In this chapter we leave the road to Arras and return to Montreuil-sur-mer, the town where Madeliene is now mayor and Fantine lies in her sick bed, rapidly declining.
As the chapter opens Fantine herself seems convinced that this day may very well be her last. Overhearing Simplice and another nurse talking, she realizes that Madeleine has gone on a trip and won’t be back until tomorrow at the earliest. Simplice, who never tells a lie, does not challenge or correct Fantine when Fantine emphatically insists that Madeleine has gone to Montfermeil to retrieve Cosette.
Convinced that this is true, Fantine is filled with hope and begins to make an apparent recovery. Dreaming of being reunited with her daughter after five years of separation, her fever breaks and it seems that she might actually recover.
We, the readers, know too much here. It seems like Fantine is in for what may very well be a fatal blow when Madeleine returns without Cosette. Or worse, what happens if Madeleine never returns? This opens up all sorts of questions about hope and where it is placed. This hope has clearly done wonders for Fantine in the present, but what will happen if it is dashed to pieces? Is it better to have hoped and had those hopes disappointed, or to never hope at all?