#lm 2.2.2

[les-mis-daily-doodles]

it’s the devil! or is it….

[lmchaptertitlebracket]

Round 5, Matchup 4: II.ii.2 vs IV.xiv.5

Which chapter title do you prefer?

In Which Several Lines Will Be Read That May Have Come From the Devil Himself

The Last Poem of Jean Prouvaire

Voting ended onOct 27, 2025

a tough matchup for reading lines fans

[secretmellowblog]

It’s pretty perfect that the chapter of @lesmisletters where Boulatruelle sees “the devil” came on April Fool’s day this year. Tricking him into thinking he saw that devil is a classic April Fool’s prank

[maybeitsapineapple]

LM 2.2.2

"Before we go any further" don't worry hugo i didn't expect you to get round to the plot

boulatrouelle exemplifies what hugo says right at the beginning of the novel, that what people say about a man has as much place in his life as what he does. they believe they know he was in the bagne, so even his respectfulness is suspicious. because they're suspicious of him, he can't get a job that pays properly, so despite his efforts, when we see him next he has resorted to being a criminal. of course, if he hadn't been respectful, he could only have been treated worse for 'confirming' their suspicions, so there's no way for him to win and to escape the situation

i'm not fluent in french, but it comes across to me that he was put under police supervison because people thought he had been in the bagne, rather than the other way around. but surely he would have had to show his papers and therefore reveal any criminal record, so why would there be any doubt? specifying that the townspeople believed they knew is obviously to highlight that it doesn't matter whether it's true or not, but it sort of sacrifices some of the realisticness that hugo normally goes for

[cliozaur]

The one in which we learn what happened to Veljean’s money. Besides, after the preceding chapters filled with horror, sadness, and melancholy, this one offers a refreshing dose of Hugo’s humour.

Note his choice of vocabulary: it’s not a ‘belief,’ or a ‘popular story,’ but a ‘superstition.’ A haughty nineteenth-century intellectual’s judgement. The tales from the Montfermeil region about encountering the devil in the woods (who may turn out to be a mere peasant) are amusing because, no matter what precautions you take, sooner or later you end up dying.

Enter Boulatruelle. While he might appear to be a minor character, this marks the first of three appearances (he will also show up at the Gorbeau house and in the same forest, but in the concluding chapters). One constant about him remains: “The only thing in his favor was that he was a drunkard.” Each time he appears, he is intoxicated, and strangely, it always seems to work in his favour!

Thénardie is true to himself and attempts to manipulate Boulatruelle by encouraging him to drink in order to coax out what he knows.

Last observation: Hugo’s depiction of an individual digging for the ‘devil’s treasure’ offers a remarkably accurate portrayal of an archaeologist’s work:

a man sweats, digs […] he wets his shirt, […] breaks his mattock, and when he arrives at the bottom of the hole, when he lays his hand on the “treasure,” what does he find? What is the devil’s treasure? A sou, sometimes a crown-piece, a stone, a skeleton, a bleeding body, sometimes a spectre folded in four like a sheet of paper in a portfolio, sometimes nothing.

[dolphin1812]

Boulatruelle is one of the ways Valjean could have ended up if he hadn’t met the bishop. Like Valjean then, he’s “too respectful“ to everyone around him, “trembling and smiling” around soldiers; as we can assume he was in prison as well, these behaviors are likely part of the same trauma response we saw in Valjean when he reached Digne. He was exceedingly polite to everyone regardless of how scornful they were towards him, and to this day, he is very respectful of law enforcement even as he’s terrified of them, as we saw with his attitude towards Javert when he came to arrest him by Fantine’s bedside. As an ex-convict, he also struggles to find work, further encouraging this meekness and isolating him from society and a chance at recovery. His alcoholism is likely a way to cope with his past trauma and his current suffering. Moreover, as we saw with Valjean, it’s pretty easy for this constant desperation and stress to fuel further “crimes” (Boulatruelle’s robbery is less blatant, since he’s seeking to take something buried in the ground rather than in someone’s house, but it is another parallel to Valjean).

