Les Misérables, Book 6: Le Petit-Picpus, Chapter 1 summary
Book 6: Le Petit-Picpus, Chapter 1 of 365 · 6 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 1, the narrator traces a visitor’s route from an inviting courtyard through guarded passages to a dark, barred parlor inside a strictly enclosed convent. The description reveals how passwords, screens, shutters, and carefully arranged light keep visitors apart from the women within.
What happens
- The entrance at Number 62 Rue Petit-Picpus looks cheerful, although the building beyond it is gloomy.
- A visitor who passes the porter climbs a narrow staircase and reaches an empty room with a screened opening.
- Pulling a bell summons the portress, who directs visitors onward only if they know the password.
- Inside a barred parlor, visitors hear a familiar voice behind closed shutters and sometimes glimpse a veiled woman.
- The narrator identifies the convent, explains its visual barriers, and proposes to describe the life within.
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What must a visitor know before the portress gives directions to the parlor?
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