Les Misérables, Book 5: For a Black Hunt, a Mute Pack, Chapter 8 summary
Book 5: For a Black Hunt, a Mute Pack, Chapter 8 of 365 · 3 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 8, Jean Valjean hides the sleeping Cosette when a strange man moves through the garden with a bell attached to him, fearing discovery and arrest. When Cosette fails to wake and breathes only faintly, his fear for her overrides his caution, and he rushes out to seek warmth.
What happens
- Watching Cosette sleep, Jean Valjean realizes that her presence gives his life its central purpose.
- A tinkling bell draws his attention to a limping figure working among the garden’s melon beds.
- Fearing that discovery means arrest, he carries Cosette behind old furniture in the shed.
- He notices that the bell sounds only when the stranger moves.
- Cosette’s hands feel freezing, and she does not wake when he calls and shakes her.
- Hearing her faint breathing, Valjean rushes out, intent on getting her beside a fire within fifteen minutes.
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In this chapter
What to notice
Cosette’s danger displaces Valjean’s worries about discovery. His immediate need to protect her drives him out of hiding.
Quick check
What makes Valjean rush out of hiding?
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