Meaning

The line offers a direct and simple reassurance: no matter how complete or prolonged the darkness feels, it is not permanent. The sun rising is the most reliable natural event there is, and Hugo uses it as a metaphor for the fact that suffering, despair, and oppression all have limits. The statement does not minimize how dark the night can be; it simply insists that it will end, placing hope not in wishful thinking but in the structure of time itself.

Context

These words appear in "Les Misérables," the vast novel Hugo published in 1862. The book follows characters living under poverty, injustice, and political upheaval in nineteenth century France, and its emotional range moves between extreme suffering and moments of profound grace. Hugo was deeply concerned with the capacity of human beings to endure and to find dignity under oppression, and this line reflects that preoccupation. It appears in a narrative context dense with struggle, which gives the sentiment its weight: it is not easy comfort but a hard-won conviction.

About the author

Victor Hugo was a French poet, novelist, and playwright born in 1802, and he became one of the central figures of the Romantic movement in French literature. He was also deeply engaged in the political life of his country, and his opposition to authoritarian rule led him to spend years in exile. His major works, including both "Les Misérables" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," combined epic storytelling with passionate moral arguments about justice, poverty, and human dignity. He died in 1885 and was mourned as a national figure in France.