Les Misérables Volume I Book 7 Chapter 10 - The System of Denials

In which a humble man, bewildered and unrefined, stands accused amidst a courtroom charged with grave presumptions and delivers a halting, plaintive account of his harsh labours and weary life, as witnesses from his past are summoned to attest to his identity. The tribunal’s air thickens with tension and uncertainty, until a sudden, startling voice rises from the crowd, shattering the stillness and promising a new turn in the tale.