Les Misérables Chapter 2 Summary

Summary

M. Madeleine is working in his study when Police Inspector Javert requests an audience. Javert enters deeply troubled and, after a silent, formal approach, announces that he has come to ask to be dismissed for a culpable act: six weeks earlier, in a fit of fury over the Fantine affair, he denounced Madeleine at the Prefecture as a convict. Madeleine listens with controlled composure.

Javert explains that he recently learned the genuine Jean Valjean has been discovered at Arras under the name Champmathieu. Brevet, an ex-convict now acting as turnkey, identified Champmathieu as Jean Valjean; two other old convicts, Cochepaille and Chenildieu, confirm the identification. Javert admits he had earlier suspected M. Madeleine of being Jean Valjean and had denounced him, but now recognizes his error. He feels his denunciation is a grave breach of duty and demands to be dismissed to set an example. M. Madeleine calmly directs Javert to other municipal matters and dismisses him, then offers Clemency; Javert refuses the hand and resolves to continue serving until formally superseded. The chapter closes with Javert leaving in his austere, determined manner.

Key events

1. Javert appears at M. Madeleine’s study with an unusual melancholy.
2. Javert confesses he informed against M. Madeleine to the Prefecture as Jean Valjean.
3. Javert recounts discovery of Champmathieu at Arras and identifications by Brevet, Cochepaille, and Chenildieu.
4. Javert acknowledges his mistake and demands dismissal as punishment for his false denunciation.
5. M. Madeleine calmly responds, assigns Javert municipal duties, and offers leniency; Javert refuses and departs.

Analysis

This chapter deepens the moral complexity around identity, justice, and conscience. Javert, usually rigid and unbending, undergoes a rare inward crisis: he confronts the consequences of having acted from personal fury rather than objective duty. His demand for dismissal dramatizes his uncompromising ethic—he insists that punishment must apply to himself as it would to any subordinate—revealing the paradox of an officer of law who measures honor by severity. M. Madeleine’s composed behavior contrasts with Javert’s torment, underscoring Madeleine’s self-control and moral authority; his restraint further complicates the reader’s sense of justice and mercy. Structurally, the chapter shifts suspicion away from Madeleine by introducing Champmathieu’s case, which both advances plot and raises stakes: a mistaken identity could doom an innocent man. The narrative technique emphasizes physiognomy and interiority—Hugo uses meticulous description of Javert’s posture and expression to make his inner transformation visible. Symbolically, Javert’s bowed head and insistence on dismissal function as a perverse sacrificial gesture: he seeks to expiate a moral error through personal ruin. Foreshadowing appears in the relaxed way Madeleine redirects Javert to municipal tasks, hinting at Madeleine’s secure authority and possible resources for responding to the Arras trial. The chapter examines law versus conscience and prepares the reader for the consequences of identification, testimony, and the social mechanisms that determine guilt.

Important quotes

“Mr. Mayor, I have come to request you to instigate the authorities to dismiss me.”

JavertJavert shocks M. Madeleine by asking to be dismissed for having denounced him improperly.

“I have suspected you unjustly. That is nothing. It is our right to cherish suspicion, although suspicion directed above ourselves is an abuse.”

JavertJavert explains his strict ethos and why he must punish himself for his wrongful denunciation.

“Mr. Mayor, the truth is the truth. I am sorry; but that man is Jean Valjean. I recognized him also.”

JavertJavert describes the identification of Champmathieu as the real Jean Valjean, reversing his earlier suspicion of M. Madeleine.

Characters in Chapter 2

• M. Madeleine
• Javert
• Champmathieu
• Brevet
• Cochepaille
• Chenildieu
• Fantine
• Fauchelevent
• the woman Buseaupied
• Pierre Chesnelong
• M. Charcellay
• Widow Doris
• Madame Renée le Bossé