Les Misérables · Chapter
The Vulture Become Prey explained
Inside the barricade, Enjolras prepares for the final assault by fortifying the position and assigning roles to the defenders.
What happens
Inside the barricade, Enjolras prepares for the final assault by fortifying the position and assigning roles to the defenders. Jean Valjean requests and is granted the task of executing Javert, whom he then takes into custody. The chapter captures the surreal, apocalyptic atmosphere of civil war and the methodical calm before the attack.
Themes in this chapter
Revolution and Social Upheaval
The barricade becomes a microcosm of civil war, with the defenders methodically preparing for a doomed last stand.
Suffering and Sacrifice
Enjolras views the coming deaths as a masterpiece, and the defenders accept their fate with grim resolve.
Justice vs. Law
Jean Valjean's request to execute Javert raises questions about personal justice versus legal authority within the revolutionary context.
Characters to notice
- Enjolras
Commands the barricade, issues final orders for defense, and grants Jean Valjean permission to execute Javert.
- Marius Pontmercy
Posted on lookout atop the barricade, observing the enemy's movements.
- Combeferre
Notes that it is midday as the clock strikes twelve.
- Feuilly
Assists in fortifying windows and confirms the number of axes available for cutting the staircase.
- Bossuet
Inquires about the bottles set aside, to which Enjolras replies they are for the enemy.
- Javert
Bound and held as a prisoner; remains impassive as Enjolras orders his execution, then laughs and taunts the insurgents.
- Jean Valjean
Emerges from the group of insurgents, requests to be the one to execute Javert, and takes possession of him.
- M. Mabeuf
Lies dead under the table where bottles were set.
Key passages
“We must insist upon one psychological fact peculiar to barricades. Nothing which is characteristic of that surprising war of the streets should be omitted.”
The narrator emphasizes a unique mental state experienced by those inside barricades, a dreamlike and apocalyptic vision of civil war.
Sets the surreal tone of the chapter, highlighting the psychological impact of street fighting.
“He felt that, since such men were to die, their death ought to be a masterpiece.”
Enjolras believed that the deaths of his comrades should be executed with perfection and dignity.
Reflects Enjolras's idealistic and sacrificial leadership.
“I am not forgetting you.”
Enjolras acknowledges Javert's presence and addresses his fate.
Leads to the confrontation between Jean Valjean and Javert.
“That I may blow that man's brains out.”
Jean Valjean asks for the privilege of executing Javert himself.
A pivotal request that sets up the moral and dramatic tension between Valjean and Javert.