Les Misérables · Chapter
XX: The Dead Are in the Right and the Living Are Not in the Wrong explained
This chapter reflects on the nature of revolution, progress, and the sacrifice of insurgents.
What happens
This chapter reflects on the nature of revolution, progress, and the sacrifice of insurgents. It contrasts the idealistic vision of universal deliverance with the harsh reality of a populace that may not support the uprising, and explores the tension between individual self-interest and the collective march of progress. The author defends the nobility of heroic defeat, even when utopian revolts fail, and meditates on the role of France as a beacon of civilization and artistic progress.
Themes in this chapter
Revolution and Social Upheaval
The chapter extensively discusses the nature of insurrection, the tension between utopian ideals and armed revolt, and the tragic fate of those who fight for progress.
Suffering and Sacrifice
The text emphasizes the nobility of heroic defeat, the stoic acceptance of catastrophe, and the magnanimity of insurgents who face abandonment and death.
The Human Condition and Fate
The chapter reflects on the conflict between individual interests and the collective march of progress, and the inevitability of revolutions as halting-places in human advancement.
Key passages
“We throw ourselves into these tragic affairs and become intoxicated with that which we are about to do. Who knows? We may succeed. We are few in number, we have a whole army arrayed against us; but we are defending right, the natural law, the sovereignty of each one over himself from which no abdication is possible, justice and truth, and in case of need, we die like the three hundred Spartans.”
The insurgents commit themselves passionately to their cause, aware they are outnumbered, but believing they fight for fundamental rights and truth, and are prepared to die heroically like the Spartans at Thermopylae.
This passage captures the idealistic fervor and sacrificial spirit of the revolutionaries.
“The Utopia which grows impatient and becomes revolt knows what awaits it; it almost always comes too soon. Then it becomes resigned, and stoically accepts catastrophe in lieu of triumph.”
When utopian ideals turn into armed rebellion, they often arise prematurely and face defeat, yet they accept this outcome with dignity and without complaint.
Hugo reflects on the tragic timing and noble resignation of failed uprisings.
“Progress infallibly awakes, and, in short, we may say that it marches on, even when it is asleep, for it has increased in size. When we behold it erect once more, we find it taller.”
Progress never truly stops; even during periods of apparent stagnation, it grows, and when it resumes, it is more advanced than before.
This metaphor underscores the inexorable forward movement of human civilization.