Les Misérables, Book 8: The Wicked Poor Man, Chapter 6 summary
Book 8: The Wicked Poor Man, Chapter 6 of 365 · 6 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 6, Marius looks into a filthy attic where an elderly man writes letters beside his wife and a pale young girl, exposing poverty far more wretched than his own. The man's anger at social inequality and the family's silence turn the room into a scene of bitterness, neglect, and exhausted affection.
What happens
- Marius surveys a large, filthy attic with scattered rags, damaged furniture, damp walls, and a small fire.
- He notices a print showing Napoleon, a panel facing the wall, and writing materials beside an elderly man.
- The man writes and smokes while angrily describing unequal treatment of rich and poor at Père-Lachaise.
- Marius observes the man's large wife and a pale fourteen-year-old girl whom he recognizes from the previous evening.
- The wife gently answers her husband's complaints, but the narrator questions whether affection survives beneath her familiar endearments.

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In this chapter
Quick check
What example does the man use to complain about inequality?

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