Les Misérables, Book 1: Paris Studied in Its Atom, Chapter 6 summary
Book 1: Paris Studied in Its Atom, Chapter 6 of 365 · 3 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 6, the narrator describes homeless children in Paris, argues that the city helps preserve their honesty, and condemns the neglect that leaves them abandoned. Historical examples under Louis XIV and Louis XV shift the discussion toward royal exploitation, forced labor, police abductions, and punishment of protesting fathers.
What happens
- The narrator reports that police collect an average of 260 homeless children annually from makeshift shelters in Paris.
- He argues that Parisian street boys retain inner honesty despite outward damage and exposure to public vice.
- He links abandoned children to broken families and condemns the monarchy’s opposition to popular education.
- Under Louis XIV, Colbert encourages officials to produce convicts for galleys, including homeless fifteen-year-olds.
- Under Louis XV, police seize children, and the Parlement has fathers hanged when they attack the officers.
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Whom does the Parlement have hanged after fathers attack the officers taking their children?
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