Les Misérables Volume 5, Chapter 13 Summary

Summary

Inside the Rue de la Chanvrerie barricade, the fighters experience a sudden, fleeting hope when signs from across Paris suggest the insurrection may be widening. Enjolras, on watch, interprets distant noises and movements as the city awakening; reports arrive of new barricades, isolated acts of bravery on the boulevards, and small-scale engagements that momentarily disturb the military’s sense of control.

The narrative catalogs several vivid incidents: a lone young man on the boulevards fires and is killed after killing a cavalry commander; a woman shoots from behind a blind; a child is arrested with cartridges; and other neighbourhoods begin throwing objects and engaging troops. The generals briefly hesitate, redirecting forces to stamp out these sparks rather than immediately concentrating on the main barricades. But the momentary excitement collapses within half an hour: the scattered disturbances are suppressed, the larger population remains indifferent, and the insurgents’ hope evaporates. Enjolras recognizes the wounded passing by are not his, and when an insurgent asks about food, Enjolras can only assent to the grim prospect while keeping watch toward the street’s end.

Key events

1. Enjolras perceives a sudden sign that Paris may be waking up.
2. Reports come of new barricades and isolated acts of resistance across the city.
3. A young man on the boulevard kills a cavalry commander and is himself killed.
4. Civilians, including a woman and a child, engage troops in various ways.
5. Military leaders redirect forces to extinguish these sparks before attacking main barricades.
6. The brief hope dies out; the populace’s indifference returns and the insurgents are left hungry and abandoned.

Analysis

This chapter functions as a concentrated episode of hope and disillusionment that reinforces the novel’s recurring themes of popular uprising, courage, and the isolating weight of public indifference. Hugo juxtaposes individual acts of heroism and civic unrest with the strategic coolness of military command; the generals’ decision to extinguish peripheral disturbances before attacking shows the institutional ability to neutralize spontaneous popular energy. The brief flare of activity—described with concrete, cinematic vignettes—underscores how revolution depends not only on bravery but on broad, sustained engagement; the insurrection here fails because the wider populace does not commit.

Narratively, the chapter compresses many small scenes into a rapid montage that heightens tension and then deflates it, mirroring the emotional experience of the barricaders. Symbolically, the ‘passing gleams’—lightning-like bursts of rebellion—highlight the fragility and intermittence of hope. Hugo’s use of auditory and visual detail (peals of church bells, tremulous blinds, thrown pottery) creates realism while also foreshadowing the isolation the main barricade will face. Enjolras’s restrained responses—watchful, authoritative, and ultimately resigned—cement his role as a leader who must reconcile idealism with tactical reality.

Important quotes

““Listen,” suddenly cried Enjolras, who was still on the watch, “it seems to me that Paris is waking up.””

EnjolrasEnjolras signals a sudden surge of activity beyond the barricade that briefly raises the defenders’ hopes.

““Those wounded do not come from us.””

EnjolrasEnjolras notes that the litters of wounded passing by are from other clashes, indicating the barricade’s isolation.

““We are hungry here. Are we really going to die like this, without anything to eat?””

an insurgentA practical, human complaint that contrasts the lofty rhetoric of the uprising with the harsh immediate needs of the fighters.

Characters in Volume 5, Chapter 13

• Enjolras
• Courfeyrac
• Marshal General Cavaignac de Barague
• Marshal Soult
• Suchet