Summary: Book One: An Upright Man
The novel begins with a brief biography of M. Myriel,
the bishop of Digne, a diocese in France. Born in 1740 to
a wealthy aristocratic family, Myriel is forced to flee to Italy
during the French Revolution of 1789. Years
later, he returns to his homeland as a priest. A chance encounter
with Emperor Napoléon in 1806 leads to Myriel’s appointment
as bishop of Digne. When he moves to Digne, he discovers that the
church has provided him and his small entourage with a well-appointed
eighteenth-century palace, while the patients at the hospital next
door live in cramped and dangerous conditions. Myriel insists on
switching houses with the hospital and gives the majority of his
church salary to the city’s poorest citizens and to charities in
Paris and abroad.
Myriel and his family live a simple life, but out of consideration for
his housekeeper, he holds on to two little luxuries: a set of silverware
and two silver candlesticks. Myriel’s compassion earns him the love
of his parishioners, and he becomes a clergyman of wide renown.
He defends the needs of the poor and argues that most petty criminals
steal to survive, not because they are inherently malicious. He
becomes a vocal critic of the prejudices of French society and an
advocate for universal education. Among the needy, Myriel’s actions
earn him the nickname “Bienvenu,” which means “welcome.”
Summary: Book Two: The Fall
[Valjean’s] knees suddenly bent under
him. . . . [H]e fell exhausted . . . and cried out, “I’m such a
miserable man!”
(See Important Quotations Explained)
In October 1815, a mysterious wanderer
enters Digne. The man has been walking all day and is desperately
hungry. His first stop is at the mayor’s office, where the law requires
him to show a yellow passport indicating that he is an ex-convict.
The man is tired and hungry, but the town’s innkeepers refuse to
serve him. He tries the town prison, the houses of local villagers,
and even a dog kennel, but his reputation has preceded him and the
townspeople are afraid. When the stranger stops at Myriel’s house,
however, the bishop immediately invites him in for dinner.
The stranger’s name is Jean Valjean, a tree-trimmer from
the south of France who has spent the last nineteen years in prison.
The first five years of Valjean’s prison term were for stealing
a loaf of bread to feed his impoverished family, and the next fourteen
were imposed for his frequent escape attempts. He is used to rough
treatment and is surprised by the respect Myriel shows him. Valjean
does not initially realize that Myriel is a member of the clergy
and is certainly not aware that he is a bishop. Myriel invites Valjean
to spend the night free of charge. He accepts the invitation but
then leaves in the night with Myriel’s silverware.
Early the next day, the police stop Valjean. They discover
the silverware in his knapsack and take him back to Myriel’s house.
To everyone’s surprise, Myriel claims that he gave the silverware
to Valjean and even chides Valjean for having forgotten to take
the silver candlesticks as well. Valjean is immediately released.
Myriel gives Valjean the candlesticks and tells him that in taking
the candlesticks, he has made a promise to become an honest man.
Humiliated and confused, Valjean leaves town furtively,
as if he were still on the run. In the countryside, he takes a silver
coin from a little boy named Petit Gervais. As the boy runs off
crying, Valjean is struck by the wickedness of his act. He tries
in vain to find the boy and return the coin. Valjean begins to cry
for the first time in nineteen years. Confronted by his own malice,
he vows to become an upstanding citizen. Later that night, he prays
on the doorstep of Myriel’s house.
