Les Misérables, Book 2: The Intestine of the Leviathan, Chapter 4 summary
Book 2: The Intestine of the Leviathan, Chapter 4 of 365 · 6 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 4, Bruneseau leads a dangerous survey of Paris’s sewers, combining cleaning and measurement with discoveries of old masonry, valuables, and a fragment identified as Marat’s shroud. The seven-year undertaking transforms the network through disinfection and construction, while its buried remains expose traces of past wealth and suffering.
What happens
- Eight laborers refuse to continue, while the remaining explorers clean, measure, and map drains amid foul air and collapsing ground.
- Bruneseau identifies dated masonry that records several centuries of sewer construction.
- The workers seal apparent dungeon cells and discover an orangutan skeleton, valuables, and a religious medal.
- Bruneseau examines embroidered linen identified as part of Marat’s shroud, then leaves it hanging from a hinge.
- From 1805 to 1812, Bruneseau disinfects and extends the network, with Nargaud joining during the second year.
- The narrator closes by describing the old sewer as a dark repository of ruined splendor.
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What to notice
The narrator treats the rag as a burial relic rather than ordinary rubbish. This reflection helps explain why the explorers leave it untouched.
Quick check
What do the explorers do with the scrap identified as Marat’s shroud?
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