During the last months of spring and the first months of summer, 1833, Valjean takes a daily walk in the direction of the Rue des Filles du Calvaire. He is in a complete trance. When he approaches his destination he slows down, and when he reaches the street he stops. He stares ahead yearningly at his forbidden paradise and a tear slips down his cheek. Gradually, like a pendulum whose oscillations grow shorter, he abbreviates his walks.
Hugo points out that Marius feels it a matter of husbandly duty to separate Valjean from Cosette; new and mysterious information has confirmed his darkest suspicions of the old man. Cosette is almost equally blameless. Marius exerts a magnetic influence on her and almost involuntarily she yields to his wishes. In any case, her neglect of her father is only superficial; under the surface, her love is as deep as ever. She does occasionally inquire about Valjean, but he encourages the estrangement by pretending to be out of town. Besides, what is known as the ingratitude of children is merely the fulfillment of the scheme of nature. It forces the young to look to life and to neglect the generation that represents the past and is journeying toward the grave.
The pendulum finally comes to a halt. One day, Jean Valjean merely takes a few steps, sits down on a milestone, and returns home. The next day, he does not leave his room. The following day, he does not get out of bed. His janitress, who prepares his meager meal, finds the dish untouched. A week elapses and Valjean does not leave his bed. The janitress' husband, when he hears the news, pronounces the case hopeless, and the doctor, after his visit, conforms his diagnosis. He announces that Valjean is suffering from the loss of a loved one.
