Les Misérables Volume III Book 2 Chapter 1-4

In which a venerable gentleman of over ninety years, M. Gillenormand, is portrayed with affectionate detail as a relic of a bygone era, steadfast in his old-fashioned manners, fierce temper, and amorous reminiscences, occupying a richly adorned apartment in the Marais and clinging to the faded grandeur of the ancien régime. We glimpse a character of lively contradictions—rigid yet jovial, erudite yet coarse—who navigates the changing world with the pride and petulance of one who has long outlived the fashions and follies of his youth.