[Just as an aside, I don't know if my week count is incorrect or what, but there are obviously only 52 weeks in a year and we still have a week of reading.....]

Summary of chapters 5.8.2-5.9.4:

The next day, Cosette returns to where she met Valjean before, and he now comes every day at the same time. Marius is always certain to be absent at those times when Valjean visits. Valjean still makes Cosette call him “Monsieur Jean,” and calls her “madame.” Valjean whittles away all of his own happiness, thinking himself not worthy of it—especially as he continues to distance himself from Cosette. One day in the spring, Marius and Cosette go to visit the garden in the Rue Plumet and spend the entire day there, as the property still belongs to Cosette, and Cosette does not see Valjean on this day. Valjean notices the frugal lifestyle which Cosette and Marius are leading and asks Cosette about it, then another day, she makes a remark to Valjean that makes him realize Marius is purposefully not using Cosette’s fortune that he gave them. This, he thinks, is probably because Marius thinks the money came from some impure source. The next day, Valjean stays only a few minutes, and the next day, does not come at all. Cosette sends the servant Nicolette to see if he is alright, and his response back is that he is busy and must make a little journey. Hugo tells the reader that in the spring and summer of 1833, people noticed an old man dressed in black going out from the Rue de l’Homme Armé every day at the same time and that while he approached his destination, his countenance always shifted between happy anticipation and some kind of dread; each day he gets sadder and sadder and stops his walk further and further from his destination. Marius has done only what he deemed necessary and just, Hugo tells the reader; this consists mostly of placing himself between Cosette and Valjean so that she does not think of him, as Marius considers Valjean a bad person for all he has done. Marius also does think Valjean stole the six thousand francs from someone and plans to get it back to whomever it belongs to. Cosette, in her love of Marius, instinctively does what he wishes—she does love Valjean as her father but loves Marius even more. Valjean has been languishing in his solitude, scarcely eating or seeing another living being. His portress worries about him and sends a doctor to look at Valjean, who has not gotten out of bed in a week, and the doctor says only that Valjean seems to have lost “some dear friend,” and that people die of that. One evening, Valjean gets up and finds his strength nearly completely gone—this past year has aged him to the point where he now resembles his eighty years, where before he would have been thought fifty. He moves slowly and with great effort, then begins a composition to Cosette, beginning with a description of his factory-work when he was mayor, and stops suddenly to sob despairingly, and there is a knock at his door. Marius, meanwhile, has received a letter smelling of tobacco and written in handwriting Marius recognizes—he associates it with the Jondrette garret. The letter states that a man (who signs his name “Thénard”) is waiting to speak to him with some information about an individual who concerns Marius as well as Cosette. Marius allows the man entrance and does not recognize him at all, and this man is wearing a coat which does not fit him. The man waffles around his point for a while, to Marius’ great irritation, but begins by telling Marius about Jean Valjean’s identity, but Marius brushes him aside saying he already knows all about Valjean and Cosette’s fortune, just as he knows the man’s name is really Thénardier, alias Jondrette. With that, Thénardier removes his disguise and admits to his identity (Marius has still given him 500 francs for his information about Cosette’s fortune and whatever else he might know) but does not know Marius, despite having lived next to him. With Thénardier before him, Marius’ thoughts are of fulfilling his lasting obligation to his father and of finding out more about the source of Cosette’s fortune. Marius tells Thénardier what he knows (or rather, thinks he knows): Jean Valjean robbed a man named M. Madeleine of his fortune made from manufacturing, and killed the police officer Javert with a pistol. Thénardier says this information is wrong: he says that Valjean was Madeleine and that Javert killed himself. Thénardier offers proof from the Moniteur newspaper verifying the suicide of Javert and his being saved by Valjean, and another from the Drapeau Blanc which proved Valjean was Madeleine (chapter 2.2.1, for reference)—Marius takes this new information as utterly unquestionable and cries out in joy. Despite this, Thénardier says Valjean is still an assassin and robber, saying he speaks of more recent facts—he says a man (himself) was in the sewer about a year ago and heard another man enter the sewer carrying another man on his back. Thénardier knows this man was an old convict and thinks the man he is carrying is a corpse he intended to toss there. Thénardier says he tore a piece of the corpse’s coat as a means of evidence and of finding the criminal, then let the man out—he says the man carrying the corpse was Jean Valjean, the man with the key was himself, and here, Marius rises and says the young man was himself. He brings the bloodstained coat and matches the scrap of fabric to it. Marius yells at Thénardier, says he has only glorified Valjean where he meant to destroy him, gives Thénardier more money, tells him to go to America as he wished, and sends him out of the house. Hugo tells the reader that Thénardier did indeed go to America with Azelma and became a slaver. Marius wakes Cosette, tells her Valjean was the one who saved his life, and orders a carriage to take them to Valjean.

Questions for 5.9.4:

1. Did you have a favorite line or passage from this chapter? If so, what made it stand out to you?
2. Were there any instances of figurative language you thought added to the narrative of this chapter?
3. Do you have any other comments or questions about this chapter?

Final line:

Meanwhile the fiacre rolled on.

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We only have a few more chapters before the end of the novel!!!