Les Misérables Volume 2, Chapter 7 Summary

Summary

The chapter follows Napoleon on the morning of June 18, 1815, as he arrives at the battlefield of Waterloo in an unexpectedly cheerful mood. Though the Emperor is physically uncomfortable from illness and the night’s storm, he greets the morning with confidence, recalling his earlier prophetic remark “We are in accord.” He rides the lines with Bertrand, inspects outposts, misinterprets early signs of enemy movement, and receives reports from scouts and deserters before settling at Rossomme with a simple breakfast and battlefield chart. Surrounded by generals such as Soult and Ney, he pokes fun, dictates the order of battle, and watches the army deploy into a vast, impressive formation he calls “a pretty checker-board.” His buoyant humor and promotional anecdotes (including quips preserved from his exile and return) present a leader at ease with destiny.

The second paragraph shifts to concrete military detail and landscape description. The emperor selects observation posts, taps Haxo on the shoulder to encourage artillery, and notes with a single line of pity the massing Scotch Grays. The narrator then moves into topographical exposition of Mont-Saint-Jean and its approaches: the plateau, hollow roads, ravines, and steep slopes made worse by rain and mud. These physical features—deep hollow ways, concealed trenches, and a slope that becomes a trap in wet weather—are emphasized as hidden hazards that will shape the combat. The chapter closes by insisting that the plain itself is a sepulchre for France and that human alterations have changed the historical terrain, complicating memory and commemoration.

Key events

1. Napoleon rides and observes the English camp-fires the night before and pronounces “We are in accord.”
2. He inspects outposts early on June 18, misreads initial signs of movement, and hears reports from a peasant and deserters.
3. Napoleon breakfasts at Rossomme, jokes with generals, and dictates the order of battle.
4. The French army deploys into columns and lines; Napoleon admires the formation and encourages troops and sappers.
5. Napoleon selects observation posts and shows a mixture of confidence and brief pity on seeing the enemy.
6. Narrator describes Mont-Saint-Jean’s terrain—hollow roads, steep slopes, mud—and its hidden dangers for attackers.

Analysis

This chapter functions as a concentrated portrait of Napoleon’s temperament and as a technical setup for the coming battle. Victor Hugo emphasizes the contrast between the Emperor’s buoyant, almost playful demeanor and the grim physical conditions—rain, mud, and concealed trenches—thus undercutting triumphalism with the foretaste of disaster. The narrative technique alternates close third-person focus on Napoleon’s actions and remarks with panoramic authorial description, allowing readers to see both the leader’s psychology and the objective facts of the field. Recurrent motifs include fate and misreading of signs: Napoleon’s fatalistic “We are in accord” and later misjudgments foreshadow the tenuousness of human plans. The attention to topography transforms landscape into agent: hidden hollow ways and boggy slopes are not mere scenery but tactical characters that will shape outcomes. Symbolically, the plain as “a sepulchre for France” registers national mourning even before the fighting begins. Hugo also signals memory’s instability—later alterations to the battlefield hinder historical truth—preparing a theme of how remembering war is itself an act fraught with distortion. Overall, the chapter establishes tension between heroic confidence and material reality, while using detailed description to build anticipation and to critique the mythologies of military glory.

Important quotes

“We are in accord.”

NapoleonSaid while observing the English camp-fires at night, revealing his confident fatalism before the battle.

“We have ninety chances out of a hundred.”

NapoleonSpoken to Ney despite poor weather and fatigued troops, showing his buoyant optimism and confidence in victory.

“It is a pity.”

NapoleonA brief phrase of haughty pity when he sees the massing Scotch Grays, the only note of pity amid his cheerfulness.

Characters in Volume 2, Chapter 7

• Napoleon
• Bertrand
• Wellington
• Soult
• Ney
• Haxo
• Erlon
• Reille
• Lobau
• Lacoste
• Vivian
• Fleury de Chaboulon
• Gourgaud
• Benjamin Constant