revolution as 'Saturnalia' and 'anarchy.' The chapter underscores the failure of those who ignore human suffering for the sake of aesthetic contemplation.
Themes in this chapter
Social Injustice and Poverty
The two Thénardier boys, pale, ragged, and hungry, embody the plight of abandoned children in Paris, ignored by society and the police.
The Human Condition and Fate
The chapter contrasts the dreamers absorbed in nature's beauty with the harsh reality of suffering children, questioning the moral blindness of those who ignore human misery.
Revolution and Social Upheaval
The insurrection of 1832 forms the backdrop, with the bourgeois father dismissing the conflict as 'Saturnalia' and 'anarchy,' while the children's abandonment reflects the social disorder.
Characters to notice
- Thénardier
The two children are identified as Thénardier's sons, leased to Magnon and now abandoned.
- Gavroche
Referenced as having previously troubled himself over these same children.
- M. Gillenormand
The children were attributed to him by Magnon as a prospectus.
- The Magnon
The children were leased out to her.
Key passages
“The sage lives content with little. Look at me, my son. I do not love pomp. I am never seen in clothes decked with gold lace and stones; I leave that false splendor to badly organized souls.”
The wise man is satisfied with modest means. I avoid ostentatious clothing and leave such showiness to those with disordered minds.
The bourgeois father lectures his son on simplicity while ignoring the ragged children nearby, highlighting his hypocrisy.
“Be humane. You must have compassion on animals.”
Show kindness. You should feel pity for creatures.
The father urges his son to throw the stale cake to the swans, demonstrating misplaced compassion while the hungry children go unnoticed.