Les Misérables, Book 5: The Virtue of Misfortune, Chapter 4 summary
Book 5: The Virtue of Misfortune, Chapter 4 of 365 · 7 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 4, M. Mabeuf emerges as a gentle lover of books and plants whose income collapses after personal loss and a publishing crisis. He moves into cheaper lodgings near the Salpêtrière, yet remains absorbed in gardening, reading, and small pleasures rather than fully recognizing his declining circumstances.
What happens
- M. Mabeuf cares little for politics and devotes himself to collecting books, studying plants, and gardening.
- Mother Plutarque keeps house for him, while Marius visits and hears about his father’s interest in flowers.
- His brother dies, a notary’s failure consumes his savings, and his botanical book stops selling.
- He sells possessions and moves twice, finally settling in a cottage with a garden at Austerlitz.
- He remains calm despite growing hardship and mistakes Mother Plutarque’s novel for a legend about Bouddha and a dragon.
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In this chapter
What to notice
The comparison explains why Mabeuf’s familiar habits and calm persist even as the material support for his life disappears.
Quick check
Why does Mabeuf leave the Rue Montparnasse?
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