Chapter 78 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter LXXVIII
Chapter 78 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WE THINK WE REMEMBER; WE FORGET. Whence arise those strange, visible changes which occur in the soul of man? Gwynplaine had been at the same moment raised to a summit and cast into an abyss. His head swam with double giddiness--the giddiness of ascent and descent. A fatal combination.
Chapter 78 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 186 sentences across 38 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
a bottomless gulf or pit; any unfathomable (or apparently unfathomable) cavity or chasm or void extending below (often used figuratively)
From this reading “Gwynplaine had been at the same moment raised to a summit and cast into an abyss.”
come into existence; take on form or shape
From this reading “Whence arise those strange, visible changes which occur in the soul of man?”
an upward slope or grade (as in a road)
From this reading “His head swam with double giddiness--the giddiness of ascent and descent.”
a collection of things that have been combined; an assemblage of separate parts or qualities
From this reading “A fatal combination.”
An action of moving downward, dropping, or falling into a deeper place.
From this reading “His head swam with double giddiness--the giddiness of ascent and descent.”
come to pass
From this reading “Whence arise those strange, visible changes which occur in the soul of man?”
the highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development
From this reading “Gwynplaine had been at the same moment raised to a summit and cast into an abyss.”
inflected form of “swim” — travel through water
From this reading “His head swam with double giddiness--the giddiness of ascent and descent.”
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 Gwynplaine had been at the same moment raised to a summit and cast into an abyss.
a bottomless gulf or pit; any unfathomable (or apparently unfathomable) cavity or chasm or void extending below (often used figuratively)
From this reading Gwynplaine had been at the same moment raised to a summit and cast into an abyss.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Gwynplaine had been at the same moment raised to a summit and cast into an abyss.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Gwynplaine had been at the same moment raised to a summit and cast into an abyss.
come into existence; take on form or shape
From this reading Whence arise those strange, visible changes which occur in the soul of man?
an upward slope or grade (as in a road)
From this reading His head swam with double giddiness--the giddiness of ascent and descent.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Gwynplaine had been at the same moment raised to a summit and cast into an abyss.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Gwynplaine had been at the same moment raised to a summit and cast into an abyss.
put or send forth
From this reading Gwynplaine had been at the same moment raised to a summit and cast into an abyss.
plural of “change” — an event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another
From this reading Whence arise those strange, visible changes which occur in the soul of man?
a collection of things that have been combined; an assemblage of separate parts or qualities
From this reading A fatal combination.
An action of moving downward, dropping, or falling into a deeper place.
From this reading His head swam with double giddiness--the giddiness of ascent and descent.
increase twofold
From this reading His head swam with double giddiness--the giddiness of ascent and descent.
bringing death
From this reading A fatal combination.
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading WE THINK WE REMEMBER; WE FORGET.
an impulsive scatterbrained manner
From this reading His head swam with double giddiness--the giddiness of ascent and descent.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gwynplaine had been at the same moment raised to a summit and cast into an abyss.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Gwynplaine had been at the same moment raised to a summit and cast into an abyss.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading His head swam with double giddiness--the giddiness of ascent and descent.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His head swam with double giddiness--the giddiness of ascent and descent.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Whence arise those strange, visible changes which occur in the soul of man?
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Gwynplaine had been at the same moment raised to a summit and cast into an abyss.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Whence arise those strange, visible changes which occur in the soul of man?
a particular point in time
From this reading Gwynplaine had been at the same moment raised to a summit and cast into an abyss.
come to pass
From this reading Whence arise those strange, visible changes which occur in the soul of man?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Whence arise those strange, visible changes which occur in the soul of man?
located or moved above the surround or above the normal position
From this reading Gwynplaine had been at the same moment raised to a summit and cast into an abyss.
To recall to mind.
From this reading WE THINK WE REMEMBER; WE FORGET.
Identical; not different.
From this reading Gwynplaine had been at the same moment raised to a summit and cast into an abyss.
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading Whence arise those strange, visible changes which occur in the soul of man?
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading Whence arise those strange, visible changes which occur in the soul of man?
the highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development
From this reading Gwynplaine had been at the same moment raised to a summit and cast into an abyss.
inflected form of “swim” — travel through water
From this reading His head swam with double giddiness--the giddiness of ascent and descent.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Whence arise those strange, visible changes which occur in the soul of man?
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading WE THINK WE REMEMBER; WE FORGET.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading Whence arise those strange, visible changes which occur in the soul of man?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Gwynplaine had been at the same moment raised to a summit and cast into an abyss.
capable of being seen; or open to easy view
From this reading Whence arise those strange, visible changes which occur in the soul of man?
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading WE THINK WE REMEMBER; WE FORGET.
an old word meaning “from where”
From this reading Whence arise those strange, visible changes which occur in the soul of man?
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Whence arise those strange, visible changes which occur in the soul of man?
in the company of; together with
From this reading His head swam with double giddiness--the giddiness of ascent and descent.
Chapter 78 of The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo holds 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 78 holds 186 sentences of The Man Who Laughs, unabridged, divided into 38 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 78 of The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 186 sentences, grouped into 38 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 38 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 38 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 78 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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Words and structures a reader meets early in The Man Who Laughs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
