Summary of chapters 4.13.3-4.14.6:

Marius wanders the streets, forlorn, and comes near the Rue de la Chanvrerie and the Corinth. He enters the area, nearing the barricades though the Rue Mondétour, which is the only entrance to through the streets. He sees he interior of the barricade right in front of him but stops to sit on a stone and think about his father and his heroics. He reflects on how his father acted in war, then his thoughts turn to a miserable life without Cosette, deciding that since she left him, she must not love him anymore, and that he might as well die. Marius sees the body of the porter killed by Le Cabuc staring lifelessly down at him. In the barricade, Enjolras, Combeferre, and the others await attack, and they hear Gavorche singing a warning song as he collects bullets outside the barricade, which they take to mean the opposition is upon them. The enemy approaches, calling out, “Who is there?” to which Enjolras answers, “French Revolution!” and the volley of bullets and explosions begins. Courfeyrac warns the insurgents not to waste their ammunition, and Enjolras looks for a volunteer to replant the flag in the barricade from where it has fallen. We return to Father Mabeuf, who has mainly been staying out of the way. He has fallen into a kind of abyss inside himself, but when Enjolras repeats his call for someone to replace the flag, Father Mabeuf appears in the doorway of the wine-shop. He takes the flag and slowly climbs the barricade, proclaims his allegiance to the revolution, then is shot down by a shower of ammunition (grape). Enjolras takes Father Mabeuf’s bloodied coat off of his body and claims it as the new revolutionary flag. Six men take away Mabeuf’s body. Enjolras calls Gavroche, who alerts the barricade to the encroaching presence of soldiers. Everyone comes to the barricade’s defense, and Marius then enters the barricade at last. Marius had seen the danger from his position in the Rue Mondétour and had saved both Gavroche and Courfeyrac with shots from his two pistols. Now out of useful weapons, Marius looks around for something to use to aid his friends. As he turns around, a soldier aims at Marius, but the bullet does not hit him—a young working-man with velvet pantaloons jumped in front of him and saved him. With soldiers infiltrating the barricade, Marius takes the desperate action of threatening to blow up the entire barricade with a keg of powder, and the assailants all leave the barricade. Everyone is glad to see Marius. Jean Prouvaire seems to be missing from their number, and they realize he has been taken by the other side. They hear Prouvaire call out “ Vive la France! Vive l’avenir!” and hear him shot, to which Enjolras says to Javert that he is as good as dead for this. In this small calm, Marius now hears his name called by a familiar voice eventually and finds its owner at his feet. At first, he does not recognize the figure, but the voice says “Eponine,” Marius realizes she was the young person dressed as a man, and she says she is dying. She has a wound in her hand and when Marius asks how she could be dying of that, she tells him it was her who stopped him being shot, and that the bullet went through her hand and then through her body. Eponine asks only that Marius stays with her and he obeys. She ponders the way she helped Marius to Cosette and the day she came into his room at the Gorbeau House. Marius looks upon her with compassion and Eponine recognizes the voice of her brother, Gavroche. Eponine tells Marius she has a letter in her pocket for him, which she delayed from reaching him, and gives it to him. She makes him promise to kiss her on the forehead when she dies, and he promises, then her head falls back and Marius believes her dead, but Eponine opens her eyes, says “And then, do you know, Monsieur Marius, I believe I was a little in love with you,” smiles, and finally dies.

Questions for 4.14.6:

1. What do you think the letter to Marius says? How do you think it will affect his future actions?
2. Did you have a favorite line or passage from this chapter? If so, what made it stand out to you?
3. Were there any instances of figurative language you thought added to the narrative of this chapter?
4. Do you have any other comments or questions about this chapter?

Final line:

She essayed to smile again and expired.

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