Les Misérables, Book 6: The Sleepless Night, Chapter 2 summary
Book 6: The Sleepless Night, Chapter 2 of 365 · 14 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 2, Cosette and Marius marry in civil and church ceremonies, then return to the Gillenormand house for a joyful wedding feast. Jean Valjean leaves before dinner, citing pain in his injured hand, and Marius takes his empty chair beside Cosette as the celebration continues without him.
What happens
- Cosette and Marius marry, while M. Gillenormand escorts the bride because Jean Valjean keeps his arm in a sling.
- The couple return to the decorated house, where guests greet Cosette and she shows Jean Valjean tender affection.
- Before dinner, Jean Valjean leaves a message that his injured hand hurts and asks to be excused.
- M. Gillenormand places Marius in Jean Valjean’s empty chair, and the guests soon forget the absent man.
- M. Gillenormand toasts the couple and urges them to make loving each other their chief purpose.
- After laughter and dancing, the newlyweds withdraw, and the narrator reflects on marriage as a sacred union.
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What reason does Jean Valjean give for missing the wedding dinner?
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