Les Mis Re-Read 2023 complete!
Apr. 12th, 2023 02:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
troisoiseauxI've finished Les Misérables!!!! This novel has meant so much to me for so many years— as I've said, I genuinely don't know who I'd be if I hadn't read it at 13 (quite possibly, not pursuing my current career path?)— and it was interesting to re-read it both overlaid with the palimpsest of what I thought about a given scene/character/etc. on prior reads, and through the fresh eyes of reading with an intention of taking notes/keeping a reading journal about it: it made me pay closer attention to the ways it "echoed," and certain patterns emerged or imagery (gardens, drowning) repeated. Plus, I've enjoyed my discussions with everyone in the comments so much. <3
Thoughts on 5.2-5.9:
It's hard to summarize the action of 5.2-5.4 without it sounding, well, nigh on farcical— Hugo shifts from a harrowing battle scene to an infomercial about the agricultural benefits of human waste; Valjean hauls his daughter's boyfriend's possibly dead body through the sewers of Paris, narrowly escapes underground quicksand, and then immediately runs into a. Thénardier and b. the cop who's been trying to take him down for like 20 years, and ends up on what had to be the world's most awkward carriage ride with his Nemesis; Javert experiences inner conflict and error 404s himself straight into the Seine— but it's actually like... so intense. It's never occurred to me to read Valjean's sewer journey in 5.3 as capital-H Horror but it totally is?? (The claustrophobia of a dark, silent, disgusting place where his only choice is to keep moving forward; the grotesque intimacy of carrying, and being bled on by, a body that may or may not be dead; the danger of becoming hopelessly lost or being swallowed up by the ground itself...) And then there's the significance of Thénardier saving the life of both Pontmercy père, at Waterloo, and fils, by unlocking the sewer grate, despite his intention both times being to loot a corpse (and, in the latter, to throw Javert off his trail by sacrificing Valjean). And Javert's emotional journey in 5.4... the fact that his last act is to write down a list of suggestions for very small reforms and, when they find it, his superiors are like "well CLEARLY he was insane, to write this"... oof.
In 5.5-5.6, Marius slowly recovers from his wounds, and he and Cosette get married. Bless these children— they've both overcome so much! It's interesting how they had nominally similar childhoods— a parent's absence, which they were told was abandonment instead of an act of self-sacrifice; raised by their (actual or adopted) grandfather— but so different, given Gillenormand vs. Valjean. There's something so :/ about Gillenormand's assumption that Marius knew all along that he (his grandfather) adored him (Marius), when in fact little!Marius was terrified of his temper and then, as a young adult, felt betrayed and rejected by him... there's a certain hand-wave-y "forgive and forget" attitude about it, once Marius braces himself to have to fight to marry Cosette and Gillenormand agrees immediately, but... :/ It's also interesting to see how Cosette immediately adores Gillenormand, and sees him as a sort of more extravagent Valjean— after the horrors of her early childhood with the Thénardiers, she grew up loved and indulged by Valjean, so to be showered with gifts and affection by Gillenormand must feel like par for the course, while I feel like Marius would be sitting there like who are you and what have you done with my grandfather???
The minor character that stood out in 5.6 was Azelma, the last Thénardier sibling standing— we see even less of her, overall, than Eponine or Gavroche, but her one notable appearance earlier in the book involved being cowed by her father into breaking a window and injuring her hand. In her brief appearance in 5.6, she appears to have lost her fear of her father— talking back, and refusing to do his bidding— but reading between the lines, it's because she's got bigger problems than him. (She's almost certainly been forced into sex work, and a few of her comments— "I don't care much for old men, I don't" and "Old men worry you. You're not a young girl, though"— are just... oh, no...)
It's SO HARD not to feel frustrated with literally everyone in 5.7-5.8: with Valjean, for confessing his criminal history (and that Cosette is adopted) in the most self-flagellating way possible (without mentioning, say, that he only stole a loaf of bread to feed his nieces/nephews, or the time he was a businessman and mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer and that's where he made the money he's giving them, or even how he came to adopt Cosette??) AND for only telling Marius, AND distancing himself from Cosette— who has already had TWO parents disappear on her in her life!!— without explanation; with Marius, for not bothering to ask any of the follow-up questions that occurred to him because he assumed the worst of Valjean/that he wouldn't want to know the answers, AND for being like "well despite the clear evidence that you are the sun, moon, and stars to Cosette, now that I know you are A Criminal, I think you should leave us alone :/", AND for (him too!) NOT TELLING COSETTE ABOUT ANY OF THIS. It's definitely unfair to blame Cosette to adjusting to Valjean's increased distance— and, ultimately, his absence— but it's hard not to feel a little bit "show some initiative?? ask some questions???" about it.
In 5.9, Thénardier shows up, in an attempt at blackmail, with the last few puzzle pieces that Marius— who had apparently figured out that Cosette's fortune came from Mayor Madeleine of Montreuil-sur-Mer, and that the Mayor was a man who had been in trouble with the law but remade his life and dedicated it to improving society, but just couldn't put 2 + 2 together; he thought Valjean had robbed Madeleine??— needed to realize that Valjean saved his life. Cosette and Marius arrive at Valjean's door just in time to be with him as he dies of, basically, a broken heart. Reader, I wept.
And that's it!! C'est fini!!!
