Les Misérables, Book 7: The Champmathieu Affair, Chapter 3 summary

What happens

1. The narrator identifies M. Madeleine as Jean Valjean and explains the conflict between hiding his identity and living rightly.
2. After hearing Javert, Valjean visits Fantine, hires a carriage from Scaufflaire, and withdraws to examine his situation.
3. He first justifies silence, then recognizes its cruelty and prepares to surrender by arranging his accounts and writing a letter.
4. Thinking of Fantine, Cosette, and the town’s livelihoods, he argues that remaining mayor serves others better than surrender.
5. He burns his old belongings, but an accusing inner voice stops him from destroying the Bishop’s candlesticks.
6. Exhausted, he recoils from both choices and remains unable to decide between losing his happiness and losing his virtue.

In this chapter

What to notice

The questions compress Valjean’s dilemma: preserving his comfortable position threatens his conscience, while accepting punishment can preserve his goodness.

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