Aller au contenu
The Library
of Alexandria
Se connecterTry 3 months free3 months free

Germinal, Part 2, Chapter 4 summary

Part 2, Chapter 4 of 40 · 14 min to read the chapter

In Chapter 4, Maheu returns to a stocked table, shares his meat with the children, and learns that Maheude secures food and money from Maigrat on credit. Washing, intimacy, gardening, and neighborhood encounters fill the afternoon, but the older children remain absent when the family begins its evening meal.

What happens

  1. Maheu finds food at home, eats after the working children, and shares his meat with Lénore and Henri.
  2. The children wash, and the parents hear Levaque beating his wife next door.
  3. While washing Maheu, Maheude explains that Maigrat provides bread, supplies, and a five-franc loan after she confronts him.
  4. The parents enjoy a private sexual encounter, discuss work, and let Catherine leave to buy a bonnet ribbon.
  5. Maheu tends his vegetables and refuses Levaque’s invitation to drink, preserving the household’s borrowed money.
  6. At nightfall, Maheude serves dinner without the absent children or the dandelion greens Jeanlin is supposed to gather.

Free for 3 months

Get the full summary of Germinal, free

  • 200,000+ classics as eBooks, audiobooks and 15-minute summaries, and print and large print at cost
  • Up to 5 readers in your home on one plan
Commencez 90 jours gratuitsNothing to pay today. 0,14 USD a day in the first year, then 0,27 USD a day.

In this chapter

CatherineMaheudeMaheu

What to notice

Maheu’s discomfort interrupts the rule that reserves scarce meat for him. He acts on this feeling by feeding Lénore and Henri from his portion.

Quick check

Why does Maheu refuse Levaque’s invitation to drink?

Free for 3 months

Get the full summary of Germinal, free

  • 200,000+ classics as eBooks, audiobooks and 15-minute summaries, and print and large print at cost
  • Up to 5 readers in your home on one plan
Commencez 90 jours gratuitsNothing to pay today. 0,14 USD a day in the first year, then 0,27 USD a day.
200,000+ classics to read, hear and hold

15-minute summaries today, eBooks and audiobooks as each book opens, and printed books, large print included, at cost.

Try 3 months free