Thoughts on 5.2-5.9:
It's hard to summarize the action of 5.2-5.4 without it sounding, well, nigh on farcical— Hugo shifts from a harrowing battle scene to an infomercial about the agricultural benefits of human waste; Valjean hauls his daughter's boyfriend's possibly dead body through the sewers of Paris, narrowly escapes underground quicksand, and then immediately runs into a. Thénardier and b. the cop who's been trying to take him down for like 20 years, and ends up on what had to be the world's most awkward carriage ride with his Nemesis; Javert experiences inner conflict and error 404s himself straight into the Seine— but it's actually like... so intense. It's never occurred to me to read Valjean's sewer journey in 5.3 as capital-H Horror but it totally is?? (The claustrophobia of a dark, silent, disgusting place where his only choice is to keep moving forward; the grotesque intimacy of carrying, and being bled on by, a body that may or may not be dead; the danger of becoming hopelessly lost or being swallowed up by the ground itself...) And then there's the significance of Thénardier saving the life of both Pontmercy père, at Waterloo, and fils, by unlocking the sewer grate, despite his intention both times being to loot a corpse (and, in the latter, to throw Javert off his trail by sacrificing Valjean). And Javert's emotional journey in 5.4... the fact that his last act is to write down a list of suggestions for very small reforms and, when they find it, his superiors are like "well CLEARLY he was insane, to write this"... oof.
In 5.5-5.6, Marius slowly recovers from his wounds, and he and Cosette get married. Bless these children— they've both overcome so much! It's interesting how they had nominally similar childhoods— a parent's absence, which they were told was abandonment instead of an act of self-sacrifice; raised by their (actual or adopted) grandfather— but so different, given Gillenormand vs. Valjean. There's something so :/ about Gillenormand's assumption that Marius knew all along that he (his grandfather) adored him (Marius), when in fact little!Marius was terrified of his temper and then, as a young adult, felt betrayed and rejected by him... there's a certain hand-wave-y "forgive and forget" attitude about it, once Marius braces himself to have to fight to marry Cosette and Gillenormand agrees immediately, but... :/ It's also interesting to see how Cosette immediately adores Gillenormand, and sees him as a sort of more extravagent Valjean— after the horrors of her early childhood with the Thénardiers, she grew up loved and indulged by Valjean, so to be showered with gifts and affection by Gillenormand must feel like par for the course, while I feel like Marius would be sitting there like who are you and what have you done with my grandfather???
The minor character that stood out in 5.6 was Azelma, the last Thénardier sibling standing— we see even less of her, overall, than Eponine or Gavroche, but her one notable appearance earlier in the book involved being cowed by her father into breaking a window and injuring her hand. In her brief appearance in 5.6, she appears to have lost her fear of her father— talking back, and refusing to do his bidding— but reading between the lines, it's because she's got bigger problems than him. (She's almost certainly been forced into sex work, and a few of her comments— "I don't care much for old men, I don't" and "Old men worry you. You're not a young girl, though"— are just... oh, no...)
It's SO HARD not to feel frustrated with literally everyone in 5.7-5.8: with Valjean, for confessing his criminal history (and that Cosette is adopted) in the most self-flagellating way possible (without mentioning, say, that he only stole a loaf of bread to feed his nieces/nephews, or the time he was a businessman and mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer and that's where he made the money he's giving them, or even how he came to adopt Cosette??) AND for only telling Marius, AND distancing himself from Cosette— who has already had TWO parents disappear on her in her life!!— without explanation; with Marius, for not bothering to ask any of the follow-up questions that occurred to him because he assumed the worst of Valjean/that he wouldn't want to know the answers, AND for being like "well despite the clear evidence that you are the sun, moon, and stars to Cosette, now that I know you are A Criminal, I think you should leave us alone :/", AND for (him too!) NOT TELLING COSETTE ABOUT ANY OF THIS. It's definitely unfair to blame Cosette to adjusting to Valjean's increased distance— and, ultimately, his absence— but it's hard not to feel a little bit "show some initiative?? ask some questions???" about it.
In 5.9, Thénardier shows up, in an attempt at blackmail, with the last few puzzle pieces that Marius— who had apparently figured out that Cosette's fortune came from Mayor Madeleine of Montreuil-sur-Mer, and that the Mayor was a man who had been in trouble with the law but remade his life and dedicated it to improving society, but just couldn't put 2 + 2 together; he thought Valjean had robbed Madeleine??— needed to realize that Valjean saved his life. Cosette and Marius arrive at Valjean's door just in time to be with him as he dies of, basically, a broken heart. Reader, I wept.
And that's it!! C'est fini!!!
no subject
Date: 2023-04-12 06:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-04-13 01:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-04-14 02:01 pm (UTC)Three cheers!
no subject
Date: 2023-04-12 09:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-04-12 09:57 pm (UTC)(You know the thing about how if Hamlet and Othello switched places, they would resolve the other's problems? Now I'm thinking about Catherine Morland vs. Cosette...)
no subject
Date: 2023-04-12 11:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-04-13 12:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-04-13 11:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-04-14 01:17 pm (UTC)(...having used The Brothers Karamazov as a hypo to study for criminal law a couple years ago, I wonder if I could use any of Javert and Valjean's interactions as a hypo for criminal procedure...?)
no subject
Date: 2023-04-15 12:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-04-15 01:11 pm (UTC)