Les Misérables Volume 2, Chapter 6 Summary

Summary

This chapter is a discursive meditation by the Narrator on prayer, philosophy, and the necessity of the infinite (God) for human meaning. Opening with a simple maxim about prayer — that all modes of prayer are good if sincere — the chapter moves into a critique of philosophies that deny the infinite or reduce reality to mere concepts. The narrator likens denial of the sun or the infinite to blindness, and contends that even strong atheists, by their own intellectual force, end up proving God or at least cannot fully escape the idea of the infinite.

From this starting point the essay examines a metaphysical trend that replaces 'force' with 'will' (attributing will even to plants) and shows how such moves lead either to absurdity or to an implicit admission of the infinite. The narrator denounces nihilism—arguing that negation ends in nothingness and is logically barren—and insists that human life requires affirmation. Philosophy must be energetic and practical: its aim should be to improve human condition, to make wisdom serve human life, and to transform contemplation into action. The chapter closes by asserting that faith and love are the motors of human beginning and progress, and that the ideal — God, the absolute, perfection, infinity — must be made practicable and nourishing for humanity.

Key events

1. Declares all sincere modes of prayer to be good
2. Compares philosophies that deny the infinite to blindness
3. Critiques a metaphysical trend that attributes 'will' to plants and the universe
4. Argues that nihilism reduces everything to mere conception and is self-defeating
5. Asserts philosophy should serve human improvement, not mere contemplation
6. Affirms that faith and love drive human origin and progress, with God as the ideal

Analysis

This chapter functions as a thematic pivot from religious sentiment to philosophical defense: it insists that spiritual life (prayer) and robust metaphysical affirmation (the infinite/God) are indispensable to human meaning. Structurally it is an interlude of authorial commentary rather than plot action, used to justify the moral and metaphysical framework that underpins character choices elsewhere in the novel. The narrator uses rhetorical contrasts (sun/blindness, No/Yes, contemplation/action) to dismantle skepticism and nihilism, portraying negation as a sterile stance that cannot sustain life or discourse. Symbolically, references to the sun, Eden, and holy communion rework religious imagery into an argument that the absolute must be usable and nourishing; the ideal must be 'drinkable' and 'eatable' to be morally effective. The invocation of historical figures (Socrates, Adam, Marcus Aurelius) serves to connect classical wisdom, original innocence, and stoic virtue into a lineage for practical philosophy. Narrative technique here is explicitly didactic: the voice is exhortatory and prescriptive, anticipating objections and re-framing philosophy as a force for moral improvement rather than aloof speculation. The chapter prepares readers to read characters' religious and moral acts as rooted in a worldview that privileges sincere prayer, active love, and faith as engines of progress.

Important quotes

“With regard to the modes of prayer, all are good, provided that they are sincere.”

NarratorOpens the chapter with a broad defense of prayer that sets the tone for the ensuing philosophical argument.

“To No there is only one reply, Yes.”

NarratorSummarizes the chapter's rejection of nihilism and asserts affirmation as the sole adequate response to negation.

“The absolute should be practicable.”

NarratorStates the central claim that ideals and the divine must be made usable and life-enhancing, not merely contemplative.

Characters in Volume 2, Chapter 6

• Socrates
• Adam
• Marcus Aurelius
• God