Les Misérables, Book 5: The Descent, Chapter 9 summary

What happens

1. M. Madeleine knows nothing of Fantine’s dismissal, which his trusted supervisor carries out using her delegated authority.
2. Fantine cannot find servant work, and debts prevent her from leaving town even after she distributes her fifty francs.
3. She sews shirts for soldiers, earns barely more than her daughter costs, and begins paying the Thénardiers irregularly.
4. Marguerite teaches Fantine to survive with almost nothing, but debt and travel costs prevent her from bringing her daughter home.
5. Fantine gradually meets public contempt with defiance, while Madame Victurnien congratulates herself on Fantine’s distress.
6. Overwork worsens Fantine’s cough, though her beautiful hair still gives her a brief moment of pleasure.

In this chapter

What to notice

The sentence links material hardship with public humiliation. Fantine must endure both, and her shame gradually gives way to a bitter outward defiance.

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