Little Dorrit, Chapter 11 summary

What happens

1. A hungry, exhausted traveler reaches the Break of Day and listens as its customers discuss Rigaud’s acquittal and the public anger against him.
2. The landlady insists Rigaud kills his wife, while the Swiss suggests that even such a man may contain some good.
3. Upstairs, the traveler recognizes John Baptist Cavalletto, blocks his escape, and insists on being called Lagnier.
4. Lagnier orders Cavalletto to accompany him toward Paris and perhaps England, then describes his treatment by society as grounds for revenge.
5. Cavalletto obeys his commands but stays dressed through the night and quietly flees the inn at daybreak.

What to notice

Rigaud turns his account of hardship into a threat. He treats public hostility as an injury demanding repayment rather than accepting any blame.

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