Hello everyone and welcome to the latest discussion of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, which brings us into Part Two of the book! Today we are discussing 1.7.5 [Spokes in the Wheels in my edition] to 2.1.6 [Four o’Clock in the Afternoon]. Please do not spoil anything beyond that point. While many of us already know the story, there are also many of us who do not. If you are unsure what constitutes a spoiler, please see our spoiler policy.

Section summary

Part One, Book Seven: The Champmathieu Affair 5-11

Monsieur Madeleine/Jean Valjean starts his journey to Arras to attend Champmathieu’s trial, and on the way out of Montreuil-sur-Mer collides with a mail coach, damaging a wheel of the tilbury. Stopping in Hesdin to rest his horse, a stable-hand tells him the wheel will not last another half-mile, and that he’ll have to wait a day for it to be mended. Madeleine tries to find an alternative, but it seems fruitless, and he wonders if providence is giving him a way out of continuing his journey and taking Champmathieu’s place. However, a boy who overheard his conversation with the stable-hand brings him an old woman who will let him hire her cart. Valjean resumes his journey without tipping the boy, but is beset by more delays.

Fantine’s condition is worsening. She waits for Valjean’s daily visit, and is dejected when he does not arrive at the usual time. Soeur Simplice, who never lies (as was established in the previous section), tells her that the mayor is gone. Fantine assumes he has gone to fetch Cosette himself, which invigorates her.

Valjean asks for directions to the Arras courthouse, which is in the former bishops’ palace. The trial is still going on, but the courtroom is full. The only seats left are with the president, but he only allows elected officials to sit there. It seems to be another way out for Valjean, but he writes on a piece of paper that he is the mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer and requests access to the courtroom. He is granted access, as his reputation precedes him, and the usher who was previously dismissive is suddenly deferential. The usher leaves him at a courtroom door reserved for honoured guests, and Valjean hesitates, runs away, dithers and finally retraces his steps to enter the room.

Valjean sees Champmathieu, who does resemble him somewhat but mostly in attitude. Monsieur Bamatabois, the man who put snow down Fantine’s dress, is one of the jurors. Valjean cannot see Javert. Champmathieu is charged with breaking into an orchard and stealing a branch of apples, as well as Valjean’s crimes of breaking the terms of his parole and committing highway robbery on Petit-Gervais (whenever Petit-Gervais is mentioned I just picture Ricky Gervais). He faces penal servitude, or possibly the death sentence.

The defence lawyer’s main argument is that there is no proof that Champmathieu climbed the orchard wall or stole the apples, and he could have just picked the branch off the ground. The public prosecutor has a stronger argument with credible witnesses, and seems to be winning the case.

Champmathieu is given a chance to say a few words, so he talks about his life and repeats his insistence that he is not Jean Valjean. He says the court can confirm this with Monsieur Baloup, his former boss in Paris, but the man could not be found. The public prosecutor tells the jury that Champmathieu comes across as a dumbass but it is all an act, and he’s actually very crafty and calculating. Javert is not present, but the prosecutor reads out his previous statement that Champmathieu is clearly Valjean and listing his crimes (which includes his suspicion that he robbed the Bishop of Digne, which seems harsh since Bienvenu himself said Valjean didn’t steal anything).

Three witnesses, convicts who served with Valjean in Toulon, also testify that Champmathieu is Valjean (One mentions that his nickname was Jean-le-Cric because of his strength, which I think means Jean the Jack, making it very apt for his rescue of Fauchelevent in the last section). It seems clear that Champmathieu will be convicted.

Suddenly, a harrowing voice near the judge calls out to the convict witnesses, and a man steps onto the floor of the court. Everyone is shocked to see it is Monsieur Madeleine. Pale and trembling, Valjean asks the convicts if they do not recognise him (they don’t). He tells the court that he is Valjean, and that Champmathieu should be freed. The judge asks for someone to fetch a doctor, and the public prosecutor is like LOL, classic Madeleine. Valjean insists that he is Valjean, admits to his crimes, and explains how the prison ships made him even more wicked but that he was saved by kindness. He tells them where to find the 40 sou coin he stole from Ricky Petit-Gervais, and addresses the convict witnesses, mentioning details he could not know unless he was also a former convict (I want to know more about Brevet’s chequered knitted braces).

Everyone in the courtroom watches agog, and nobody asks questions, but it’s clear to everyone that Monsieur Madeleine really is Jean Valjean. Valjean leaves, saying the public prosecutor knows where to find him and can arrest him when it suits him. Nobody stops him leaving, and at that moment there seemed to be something divine about him. The jury clears Champmathieu, who is astounded as he doesn’t understand what happened.

Part One, Book Eight: After-Effect 1-5

Back at the factory infirmary in Montreuil-sur-Mer, Valjean gets an update on the sleeping Fantine from Soeur Simplice. She is shocked to see that his hair has turned white, but he doesn’t seem to care. Soeur Simplice tells him that Fantine is eager to see Cosette and that she will be disappointed if she sees Valjean without her. However, he states that he will see her anyway as he may not have much time.

Fantine’s breathing sounds awful but her face is serene. She wakes, and asks for Cosette. The doctor tells her Cosette is here, but she must get better before she can see her. Valjean assures her that Cosette is beautiful and healthy. Fantine hears another child playing in the yard and thinks it is Cosette. Fantine talks about the happy future they will have together, and about planning her first communion. Suddenly, she sits up in shock and terror, as Javert has entered the room.

We find out that the judge had agreed to take the real Valjean into custody and issued an arrest warrant, which was delivered to Javert. Javert seems calm, but his collar is buckled awry, which “betrayed unprecedented agitation”. He is delighted with himself for being right about Monsieur Madeleine being Valjean, and has soldiers waiting outside.