Of course, there are still differences between them. With Valjean, we saw moments of anger and frustration that simply aren’t visible in Boulatruelle. It could be that we’re not seeing them now because we’re spending less time with him, but it could also be that, after all of these years, that anger has been drained out of him. Rather than the “violent criminal” alternative Valjean viewed for himself when he robbed Petit Gervais, Boulatruelle represents a life of hopelessness and aimlessness that comes from being denied opportunities to seek a better life after being thoroughly rejected by society.

It’s also interesting to see how vulnerable Boulatruelle is because of this? Valjean was offered kindness first by the marquise, then by the bishop, both of whom were genuine in their compassion. Boulatruelle is met by Thénardier and Montfermeil`s schoolmaster. We know Thénardier is horrible already, but watching the way these two casually joke about torturing him for information is especially revolting. Their “hospitality” doesn’t compare to the bishop’s, as it just consists of trying to get him drunk, but given how people avoid him, it may have felt like kindness to him even though there intentions are actually awful. After being scorned for so long, it may be difficult for him to tell when people are manipulating him because he never expects any form of kindness or decency; he might not reach the point of contemplating their intentions if he’s shocked to receive company at all. Valjean, for instance, hadn’t been able to comprehend the bishop’s hospitality, even trying to prove why he didn’t deserve it. If Boulatruelle is like him - and everything we know so far indicates that he is - then he’s very vulnerable to Thénardier not because of his alcoholism (drink might have loosened his tongue, but he barely speaks even when intoxicated), but because his ability to judge people has been skewed by abuse.

[imsorryimlate]

the way hugo uses local legends to tell his story… the whole thing with the devil at montfermeil, and the thing with the wolf pups of the asturias. it adds such depth and flavour, i am continuously impressed!

[patron-minette]

Les Misérables, 2.2.2

I have emerged from the dregs because today is the day that we are introduced to one of my favourite passing characters in this novel; Boulatruelle!

What is particularly striking to me about this chapter is the similarities that Boulatruelle shares with Valjean way back in 1.2.1. But, I shan't delve into that today— you can click the link above if you want to read my thoughts on that tangent. Instead, I want to explore the idea of Boulatruelle as an abhuman, Gothic figure, and in general discuss some of the Gothic influences and tropes at play here in this section.

P.S. I didn’t want to directly reblog it, but I made a long 'character breakdown' post about Boulatruelle, if you're interested. It includes details of all his appearances throughout the novel as well as a general character analysis. You can find the post via this link (please note that it obviously contains spoilers for the rest of the novel)

Illustration: Boulatruelle cherchant le trésor [source]

A large chunk of the chapter describes how Boulatruelle is ostracised by Montfermeil's society. And, whilst it might first appear he is cast out simply because of his ex-convict status, which makes him a 'social Other', as the chapter progresses and we read more about this figure we discover that Boulatruelle is rejected by the townsfolk not just because he is 'Other', but because people do not see him as a human, but instead as a creature with "peculiar ways".

"He was encountered towards evening in the most deserted clearings, in the wildest thickets; and he had the appearance of being in search of something, and sometimes he was digging holes. The goodwives who passed took him at first for Beelzebub; then they recognized Boulatruelle, and were not in the least reassured thereby."

Thus, Boulatruelle momentarily becomes a Gothic monster from legend to the people of Montfermeil. He literally morphs into a devil thanks to the "superstition" of the townsfolk— a very traditional Gothic trope.

Here, then, is the superstition of Montfermeil: it is thought that the devil, from time immemorial, has selected the forest as a hiding-place for his treasures. Goodwives affirm that it is no rarity to encounter at nightfall, in secluded nooks of the forest, a black man with the air of a carter or a wood-chopper, wearing wooden shoes, clad in trousers and a blouse of linen, and recognizable by the fact, that, instead of a cap or hat, he has two immense horns on his head. 

