Les Misérables, Book 1: Paris Studied in Its Atom, Chapter 10 summary

What happens

1. The narrator describes the gamin as a child of ordinary people who carries the marks of an old civilization.
2. He argues that science, art, literature, and education provide the light needed to address this social problem.
3. He presents Paris as a miniature world, comparing its buildings, inhabitants, entertainments, and beliefs with examples from other civilizations.
4. He contrasts Rome's submission to tyranny with Paris's continuing readiness to raise an alarm.
5. He describes Paris as tolerant of vice and deformity when they provide amusement.
6. He closes by treating the guillotine with bitter irony as an ingredient in the city's festivities.

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