Chapter 51 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter LI
Chapter 51 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BLINDNESS GIVES LESSONS IN CLAIRVOYANCE. At times Gwynplaine reproached himself. He made his happiness a case of conscience. He fancied that to allow a woman who could not see him to love him was to deceive her. What would she have said could she have suddenly obtained her sight?
Chapter 51 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
the state of being blind or lacking sight
From this reading “BLINDNESS GIVES LESSONS IN CLAIRVOYANCE.”
apparent power to perceive things that are not present to the senses
From this reading “BLINDNESS GIVES LESSONS IN CLAIRVOYANCE.”
motivation deriving logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person's thoughts and actions
From this reading “He made his happiness a case of conscience.”
be false to; be dishonest with
From this reading “He fancied that to allow a woman who could not see him to love him was to deceive her.”
formed or conceived by the imagination
From this reading “He fancied that to allow a woman who could not see him to love him was to deceive her.”
plural of “give” — the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length
From this reading “BLINDNESS GIVES LESSONS IN CLAIRVOYANCE.”
plural of “lesson” — a unit of instruction
From this reading “BLINDNESS GIVES LESSONS IN CLAIRVOYANCE.”
past form of “obtain” — come into possession of
From this reading “What would she have said could she have suddenly obtained her sight?”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading He made his happiness a case of conscience.
make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
From this reading He fancied that to allow a woman who could not see him to love him was to deceive her.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At times Gwynplaine reproached himself.
the state of being blind or lacking sight
From this reading BLINDNESS GIVES LESSONS IN CLAIRVOYANCE.
an occurrence of something
From this reading He made his happiness a case of conscience.
apparent power to perceive things that are not present to the senses
From this reading BLINDNESS GIVES LESSONS IN CLAIRVOYANCE.
motivation deriving logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person's thoughts and actions
From this reading He made his happiness a case of conscience.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He fancied that to allow a woman who could not see him to love him was to deceive her.
be false to; be dishonest with
From this reading He fancied that to allow a woman who could not see him to love him was to deceive her.
formed or conceived by the imagination
From this reading He fancied that to allow a woman who could not see him to love him was to deceive her.
plural of “give” — the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length
From this reading BLINDNESS GIVES LESSONS IN CLAIRVOYANCE.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At times Gwynplaine reproached himself.
state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy
From this reading He made his happiness a case of conscience.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading What would she have said could she have suddenly obtained her sight?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He made his happiness a case of conscience.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He fancied that to allow a woman who could not see him to love him was to deceive her.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He fancied that to allow a woman who could not see him to love him was to deceive her.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading At times Gwynplaine reproached himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He made his happiness a case of conscience.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading BLINDNESS GIVES LESSONS IN CLAIRVOYANCE.
plural of “lesson” — a unit of instruction
From this reading BLINDNESS GIVES LESSONS IN CLAIRVOYANCE.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading He fancied that to allow a woman who could not see him to love him was to deceive her.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading He made his happiness a case of conscience.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He fancied that to allow a woman who could not see him to love him was to deceive her.
past form of “obtain” — come into possession of
From this reading What would she have said could she have suddenly obtained her sight?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He made his happiness a case of conscience.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At times Gwynplaine reproached himself.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading What would she have said could she have suddenly obtained her sight?
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He fancied that to allow a woman who could not see him to love him was to deceive her.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading What would she have said could she have suddenly obtained her sight?
an instance of visual perception
From this reading What would she have said could she have suddenly obtained her sight?
happening unexpectedly
From this reading What would she have said could she have suddenly obtained her sight?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He fancied that to allow a woman who could not see him to love him was to deceive her.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading At times Gwynplaine reproached himself.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He fancied that to allow a woman who could not see him to love him was to deceive her.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He fancied that to allow a woman who could not see him to love him was to deceive her.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What would she have said could she have suddenly obtained her sight?
which person or people
From this reading He fancied that to allow a woman who could not see him to love him was to deceive her.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading He fancied that to allow a woman who could not see him to love him was to deceive her.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading What would she have said could she have suddenly obtained her sight?
Chapter 51 of The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo holds 95 sentences, grouped into 19 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 51 holds 95 sentences of The Man Who Laughs, unabridged, divided into 19 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 51 of The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 95 sentences, grouped into 19 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 19 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 19 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 51 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Man Who Laughs section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Man Who Laughs to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Man Who Laughs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
