Cosette appears in a state of happy bewilderment, ecstatic, blushing, shy before so many bystanders. Fauchelevent-Valjean, dressed with sober correctness, stands quietly to one side with a smile that expresses more poignancy than joy. M. Gillenormand greets him courteously but mispronounces his name with aristocratic negligence. Overcome by emotion, Marius is unable to speak, but Cosette in an uninterrupted monologue pours out her anxiety, her love, her joy.
M. Gillenormand seems happiest of all. He hovers over the couple, marvels at Cosette's beauty, and courts her charmingly. Valjean, until now so quiet he has been forgotten, now intervenes. Without any theatrics he announces that Cosette is rich. He has at her disposal almost 600,000 francs, which he lays down on the table. M. Gillenormand is thunderstruck, but Cosette and Marius are too much in love to pay any attention to such a trivial detail.
The marriage is set for February. The two old men, each in his fashion, work for the happiness of the young couple. Valjean quietly takes care of all practical details and solves a problem Cosette is not even aware of. To spare her the stigma of illegitimacy, he passes her off as Euphrasie, the daughter of the real Fauchelevent.
Gillenormand's services, while not as valuable, are more dramatic. He raids the family heirlooms to offer the girl a shimmering collection of bibelots and jewels. He is as earnest about his frivolities as other men are about more serious matters, for to Gillenormand luxury is not merely a way of life, it is a philosophy. It is only through frills and superfluities, he says in effect, that life becomes a banquet. He waxes particularly eloquent about weddings. He contrasts the dull ceremony of the nineteenth century with the elegance, the sauciness, and the revelry of the eighteenth. His description of a wedding is a canvas inspired by Fragonard, Watteau, and Boucher.
