Les Misérables, Book 6: Le Petit-Picpus, Chapter 5 summary
Book 6: Le Petit-Picpus, Chapter 5 of 365 · 8 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 5, the narrator describes harsh convent routines and the small pleasures pupils pursue through forbidden reading, stolen fruit, visitors, and music. Madame Albertine’s outcry suggests an unexplained connection with a priest, while the girls’ imagined romance with a flute player ends in the discovery of an elderly, blind musician.
What happens
- The narrator describes the refectory, plain meals, enforced silence, religious readings, and punishments for the pupils.
- Girls secretly read a forbidden rulebook and hide stolen fruit to eat away from supervision.
- Mademoiselle Bouchard asks the visiting archbishop for one day away and receives permission for three.
- Madame Albertine interrupts a sermon by calling M. de Rohan Auguste, prompting speculation about their connection.
- The pupils fear visiting duchesses but become fascinated by M. de Rohan’s voice and reported appearance.
- A nearby flute inspires romantic fantasies until two girls discover that its player is an elderly, blind man.
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Who actually plays the flute that fascinates the pupils?
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