The last day of a convict

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The Last Day of a Condemned Man , painting by Mihály von Munkácsy , 1872

The Last Day of a Condemned Man is a novel by Victor Hugo . It was published in 1829 under the name Le dernier jour d'un condamné . As in many of his works, Victor Hugo clearly shows his attitude towards the death penalty .

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As the title suggests, the text tells of the last days of a man who was sentenced to death and who writes about his thoughts, memories and fears while he is waiting for his execution. All the while he doesn't even give his name, nor does he tell us what exactly he did and what he was sentenced to death for. Only once is there a vague suggestion that he spilled blood.

The man tells us everything he does, thinks and feels: he witnesses the terrible scene in which the convicts are chained to be taken to the galleys in Toulon ; he discovers that former residents of his dungeon have left marks on the wall; he tells of his memories of his childhood; he describes how the other inmates of Bicêtre teach him argot ; he describes his guards and the priest whom he has been assigned. Finally the day has come, he is put in a cell in the town hall for his last hours; There he meets a man who was sentenced to death that day and will now be the next to wait six weeks for his execution. He tells him about the galleys where he spent many years. Shortly before his death, his three-year-old daughter Marie is brought to him. He is overjoyed, but is disappointed: the little girl does not recognize him. He has two hours left until four o'clock, the hour of his death that has been set.

Then he is brought to the scaffold , shortly before his execution he is given the opportunity to put this passage on paper. Once again he begs for mercy, now his attitude has changed: While at the beginning he would rather die a thousand deaths than go to the galleys for life, he would now prefer the latter. But he does not receive grace. The book ends with the words: FOUR O'CLOCK.

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