#lesmis365

[grande-ere]

A question: What do you think how Javert taking Marius for dead influenced his decision to bring him home? It’d make it easier for sure, but would he have done it as well if Marius was obviously going to recover? Or does Javert even really think he’s dead and not just say so?

[grande-ere]

In other news, I’m stuck with the mental image of Jean Valjean singing “Javert, that’s aaaaall I aaaask of yooooou” to the Phantom of the Opera tune.

[midautumnnightdream]

Les Mis sewer chapters resources vol 1: Maps

This is a bit late, since the readalong has been safely out of the sewers for nearly a week, but I never claimed to be sensible in my timing.

First of all, a map of Valjean's escape route that originates from Paris sewer museum:

This is helpful insofar as it places Valjean in relation to city itself, but doesn't help to make any sense of all the side tunnels and whatever else he was supposed to avoid. Fortunately there are more specific maps of the same era:

(Under the cut for labeled map with specific locations mentioned in this chapter: there will be another post with more sewer museum resources.)

Disclaimer: all the labels are my best estimates based on the text and an occasional glance at street maps. I’m making no claims of Actual Research here. :p

(1)  Valjean starts off from a small side-channel under the rue de la Petit-Truanderie that connects to Montmartre sewer: there he has to decide whether to turn left (towards Seine) or take longer but safer way uphill.

"He said to himself that he was probably in the sewer des Halles; that if he were to choose the path to the left and follow the slope, he would arrive, in less than a quarter of an hour, at some mouth on the Seine between the Pont au Change and the Pont-Neuf, that is to say, he would make his appearance in broad daylight on the most densely peopled spot in Paris... He ascended the incline, and turned to the right."

Even so, he gets disoriented almost immediately, because he assumes himself to be under the rue Saint-Denis (2), which would have been easier going:

"Under the Rue Saint-Denis there is an old stone sewer which dates from Louis XIII. and which runs straight to the collecting sewer, called the Grand Sewer, with but a single elbow, on the right, on the elevation of the ancient Cour des Miracles, and a single branch, the Saint-Martin sewer, whose four arms describe a cross."

Instead he gets stuck with Montmartre sewer, which "is one of the most labyrinthine of the ancient network".

By moving away from the Seine he manages to avoid the network under Les Halles (3)

"The sewer of the markets whose geometrical plan presents the appearance of a multitude of parrots' roosts piled on top of each other" 

but there is still a risk of being confused by:

(4) "The vast sewer of the Plâtrière, a sort of Chinese puzzle, thrusting out and entangling its chaos of Ts and Zs under the Post-Office and under the rotunda of the Wheat Market, as far as the Seine, where it terminates in a Y

(5) “on his right, the curving corridor of the Rue du Cadran with its three teeth, which are also blind courts”

(6) "on his left, the branch of the Mail, complicated, almost at its inception, with a sort of fork, and proceeding from zig-zag to zig-zag until it ends in the grand crypt of the outlet of the Louvre, truncated and ramified in every direction"

(7) the blind alley of a passage of the Rue des Jeûneurs

The policemen who almost catch Valjean come out from (5):

"This patrol had just visited the curving gallery and the three blind alleys which lie beneath the Rue du Cadran. While they were passing their lantern through the depths of these blind alleys, Jean Valjean had encountered on his path the entrance to the gallery, had perceived that it was narrower than the principal passage and had not penetrated thither. He had passed on. The police, on emerging from the gallery du Cadran, had fancied that they heard the sound of footsteps in the direction of the belt sewer."

Valjean reaches the belt sewer/le grand égout about "three hours past midday":

"He was, at first, astonished at this sudden widening. He found himself, all at once, in a gallery where his outstretched hands could not reach the two walls, and beneath a vault which his head did not touch. The Grand Sewer is, in fact, eight feet wide and seven feet high.

At the point where the Montmartre sewer joins the Grand Sewer, two other subterranean galleries, that of the Rue de Provence, and that of the Abattoir, form a square. Between these four ways, a less sagacious man would have remained undecided. Jean Valjean selected the broadest, that is to say, the belt-sewer."

Valjean has to decide once again whether to go left or right, but between his own exhaustion and Marius being super nearly dead, he decides to go downhill (left). This, as Hugo points out, is just as well, since he would have had hell of a time getting out from the other end:

"It is an error to suppose that the belt-sewer has two outlets... and that it is, as its name indicates, the subterranean girdle of the Paris on the right bank. The Grand Sewer... terminates... at the foot of the knoll of Ménilmontant(9). There is no direct communication with the branch... which falls into the Seine through the Amelot sewer above the ancient Isle Louviers... If Jean Valjean had ascended the gallery he would have arrived, after a thousand efforts, and broken down with fatigue, and in an expiring condition, in the gloom, at a wall. He would have been lost.

