Les Misérables, Book 5: The Descent, Chapter 2 summary

What happens

1. Father Madeleine’s growing industry brings widespread prosperity, and his factory offers employment under strict rules of honesty and separate workrooms.
2. He spends heavily on hospital beds, schools, teachers, an infant school, assistance for vulnerable workers, and a free clinic.
3. Townspeople suspect ambition, while the local deputy imitates Madeleine’s religious observance and charitable spending to counter a possible rival.
4. In 1819, Madeleine refuses appointment as mayor and then rejects the Legion of Honor.
5. He also rejects social invitations, prompting further hostile explanations from the town’s gossips.
6. In 1820, he accepts a renewed appointment as mayor after persistent appeals, especially an old woman’s rebuke.

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