Chapter 55 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 230 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter LV
Chapter 55 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 230 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
GWYNPLAINE THINKS JUSTICE, AND URSUS TALKS TRUTH. A philosopher is a spy. Ursus, a watcher of dreams, studied his pupil. Our monologues leave on our brows a faint reflection, distinguishable to the eye of a physiognomist. Hence what occurred to Gwynplaine did not escape Ursus.
Chapter 55 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 230 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 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.
capable of being perceived as different or distinct
From this reading “Our monologues leave on our brows a faint reflection, distinguishable to the eye of a physiognomist.”
plural of “monologue” — speech you make to yourself
From this reading “Our monologues leave on our brows a faint reflection, distinguishable to the eye of a physiognomist.”
a specialist in philosophy
From this reading “A philosopher is a spy.”
a learner who is enrolled in an educational institution
From this reading “Ursus, a watcher of dreams, studied his pupil.”
catch sight of
From this reading “A philosopher is a spy.”
a discussion intended to produce an agreement
From this reading “GWYNPLAINE THINKS JUSTICE, AND URSUS TALKS TRUTH.”
type genus of Ursidae: brown bears; in some classifications genus Ursus includes all bears
From this reading “GWYNPLAINE THINKS JUSTICE, AND URSUS TALKS TRUTH.”
a close observer; someone who looks at something (such as an exhibition of some kind)
From this reading “Ursus, a watcher of dreams, studied his pupil.”
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 A philosopher is a spy.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading GWYNPLAINE THINKS JUSTICE, AND URSUS TALKS TRUTH.
plural of “brow” — the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading Our monologues leave on our brows a faint reflection, distinguishable to the eye of a physiognomist.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Hence what occurred to Gwynplaine did not escape Ursus.
capable of being perceived as different or distinct
From this reading Our monologues leave on our brows a faint reflection, distinguishable to the eye of a physiognomist.
plural of “dream” — a series of mental images and emotions occurring during sleep
From this reading Ursus, a watcher of dreams, studied his pupil.
the act of escaping physically
From this reading Hence what occurred to Gwynplaine did not escape Ursus.
the organ of sight
From this reading Our monologues leave on our brows a faint reflection, distinguishable to the eye of a physiognomist.
deficient in magnitude; barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
From this reading Our monologues leave on our brows a faint reflection, distinguishable to the eye of a physiognomist.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading GWYNPLAINE THINKS JUSTICE, AND URSUS TALKS TRUTH.
for this reason
From this reading Hence what occurred to Gwynplaine did not escape Ursus.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Ursus, a watcher of dreams, studied his pupil.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A philosopher is a spy.
the quality of being just or fair
From this reading GWYNPLAINE THINKS JUSTICE, AND URSUS TALKS TRUTH.
go away from a place
From this reading Our monologues leave on our brows a faint reflection, distinguishable to the eye of a physiognomist.
plural of “monologue” — speech you make to yourself
From this reading Our monologues leave on our brows a faint reflection, distinguishable to the eye of a physiognomist.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Hence what occurred to Gwynplaine did not escape Ursus.
inflected form of “occur” — come to pass
From this reading Hence what occurred to Gwynplaine did not escape Ursus.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Ursus, a watcher of dreams, studied his pupil.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Our monologues leave on our brows a faint reflection, distinguishable to the eye of a physiognomist.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Our monologues leave on our brows a faint reflection, distinguishable to the eye of a physiognomist.
a specialist in philosophy
From this reading A philosopher is a spy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Our monologues leave on our brows a faint reflection, distinguishable to the eye of a physiognomist.
a learner who is enrolled in an educational institution
From this reading Ursus, a watcher of dreams, studied his pupil.
a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
From this reading Our monologues leave on our brows a faint reflection, distinguishable to the eye of a physiognomist.
catch sight of
From this reading A philosopher is a spy.
produced or marked by conscious design or premeditation
From this reading Ursus, a watcher of dreams, studied his pupil.
a discussion intended to produce an agreement
From this reading GWYNPLAINE THINKS JUSTICE, AND URSUS TALKS TRUTH.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Our monologues leave on our brows a faint reflection, distinguishable to the eye of a physiognomist.
plural of “think” — an instance of deliberate thinking
From this reading GWYNPLAINE THINKS JUSTICE, AND URSUS TALKS TRUTH.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Our monologues leave on our brows a faint reflection, distinguishable to the eye of a physiognomist.
a fact that has been verified
From this reading GWYNPLAINE THINKS JUSTICE, AND URSUS TALKS TRUTH.
type genus of Ursidae: brown bears; in some classifications genus Ursus includes all bears
From this reading GWYNPLAINE THINKS JUSTICE, AND URSUS TALKS TRUTH.
a close observer; someone who looks at something (such as an exhibition of some kind)
From this reading Ursus, a watcher of dreams, studied his pupil.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Hence what occurred to Gwynplaine did not escape Ursus.
Chapter 55 of The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo holds 230 sentences, grouped into 46 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 55 holds 230 sentences of The Man Who Laughs, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 55 of The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 230 sentences, grouped into 46 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 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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 55 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.
