Part I, Book 7, Chapter 7
The Traveller on Arrival Makes Sure of Being Able to Leave
After 14 hours of traveling, Madeleine finally arrives at Arras at 8 PM. FOURTEEN HOURS! To go 50 miles!
He personally puts the little white horse in the stable and is told that this poor horse is very tired and needs two days’ rest. I agree—this amazing little horse just ran a marathon and the horse body count in this book is already too damn high. Give that little white bébé all the rest, and oats, and hay, and carrots, and let it roll around in some shavings for a while!
So Madeleine books his seat on the mail coach leaving that night at 1 AM. Man, this guy just spent 14 hours on the road, and he’s planning on turning right back around in 5 hours—this is a ROUGH day, jeez.
It’s not really spoken of, but Hugo put it right in the title of the chapter: it seems significant that Madeleine immediately makes sure he has a way to leave.
Madeleine, for reasons a therapist could probably tease out but I don’t want to, wanders the town refusing to ask for directions. I love the implication that he’s just walking around looking for a sign saying LAW COURTS THIS WAY.
Of course he gets lost, so he finds a friendly rando who happens to be going in the right direction and walks with him. On the way, the guy drops the detail that the building the law courts are in used to be a bishop’s palace. First of all, I love that we keep getting these quiet contrasts between how bishops usually are and how our bishop was, reminding us that Myriel was really one of a kind.
Second of all, an enormous, grand bishop’s palace? This is why you guys had a revolution.
Despite the late hour, the law courts are still open—turns out, the day’s trials have dragged on. Madeleine finds another helpful NPC who informs him that Champmathieu’s trial is going on right this moment; the questioning and witness testimony are over, but the defense and prosecutor are about to make their closing statements. (I’m not a lawyer, but I’ve watched Legally Blonde, and I know that this timing has the greatest potential for drama. Hugo knows exactly what he’s doing.)
Champmathieu is most likely going to be found guilty, the NPC tells Madeleine, because the public prosecutor is a “witty fellow, who wrote verse” who is very good at his job. Of course it doesn’t matter that Champmathieu is actually innocent; the guy prosecuting him is great with words, so that’s that! Hugo doesn’t have to say it outright, but this feels like damning commentary on the justice system and how poor uneducated people don’t stand a chance if they happen to run afoul of the law.
The usher at the door (yet another NPC in this chapter) says court is full so no one is allowed in. He then adds, almost as an afterthought, that actually, there are a few seats open behind the president, but that’s only for public officials.
HMM, good thing our man Madeleine is a mayor!
After a small decision-making crisis (every moment of decision for poor Madeleine right now is torture), Madeleine writes his name and job title on a piece of paper and asks the usher to take it to the president.
WILL HE BE LET IN???
Leave a Reply