Les Misérables Volume 2, Chapter 10 Summary

Summary

Thénardier, suspecting that the stranger who took Cosette is extremely wealthy, follows him after Madame Thénardier criticizes the small sum he returned to her. He tracks them toward Livry and then into the forest, reasoning and boasting to himself about the fortune he might extract. At a brushwood clearing he recognizes the man's hat and finds the stranger sitting with Cosette; he returns the three bank-bills and announces his intention to take Cosette back, claiming he can only give her up to the mother or to someone presenting written authorization.

The stranger produces a short paper signed "FANTINE" instructing Thénardier to deliver Cosette to the bearer. Thénardier finds the signature recognizable and is momentarily foiled, then insists he must be paid for the "little things" he advanced for the child. The man calmly calculates what the mother actually owed and points out Thénardier has already been overpaid; Thénardier, frustrated, demands a thousand crowns. The man, taking Cosette by the hand and picking up his cudgel, walks off through the brush. Thénardier follows at a distance, but when the man turns and fixes him with a dark look deep in the thicket, Thénardier gives up and retreats, left with the paper signed by Fantine and the fifteen hundred francs the man had earlier handed him.

Key events

1. Madame Thénardier disapproves of the small amount returned to her.
2. Thénardier tracks the man and Cosette toward Livry and into the forest.
3. Thénardier returns the money and demands to take Cosette back unless shown authorization.
4. The stranger presents a paper signed 'FANTINE' instructing delivery of Cosette.
5. Thénardier tries to extort more money; the man refuses and walks away with Cosette.
6. Thénardier follows but is deterred by the man's menacing look and retreats.

Analysis

This chapter advances the plot by resolving the immediate question of whether Thénardier can reclaim Cosette: he cannot. It reinforces moral contrasts between characters and clarifies social dynamics—Thénardier’s opportunism and petty criminality oppose the stranger’s quiet authority and legal exactness. The paper signed by Fantine functions as a pivot: it both legitimizes the stranger’s custody and humiliates Thénardier, whose scheme to profit collapses. The man’s calm accounting of Fantine’s real debt highlights the theme of moral arithmetic versus venality. The narrative voice lingers on Thénardier’s inner self-analysis, presenting him as a dual-natured figure—capable of appearing bourgeois yet quickly reverting to baseness—thereby deepening his characterization as instinctively predatory and cowardly.

Structurally, the scene uses a chase through landscape to build suspense while keeping the conflict compact and personal. The forest and brushwood serve as a liminal space where social pretenses fall away and raw character is revealed. The cudgel and the man’s physical presence foreshadow that brute force and moral resolve can sometimes substitute for legal procedure. The chapter also amplifies the significance of written documents (Fantine’s note) as instruments of social power and legitimacy in the novel’s world, a recurring motif that contrasts with Thénardier’s reliance on bribery and deception.

Important quotes

“It means, sir, that I shall take back Cosette.”

ThénardierThénardier announces his intention to reclaim Cosette, claiming only the mother or written authorization can transfer custody.

“You are go-ing to take back Co-sette?”

the manThe stranger questions Thénardier's claim aloud, prompting the exchange over custody and the paper from Fantine.

“MONSIEUR THÉNARDIER:— You will deliver Cosette to this person. You will be paid for all the little things. I have the honor to salute you with respect, FANTINE.”

Narrator (text of Fantine's note)The written order signed by Fantine legitimizes the man's custody and thwarts Thénardier's attempt to extort more money.

Characters in Volume 2, Chapter 10

• Madame Thénardier
• Thénardier
• Cosette
• Fantine