Les Misérables · Chapter
XXI: The Heroes explained
The chapter describes the final, brutal assault on the barricade in the Rue de la Chanvrerie.
What happens
The chapter describes the final, brutal assault on the barricade in the Rue de la Chanvrerie. The insurgents, exhausted and outnumbered, fight with superhuman courage against the army. Key characters like Enjolras, Marius, Courfeyrac, Feuilly, Combeferre, and Bossuet are highlighted in the desperate hand-to-hand combat, with many falling. The narrative elevates their struggle to an epic, heroic scale, comparing them to legendary warriors.
Themes in this chapter
Revolution and Social Upheaval
The chapter depicts the climactic battle of the insurrection, highlighting the desperate struggle for political change.
Suffering and Sacrifice
The insurgents, exhausted, wounded, and outnumbered, sacrifice their lives for their convictions.
The Human Condition and Fate
The epic, almost mythic portrayal of the battle underscores the human capacity for heroism and the inevitability of death in the face of overwhelming odds.
Characters to notice
- Enjolras
Leads the defense of the barricade, remains unscathed, and directs the fight with strategic calm.
- Marius Pontmercy
Fights fiercely and recklessly, his face covered in blood, standing exposed as a target.
- Courfeyrac
Fights bareheaded after his hat is shot away; killed during the assault.
- Feuilly
Expresses bitter disappointment at allies who failed to join them; killed in the battle.
- Combeferre
Wounded by three bayonet thrusts while lifting a wounded soldier, dies gazing heavenward.
- Bossuet
Killed during the fighting.
Key passages
“These haggard, ragged, exhausted men, who had had nothing to eat for four and twenty hours, who had not slept, who had but a few more rounds to fire, who were fumbling in their pockets which had been emptied of cartridges, nearly all of whom were wounded, with head or arm bandaged with black and bloodstained linen, with holes in their clothes from which the blood trickled, and who were hardly armed with poor guns and notched swords, became Titans.”
The starving, sleepless, and wounded insurgents, with almost no ammunition and makeshift weapons, fought with superhuman strength and courage, transforming into titans.
Highlights the theme of heroic sacrifice and the transformation of ordinary men into legendary figures through struggle.
“Marius, still fighting, was so riddled with wounds, particularly in the head, that his countenance disappeared beneath the blood, and one would have said that his face was covered with a red kerchief.”
Marius continued to fight despite severe head wounds, his face so covered in blood it looked like a red cloth.
Emphasizes Marius's reckless bravery and the brutal reality of the battle.
“Enjolras alone was not struck. When he had no longer any weapon, he reached out his hands to right and left and an insurgent thrust some arm or other into his fist. All he had left was the stumps of four swords; one more than François I at Marignan.”
Enjolras remained untouched, and when his weapon broke, he was handed another; he ended up with four broken swords, one more than King Francis I had at the Battle of Marignano.
Portrays Enjolras as a nearly invincible leader, drawing a parallel to a famous historical king.