Les Misérables, Book 5: For a Black Hunt, a Mute Pack, Chapter 6 summary

Book 5: For a Black Hunt, a Mute Pack, Chapter 6 of 365 · 4 min to read the chapter

In Chapter 6, Jean Valjean and Cosette shelter in a deserted garden while Javert and his men search nearby, and a mysterious hymn replaces the noise of pursuit. The unseen women’s singing brings both fugitives to their knees and shifts Valjean’s attention from danger to spiritual joy, though their hiding place remains unexplained.

What happens

Jean Valjean surveys a lonely garden surrounded by walls, ruined rooms, and a dark building with barred windows.
He puts on his shoes and shelters Cosette under a shed, where she presses close to him in fear.
They hear Javert directing the search nearby, but the noise begins to recede after fifteen minutes.
Women’s voices sing a hymn from the dark building, and Valjean and Cosette kneel without knowing where they are.
Valjean becomes absorbed in spiritual joy before the singing fades and silence returns.