Great blunders are often made, like large ropes, of a multitude of fibers.

The aphorism likens major errors to a thick rope: they are rarely the product of a single dramatic misstep, but of many small strands—minor lapses in judgment, overlooked details, rationalizations, and incremental compromises—twisted together over time. The image emphasizes accumulation and complicity: what later appears as a “great blunder” often has a long prehistory of seemingly negligible choices. It also implies a practical moral: preventing catastrophic failure usually means attending to the small things early, before they braid into something strong enough to bind, drag, or hang us. The metaphor suits Hugo’s broader interest in how private decisions and social forces compound into large-scale consequences.