Les Misérables, Book 1: The War Between Four Walls, Chapter 5 summary
Book 1: The War Between Four Walls, Chapter 5 of 365 · 7 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 5, Enjolras addresses the barricade’s defenders and imagines a peaceful human society founded on liberty, equality, education, and shared rights. He presents their suffering and possible deaths as sacrifices for that future, while his listeners respond with close attention and quiet conversation rather than applause.
What happens
- The narrator describes Enjolras’s growing openness to Combeferre’s ideas and a republic embracing humanity, alongside his continued acceptance of revolutionary violence.
- Standing on paving stones with his gun, Enjolras begins a speech imagining peace, freedom, work, and universal rights.
- He links technical progress with human unity, honors Feuilly, and declares that either defeat or victory can advance revolution.
- He explains liberty, equality, and fraternity through individual sovereignty, equal contributions, and mutual protection.
- He makes education the foundation of equality and presents suffering at the barricade as a sacrifice for collective happiness.
- Enjolras pauses with his lips still moving, while the listeners watch and whisper without applauding.
Free for 3 months
Get the full summary of I miserabili, free
- 200,000+ classics as eBooks, audiobooks and 15-minute summaries, and print and large print at cost
- Up to 5 readers in your home on one plan
In this chapter
What to notice
The sentence connects technical achievement with social transformation. His speech argues that mastering nature must be joined by freedom, equality, and peace.
Quick check
What does Enjolras name as equality’s instrument?
Free for 3 months
Get the full summary of I miserabili, free
- 200,000+ classics as eBooks, audiobooks and 15-minute summaries, and print and large print at cost
- Up to 5 readers in your home on one plan
15-minute summaries today, eBooks and audiobooks as each book opens, and printed books, large print included, at cost.
Try 3 months free
