Chapter 74 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter LXXIV
Chapter 74 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE DURABILITY OF FRAGILE THINGS. Destiny sometimes proffers us a glass of madness to drink. A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication. Gwynplaine did not understand. He looked behind him to see who it was who had been addressed.
Chapter 74 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
gotten under control
From this reading “A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication.”
an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future
From this reading “Destiny sometimes proffers us a glass of madness to drink.”
permanence by virtue of the power to resist stress or force
From this reading “THE DURABILITY OF FRAGILE THINGS.”
easily broken or damaged or destroyed
From this reading “THE DURABILITY OF FRAGILE THINGS.”
the physiological state produced by a poison or other toxic substance
From this reading “A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication.”
potentially existing but not presently evident or realized
From this reading “A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication.”
obsolete terms for legal insanity
From this reading “Destiny sometimes proffers us a glass of madness to drink.”
become covered with mist
From this reading “A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication.”
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 Destiny sometimes proffers us a glass of madness to drink.
(of mail) marked with a destination
From this reading He looked behind him to see who it was who had been addressed.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading He looked behind him to see who it was who had been addressed.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading He looked behind him to see who it was who had been addressed.
gotten under control
From this reading A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication.
a small open container usually used for drinking; usually has a handle
From this reading A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication.
an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future
From this reading Destiny sometimes proffers us a glass of madness to drink.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Gwynplaine did not understand.
take in liquids
From this reading Destiny sometimes proffers us a glass of madness to drink.
permanence by virtue of the power to resist stress or force
From this reading THE DURABILITY OF FRAGILE THINGS.
easily broken or damaged or destroyed
From this reading THE DURABILITY OF FRAGILE THINGS.
a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure
From this reading Destiny sometimes proffers us a glass of madness to drink.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gwynplaine did not understand.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He looked behind him to see who it was who had been addressed.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He looked behind him to see who it was who had been addressed.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He looked behind him to see who it was who had been addressed.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication.
the physiological state produced by a poison or other toxic substance
From this reading A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He looked behind him to see who it was who had been addressed.
potentially existing but not presently evident or realized
From this reading A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked behind him to see who it was who had been addressed.
obsolete terms for legal insanity
From this reading Destiny sometimes proffers us a glass of madness to drink.
become covered with mist
From this reading A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication.
of an obscure nature
From this reading A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Gwynplaine did not understand.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE DURABILITY OF FRAGILE THINGS.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Destiny sometimes proffers us a glass of madness to drink.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He looked behind him to see who it was who had been addressed.
on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always
From this reading Destiny sometimes proffers us a glass of madness to drink.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE DURABILITY OF FRAGILE THINGS.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading THE DURABILITY OF FRAGILE THINGS.
push forcefully
From this reading A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Destiny sometimes proffers us a glass of madness to drink.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading Gwynplaine did not understand.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Destiny sometimes proffers us a glass of madness to drink.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He looked behind him to see who it was who had been addressed.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading A hand is thrust out of the mist, and suddenly hands us the mysterious cup in which is contained the latent intoxication.
which person or people
From this reading He looked behind him to see who it was who had been addressed.
Chapter 74 of The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo holds 153 sentences, grouped into 31 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 74 holds 153 sentences of The Man Who Laughs, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 74 of The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 153 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 74 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.
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