In case of necessity, by retracing his steps a little way, and entering the passage of the Filles-du-Calvaire (10), on condition that he did not hesitate at the subterranean crossing of the Carrefour Boucherat, and by taking the corridor Saint-Louis, then the Saint-Gilles gut on the left, then turning to the right and avoiding the Saint-Sebastian gallery, he might have reached the Amelot sewer, and thence, provided that he did not go astray in the sort of F which lies under the Bastille (11), he might have attained the outlet on the Seine near the Arsenal. But in order to do this, he must have been thoroughly familiar with the enormous madrepore of the sewer in all its ramifications and in all its openings. Now, we must again insist that he knew nothing of that frightful drain which he was traversing; and had any one asked him in what he was, he would have answered: "In the night."

So Valjean goes left and walks a bit before stopping to  rest "probably" right after Madeleine branch, "probably" under Rue d'Anjou (12).

"A little beyond an affluent, which was, probably, the Madeleine branch, he halted... A passably large air-hole, probably the man-hole in the Rue d'Anjou, furnished a light that was almost vivid."

He eats some sewery bread (ewww), continues on and nearly drowns in sewer muck at unspecified location: what we do know is that he walked only hundred paces after that before seeing light ahead, so he must have been pretty close to the outlet near Pont d'Alma (13), where Thenardier was waiting.

[grande-ere]

5.2 - Leviathan’s bowels

So I definitely went into this with the wrong expectations because in the musical, when the sewer part comes up, I’m always like, “No. Not that. I can’t deal with that yet. Especially Thénardiers song. Just take it away from me, please.” Although recently, this overlaps with having to think about this post. Of course the part on which the Sewers song is based on probably comes up next, but a little break would be fine. What I’m saying is, the musical needs a song about the history of the sewers. I don’t know why but having this at this place in the novel is weirdly calming?? I was still in Distress when I picked up the book again, but this...I could do.

I didn’t expect to get emotional over this nevertheless, though. One second we’re talking about forgotten heroes, then they die, you think you’re reading just a little digression, and suddenly realise you’re reading about a forgotten hero again. Going on a dangerous expedition with the goal of betterment. Did Combeferre know about Bruneseau?

I’m still thinking about the part where Hugo is suddenly critical of the renewed sewer system. Maybe I’m getting it wrong, but to me it sounds like he’s basically saying (sorry for the phrasing), “shit stays shit even if you disguise it”. Like it’s a call for betterment not stopping when the necessary is done, but to start every work for betterment with a vision that goes beyond that. In a sense that improving the sewer was good, but it’s still based on the old (flawed) system (linking back to the first chapter where the idea of a drainage system was described), and that that is what makes it somewhat “dishonest”. Because it’s slowing down further improvement, maybe, as the worst flaws have been righted? But wouldn’t that be a very weird thing to say for Hugo considering all the Louis-Philippe talk we have already had? I might read too much into this.

“To go down into the sewers is to step into the grave”.  Is this the real life. Did Hugo just use that saying as the transition back to Jean Valjean and Marius. Do they literally step into the grave and out of it again. Didn’t Jean Valjean get enough of this back in the convent

[grande-ere]

Okay, I’m gonna do this. I’ll read the last chapters of 5.1 now.

[grande-ere]

So that’s kind of the drawbacks of getting into Les Mis through the musical first, I actually know that the next chapter is the one where everyone gets killed off in the span of one sentence and 10 pages ahead everyone will be dead. I’m not ready. Please Hugo, go on another digression. Tell me about the sewers now.

[grande-ere]

5.1.20 - The dead are right but the living are not wrong

I’m still thinking about the point being made about success of an insurrection and martyrdom. I have a feeling that I get what Hugo wants to say. But to say that he prefers martyrdom over success is such on odd phrasing. I mean, I still think I understand part of what he means, that it’s something to say against unsuccessful insurrections being treated unjustly or simply forgotten. It still struck me as odd when I read it.

[grande-ere]

5.1.19 - Jean Valjean gets his revenge

It struck me as weird that the narrative is referring to Éponine as a woman now that she has died, even when Javert still calls her a girl.

I was excited to see that the musical took the dialogue almost directly from the book in this scene, but I loved how here there was an emphasis on how the superiority in character gets turned upside down with Javert smiling at first when he’s supposedly led to be shot by Jean Valjean. And the “I don‘t like this. Kill me, instead, why won’t you” seems such an important turning point but at the same time I’M SORRY but “I don’t like this” is so?? I don’t even know what to say but even with knowing what happens I didn’t expect Javert to say “I don’t like this”. Part of it is probably a translation thing because “Vous m’ennuyez” seems to sound a bit more like Javert isn’t sure if Valjean’s not playing some sort of game with him? In any case Javert switching from “tu” to “vous” is

WHOA

I’m not sure, though, if I understand correctly why they have to kill Javert. Is it because he could incriminate them in case there were survivors taken to court afterwards or is there another reason?