Fantine hasn’t seen Javert since the night Valjean rescued her, and is terrified, but Valjean reassures her that Javert is not there for her. Javert is like “Valjean, at last, we see each other plain” [we’ll link this song in a future discussion though because it contains spoilers] and grabs his collar. Valjean asks if can have three days to fetch Cosette, and Javert laughs at him. Fantine realises Cosette is not there, and dies of shock. Valjean accuses Javert of killing Fantine, pulls a bar of iron off a bed and tells the trembling Javert not to disturb him. Valjean whispers something to Fantine, and Soeur Simplice thinks she sees a smile on the dead woman’s face. Valjean tidies Fantine’s clothes, closes her eyes and kisses her hand.

Javert puts Valjean in the town gaol. The people of Montreuil-sur-Mer are shocked that their mayor is a convicted felon, and immediately forget all the good things he has done for the town. Only a few people remain loyal to Valjean, including his doorkeeper. Valjean turns up at the house, surprising her; he has escaped from the gaol. She asks her to get Soeur Simplice, then enters his room, leaving the ferrules of his staff and the 40 sou piece on a table with a note. He wraps up the silver candlesticks in cloth from an old shirt, and eats some bread he took with him from prison eight years ago (… That doesn’t seem like a great idea, is that even safe?) Valjean gives Soeur Simplice a note for the town’s priest instructing him to use Valjean’s fortune to pay for the trial and Fantine’s burial, and give the rest to the poor.

They hear a commotion on the stairs; it is Javert and his men. The doorkeeper says nobody has been in the house all day, but Javert can see a light in the room. Valjean hides behind a door before Javert enters, and Soeur Simplice falls to her knees to pray. Javert venerates authority and knows Soeur Simplice’s reputation for never lying, so when she says she is alone in the room and has not seen Valjean, he believes her without question, not even noticing that the candle is still smoking. Valjean is later seen by several carters walking towards Paris. Fantine is buried in a paupers’ grave.

Part Two, Book One: Waterloo 1-6

Victor Hugo recounts how in 1861 he walked from Nivelles towards La Hulpe, and saw a big stone gateway with holes from cannonballs and bullets. He is at Hougoumont, part of the battlefield of Waterloo, which was fought in 1815 between Napoleon’s French army and a coalition of armies from the UK, the Netherlands, Hanover, Brunswick, Nassau and Prussia. Hugo calls Hougoumont “the first resistance encountered at Waterloo by that great tree-feller of Europe whose name was Napoleon”. Hougoumont was once a manor house, but now it is just a farm. Hugo notes that if Napoleon had been able to capture it, this patch of ground might perhaps have given him the world.

Signs of battle are still visible in the courtyard, although several buildings have been pulled down. Fierce fighting took place in the chapel, and wells in the courtyard are no longer used as they’re full of skeletons (The Hougoumont Wikipedia page says the bodies in wells is a myth, and I hope Wikipedia is right because the idea that some of those people were still alive a day after being flung into a well full of corpses is horrifying). Hugo calls the orchard dreadful, with signs of rifle fire and other destruction, and trees filled with bullets. According to him, 1,500 people died in this orchard during the battle, but when he visits it is full of spring flowers.

We jump back to June 1815, a few months before Valjean got his parole. If it had not rained the night before the battle, the future of Europe would have been different. Napoleon’s battle plans were designed around artillery fire, and the French side has vastly more artillery than the other side; however, the ground was too wet for the artillery, so the battle didn’t start until 11:30am when the ground had dried out. However, this delay gave the Prussian army time to join the battle and turn the tide. If the ground had been dry in the morning, and the battle had started at 6am, it would have been over before the Prussians arrived. (Fun fact! Scientists now think that a volcanic eruption from Mount Tambora in Indonesia instigated this heavy rain. This is the same volcanic eruption that caused the following year to be called ‘The Year Without a Summer’ in Europe, and led to Mary Shelley writing Frankenstein. This proves again that we can always find a connection to Frankenstein)

Hugo also muses as to whether Napoleon had got too old and decrepit to lead battles effectively, and then casually mentions that at the time of the battle, Napoleon was the crusty old age of *checks notes* … 46?!! (Victor Hugo was about 60 when this book was published)

Hugo says he has no intention of writing the history of Waterloo, and then goes on to write about it for the rest of this chapter. He asks us to visualise the battlefield, saying the English army led by Wellington had a better position on higher ground. He asks us to imagine Napoleon on his horse (this dramatic picture is actually of Napoleon crossing the Alps in 1800 but it is a better picture of his horse).

“Everyone is familiar with the first phase of this battle,” says Hugo, which I don’t think is correct (Then again, my knowledge of this battle is mostly from ABBA. I was going to say Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure too but I’ve just checked and that actually shows the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, although of course Napoleon does visit the Waterloo water park). Between noon and 4pm, the fog of war sets in.

By 4pm, the English army is in trouble and lots of people and horses are dead. The English line falls back, and Napoleon cries out that they are retreating.

Bookclub Bingo 2023 categories: Gutenberg, Translated (blue), Big Read (blue), Historical Fiction (green)

Other potentially useful links:

• Discussion schedule
• Marginalia
• Discussion 1
• Discussion 2
• Discussion 3
• Napoleon on Wikipedia
• The morning of the Battle of Waterloo, from the 1970 movie ‘Waterloo’
• ABBA’s winning performance of Waterloo at Eurovision 1974

The discussion questions are in the comments below.

Join us for the next discussion on Sunday 2nd July, when u/Blackberry_Weary will lead a discussion on the chapters 2.1.7 - 2.3.7.