Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 Summary

In Chapter 1, Evariste Gamelin walks purposefully toward the ancient church of the Barnabites, which is now the meeting place for the general assembly of the Section for three years. After voting to expel twenty-one unworthy members, he goes to another room where Citizen Trubert, the secretary of the Military Committee, tells him the situation is still disastrous; two-thirds of France has been either invaded or is in revolt. When Citizen Beauvisage announces that Custine has evacuated Landar and will be guillotined, Trubert reacts with his typical calm. Despite their defeats, these men believe in eventual victory as they do not expect mercy from their enemies, and their fanaticism stems from the alternatives being victory or death.

In Chapter 2, Evariste returns to his fourth floor studio and bedroom in the Place Dauphine where he lives with his mother. He greets the elderly...