Germinal

Two weeks later, the strike spreads to other pits. The Prefect and gendarmes are sent to the village but leave because the strikers were “perfectly calm,” having committed to making “no trouble” (227). Étienne distributes the money from the provident fund to “the most needy families” (227). However, money is running out, and Maigrat, presumably on the Company’s orders, does not offer credit. Everyone is hungry, yet they do not complain, having “absolute confidence in the outcome” and “ready to suffer in the pursuit of universal happiness” (228).

Étienne is “the undisputed leader” (228). He reads constantly and has subscribed to a socialist newspaper. He grows “more and more intoxicated with his growing popularity” (229) and is amazed at how far he has come. However, he has moments of insecurity in which he is self-conscious about his lack of formal education and his inability to fully understand what he reads. Despite these fears, he imagines himself giving “the first parliamentary speech ever made by a working man” (229). He has been grappling with whether to accept Pluchart’s offer to help motivate the strikers and encourage them join the International.

One day, Étienne and La Maheude sit in the house discussing the strike, which La Maheude now supports, believing they “should not return until justice was theirs” (230).