Les Misérables, Book 5: The Descent, Chapter 11 summary
Book 5: The Descent, Chapter 11 of 365 · 2 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 11, the narrator presents Fantine’s condition as a form of slavery that society creates by exploiting women’s poverty, and describes her as emotionally numb after overwhelming suffering. Her belief that nothing more can hurt her gives way to the narrator’s warning that suffering has no certain limit and only God understands its course.
What happens
- The narrator describes society as buying Fantine through hunger, isolation, cold, and poverty.
- The narrator argues that slavery persists as prostitution despite civilization’s claim to follow Jesus Christ.
- Fantine appears cold and resigned, believing she has already endured every possible suffering.
- The narrator rejects the belief that fate can exhaust its powers and names God as the only one who understands.
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In this chapter
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What does the narrator say Fantine mistakenly believes?
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