Reading about Boulatruelle through the eyes of this society, we too are inclined to view him as this primitive, beastly, and stupid creature. Oddly enough, he reminds me a little of Renfield in Stoker's Dracula, who is described thus: "He has certain qualities very largely developed; selfishness, secrecy, and purpose. I wish I could get at what is the object of the latter. He seems to have some settled scheme of his own, but what it is I do not yet know".

If we are to be convinced enough by the townspeople and their superstitions, it could almost be assumed that Boulatruelle was carrying out work for the Devil, even if he was not a devil himself— much like how Renfield's odd scheme was actually him carrying out Dracula's whims and commands. Just like how Dr Seward was unsure of Renfield's intentions, as readers we are not entirely privy to Boulatruelle's motivations. Whilst we know Boulatruelle believes that the coffer contains money, is that really the sole motivation for his constant digging?

Yet, the clear difference between Renfield and Boulatruelle is that Hugo constantly reminds us that Boulatruelle is only a perceived Gothic monster here. When Boulatruelle is sat down by Thénardier and given the "wine test" we are reminded that he is more human than monster. Yes, he is undeniably an unusual man, but he is by no means evil. Whilst the locals might perceive an ex-convict and drunkard to be monstrous, I do not think Hugo wants us to believe them at all! If anything, I actually feel quite sorry for the poor guy in this moment.

As Boulatruelle describes what he had seen in Montfermeil's forest, the Gothic influences present in this chapter are expanded upon. There is an even greater Gothic monster lurking in the area— that of the *mysterious figure* who vanishes into the forest's thicket under moonlight and possesses the truly sublime, abhuman nature, and general 'Otherness' of a Gothic monster.

The chapter's ultimate mystery is set up as Boulatruelle observes this figure carrying a coffer, shovel, and a pick into the forest at night, before reappearing a few hours later without the coffer. Yet, despite the old road mender's efforts to find and dig up this mysterious box, there remains no sign of it in the forest.

This mysterious figure is dehumanised to the point that in one moment they are referred to as a "person" with quotation marks shown around the phrase. Much like Boulatruelle, they too are a social 'Other', being described as "a person who did not belong in those parts, and whom he, Boulatruelle, knew well". The figure is also significantly more supernatural than Boulatruelle. In the style of more traditional Gothic fiction, this figure is physically imposing and eerily fast— having Herculean strength (being "three times as strong" as the road mender), and an ability to seemingly vanish and reappear in the thicket of the forest. By the end of the chapter, this figure transcends to become the devil to some of the townsfolk, even more-so than Boulatruelle: "There were only a few brave gossips, who said, “You may be certain that the mender on the Gagny road did not take all that trouble for nothing; he was sure that the devil had come.”"

Throughout this chapter Hugo cleverly titters between the line of the older, traditional Gothic tales of the late 1700s/early 1800s (which involved true monsters that lurked behind the walls of isolated castles and in the deepest, darkest forests— unable to penetrate society), and the "new" Gothic of the mid-1800s, which saw the Gothic monsters become ordinarily human and enter into society, with their 'Otherness' becoming internalised rather than being displayed outwardly.

Of course, the concept of being a monstrous social 'Other' will continue to be explored throughout the novel. Indeed, 'Otherness' has always existed in conjunction with an individual society's standards, helping nurture the creation of the 'us versus them' mentality that pervades through real-life and fiction. Explorations (and dispulsions) of this concept are one of the roots of Hugo's writing.

Let us keep an eye out for more of Boulatruelle at other points in the book and assess how his 'Otherness' transcends in relation to the novel's "social Gothicism". Whilst Les Misérables is by no means a Gothic book, it is riddled with Gothic influences and tropes throughout— we will surely continue to observe such points within other characters at later points in the novel.

Also, we might want to take note of the fact that Thénardier interacts with Boulatruelle directly in this chapter (it makes for a cool detail much later in the novel!)