Les Misérables, Book 8: Cemeteries Take What Is Entrusted to Them, Chapter 8 summary
Book 8: Cemeteries Take What Is Entrusted to Them, Chapter 8 of 365 · 5 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 8, Fauchelevent brings Jean Valjean and Cosette into the convent and answers every question addressed to his supposed brother, securing their admission under a false family identity. Jean Valjean becomes an assistant gardener named Ultime Fauchelevent, Cosette enters the school without paying, and Fauchelevent gains praise that reaches the Pope without his knowledge.
What happens
- Fauchelevent and Jean Valjean collect Cosette from the fruit seller, where she spends twenty-four hours frightened, silent, and unable to eat or sleep.
- The three enter the convent, where Fauchelevent answers the prioress’s questions while Jean Valjean remains silent.
- The prioress accepts Jean Valjean as Fauchelevent’s brother and believes Cosette is his granddaughter.
- Jean Valjean receives a bell knee-pad and works beside Fauchelevent; Cosette becomes a charity pupil.
- The narrator explains that the prioress favors Cosette because she expects her plain appearance to encourage a religious vocation.
- Fauchelevent earns gratitude and distant religious praise but remains unaware of his fame.
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In this chapter
What to notice
Fauchelevent supplies every answer, yet the questioning succeeds. Jean Valjean gains admission through another man’s control of his identity.
Quick check
What chiefly decides the prioress in favor of admitting Jean Valjean?
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