One evening, as Marius has been working in his study, he has received a letter that promises important revelations about an individual living with Marius; the tobacco odor and handwriting immediately remind him of Thénardier. Happy to be able to settle his debt at last, Marius orders Thénardier sent in, but he can scarcely recognize him, for Thénardier is thoroughly disguised. Upon Marius' curt invitation to speak, Thénardier explains he wants to retire to an isolated village in Panama, but he needs money. If Marius will provide it, he will provide Marius with a secret. He tells Marius, to whet his appetite, that his father-in-law is a thief, a murderer, and an ex-convict named Jean Valjean.
Contemptuously, Marius tells him he knows that already and further demoralizes Thénardier by revealing all he knows about the former innkeeper's own background. Giving Thénardier a 500-franc bill to settle his debt of gratitude, he goes on to say that he believes Valjean had M. Madeleine arrested, stole his money, and killed Javert. Thénardier, better informed on this point than Marius, regains lost ground by triumphantly announcing that Valjean and Madeleine are the same person. With a flourish he pulls out two newspapers that confirm his allegations.
Belatedly, it begins to dawn on Marius that he has misjudged Valjean, but Thénardier insists he is, nevertheless, a thief and a murderer. To prove it, he recounts his own version of the adventure in the sewer. According to him, Valjean was there to dispose of the body of a young man whom he had murdered for his money. There he met a fugitive who provided him with a key to get out, but not before the fugitive had torn off a piece of clothing from the murdered man; and Thénardier, to clinch his case, produces a piece of black rag. Marius, dazzled by the revelation of the magnificent truth, reaches blindly into the closet and throws a black suit at Thénardier's feet. Proclaiming that he is the supposed victim, he fits the torn piece of cloth neatly into the rent in his suit. Accusingly, he turns on Thénardier and catalogs all the sins of his past life, but offers him 4,500 francs now and 20,000 the next day if he will leave and never return. Thénardier accepts and departs—to become a slave trader in America, Hugo tells us.
In feverish haste, Marius takes Cosette and speeds with her in a cab to Valjean's home. On the way, he reveals the whole story of her father's life to Cosette and comments rapturously on its ineffable saintliness. The young couple arrive in time: Valjean still lives. Choked with emotion, Cosette rushes toward him and embraces him; Marius calls him "father." Valjean is incoherent with joy. To Cosette, tenderly nestled on his lap, he pours out his immense love and poignant longing. Cosette responds with affectionate reproaches and Marius with profound gratitude and admiration. Firmly but respectfully, he declares they have come to take Valjean home with them, and Cosette paints a radiant picture of their future life together.
Valjean listens as if to a magnificent symphony, and a tear comes to his eyes. Then, sorrowfully, he announces he is dying. Cosette and Marius, heartbroken, refuse to accept the truth. Valjean, however, in the spirit of abnegation that has characterized his whole life, exhorts them to accept the wisdom of God's decision and urges them to look forward to their future happiness.
The doctor arrives and confirms the verdict. Valjean settles his earthly and spiritual affairs and, with an unexpected renewal of strength, walks to the wall, takes down the crucifix, and sits down again. He reassures Marius as to the legitimacy of his wealth and requests an anonymous tombstone; and his last moments are filled with happy memories. He evokes Cosette's childhood, their humble pleasures, their adventures. He tells Cosette about her mother and asks her to forgive the Thénardiers. In the presence of the two people he loves, he dies happy.
In the Père-Lachaise cemetery, there is a neglected and anonymous tombstone. Time, vegetation, and the elements are slowly destroying it. Only an unusual epitaph in pencil gives it a transitory distinction:
He sleeps. Although fate was very strange to him,
He lived. He died when he lost his angel;
It happened simply, as naturally as
The night falls when the day goes away.
