Les Misérables, Book 9: Supreme Shadow, Supreme Dawn, Chapter 1 summary
Book 9: Supreme Shadow, Supreme Dawn, Chapter 1 of 365 · 4 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 1, Marius keeps Jean Valjean apart from Cosette, while she follows her husband’s wishes without fully losing her affection for the man she calls her father. The narrator softens blame for both spouses and presents the growing distance between young and old as a natural separation intensified by happiness.
What happens
- The narrator contrasts happiness with duty and asks readers not to condemn Marius.
- Marius avoids questioning Jean Valjean and gradually removes him from the couple’s daily life.
- Information from a former Laffitte employee makes Marius seek someone to whom he believes he must return six hundred thousand francs.
- Cosette follows Marius’s unspoken wishes, though she remains attached to Jean Valjean.
- Cosette sends Nicolette to inquire about Jean Valjean, who has callers told that he remains away.
- The narrator mentions the couple’s visit to Vernon and explains the separation of generations through images of nature.
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In this chapter
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Why does Marius leave the six hundred thousand francs untouched?
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