Part II, Book 2, Chapter 3
The Ankle-Chain Must Have Been Worked on Previously, to Break at a Single Hammer Blow
Generally, when Hugo digresses, he sets aside a whole chapter (or nineteen) for his digressions, and when he has plot, the whole chapter is plot. This chapter is one of the rare hybrids so far in Les Misérables: plot and digression!
So the ship Orion, having sustained damage, comes into the port of Toulon for repairs. You may recall that Toulon is where Jean Valjean is imprisoned.
It’s 1823, and France is embroiled in what Hugo calls the Spanish War. I’m sure I learned about this in AP Euro, but the details are really fuzzy to me. I’m barely hanging on, because Hugo proceeds to go on a two-page rant about how idiotic the war is; it’s very clear that while this has not much bearing on the plot, he really has to get this off his chest. In classic Hugo fashion, it’s full of spiciness and literary fist-shaking.
After this digression, which could have been a chapter by itself (not that I’m giving him ideas), Hugo remembers that he was in the middle of telling a story. It really is like having a conversation with an older person: “So this ship pulls into harbor, and this is during the Spanish War, you see, and speaking of the war—” [twenty minutes later] “—oh, yes, so the ship pulled into harbor…”
Literally, that’s what happens. After ranting about the war, Hugo writes, “But to return to the ship Orion:“
He then proceeds to describe the ship, and if you thought we were done with digressions this chapter, ha! We return to the plot for all of two seconds before Hugo starts talking about ships in general with breathless awe. It turns out, Hugo is a Ship Guy.
Because Toulon is also full of Ship Guys, the harbor is full of onlookers. Said onlookers are witnesses to the accident [dramatic gasp] that is the focus of this chapter, digressions about the war and ships aside.
So here’s what happens, and luckily we have no more digressions. A yardman on the ship Orion is at the top of the rigging when he loses his balance, falls, and manages to grab a footrope to save himself. He is left dangling hundreds of feet in the air, swinging wildly, unable to pull himself up with his arms clearly tiring. It’s the cart scene all over again.
I think we all know what’s about to happen. I can’t help but think that Jean Valjean in Les Misérables must feel like Mr. Incredible.
In a turn shocking to everyone watching but not to us, the reader, a white-haired convict comes climbing up the rigging out of nowhere “with the agility of a tiger-cat.” JEAN VALJEAN IS A CAT! I KEEP BEING PROVEN RIGHT!
We’re given an immediate “thirty seconds ago” flashback: the convict had been part of the forced labor gang working on the ship, and when the man fell, said convict asked the commanding officer of the ship for permission to save the yardman. As soon as the officer gave the okay, the convict struck the chain shackling his ankle and broke it with a single blow of the hammer, and leapt up into the rigging.
Hugo notes how easily the chain broke, and the title of the chapter is his sneaky little clue. Man, Valjean truly is a cat: once again, he cannot be contained and can escape any situation.
The convict, who of course we know is Jean Valjean, climbs all the way up and runs along the yard holding a rope; when he gets to where the yardman is, he ties the rope and lowers himself down on it, hand over hand.
“Ten thousand pairs of eyes were fixed on those two. Not a cry, not a word, the same contraction furrowed every brow. Every mouth held its breath as if afraid to add in the slightest to the breeze that shook those two poor wretches.”
You know what this scene is? It’s identical, beat by beat, to the scene in Kiki’s Delivery Service where Kiki saves Tombo, dangling high in the air, while the crowd watches in breathless silence.
Hugo must also be a Miyazaki fan.
Valjean hauls the man up, carries him across the yard, and hands him down to his shipmates. The strength and the balance on this man, I swear. The crowd bursts into applause and tears at the rescue—this is the Kiki scene exactly.
As Valjean is climbing down, he loses his balance and pitches into the sea, in between the Orion and the neighboring ship. A rescue party in a little boat immediately rows out to get him, but they search and dive in vain until nightfall, never finding the body.
The next day, the newspaper publishes news of Jean Valjean’s death.
And with that, Book 2 is done, and it’s onto Book 3! I cannot wait to find out what happened to Valjean!!!
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