BOOK THIRTEENTH: Marius Enters the Shadow

Summary

Having found CosetteÂ’s home abandoned, Marius leaves the little garden. He has told Cosette that he will die without her, and he is determined to find a way to do just that. He wanders through the streets of Paris getting through the throngs of murmuring people, avoiding the militia, gradually making his way to the barricade of the Rue de la Chanvrerie where the rest of his friends have gathered. There he stops, remembering his father and wavering momentarily, knowing that his father would have been on a different side. Nevertheless, he is able to rationalize that the insurrection is for the common people, for the life blood of France and soon joins the group inside the barricade.

Notes

Eponine again plays an influential part in Marius’ actions. When searching for sign of Cosette he hears a voice saying “your friends are waiting for you in the barricade of the Rue de la Chanvrerie.” He thinks he recognizes the voice of Eponine, but when he searches in the trees for the source, he sees only a young man who is running off. It is, of course, Eponine, and she carries a letter from Cosette, which she will give him at the moment of her own death. Her actions will bring Marius to the point of death but will also bring him and Valjean together and will ultimately bring about his reconciliation with his grandfather.

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