He set out for Toulon. He arrived there, after a journey of twenty-seven days, on a cart, with a chain on his neck. At Toulon he was clothed in the red cassock. All that had constituted his life, even to his name, was effaced; he was no longer even Jean Valjean; he was number 24,601.
In "Les Misérables," Jean Valjean's journey to Toulon marks a significant transformation in his identity. After twenty-seven arduous days, he reaches his destination in a humiliating state, traveling in a cart with a chain around his neck. This experience underscores the brutality of his punishment and the dehumanization he endures as a convict.
Upon arrival, Valjean is stripped of his former self, symbolized by the red cassock he is forced to wear. His identity is reduced to a mere number, 24,601, signifying that he is no longer seen as an individual but instead as a mere statistic in the penal system. This moment represents a critical point in the narrative, highlighting the themes of identity and redemption that resonate throughout the novel.
