Les Misérables, Book 8: Enchantments and Desolations, Chapter 6 summary

What happens

1. Cosette tells Marius that her father wants their luggage ready within a week and may take her to England.
2. Marius reacts with anguish, and Cosette proposes that he follow her wherever she goes.
3. Marius explains that his debts, damaged clothes, and lack of money make travel impossible.
4. After a long silence beside a tree, Marius comforts the weeping Cosette and solemnly declares that separation means his death.
5. He asks her to expect him the day after tomorrow and scratches his address into the wall.
6. They agree to meet at nine, embrace, and part while Marius keeps his desperate decision unexplained.

In this chapter

What to notice

Marius asks Cosette to accept a brief absence for an uncertain chance of staying together. The line marks his shift from despair toward action.

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