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Les Misérables

Portrait of "Cosette" by Emile Bayard, from the original edition of Les Misérables (1862)
Author	Victor Hugo
Country	France
Language	French
Genre(s)	Novel
Publisher	A. Lacroix, Verboeckhoven & Ce.
Publication date	1862
Media type	Print

Les Misérables (translated variously from French as The Miserable Ones, The Wretched, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, The Victims) (1862) is a novel by French author Victor Hugo, and among the best-known novels of the 19th century. It follows the lives and interactions of several French characters over a twenty year period in the early 19th century that includes the Napoleonic wars and subsequent decades. Principally focusing on the struggles of the protagonist—ex-convict Jean Valjean—who seeks to redeem himself, the novel also examines the impact of Valjean's actions for the sake of social commentary. It examines the nature of good, evil, and the law, in a sweeping story that expounds upon the history of France, architecture of Paris, politics, moral philosophy, law, justice, religion, and the types and nature of romantic and familial love. Hugo was inspired by the real-life criminal/policeman François Eugène Vidocq, and split his personalities into the two main characters in his novel. Les Misérables is known to many through its numerous stage and screen adaptations, of which the most famous is the stage musical of the same name, commonly known as "Les Mis" or "Les Miz" (pronounced /leɪ mɪz/).

Plot summary

Les Misérables contains a multitude of plots, but the thread that binds them together is the story of the ex-convict Jean Valjean, 24601, who becomes a force for good in the world, but cannot escape his past. The novel is divided into five parts, each part divided into books, and each book divided into chapters. Each chapter is relatively short; usually no longer than a few pages. Nevertheless, the book in its entirety is quite lengthy by usual standards, well exceeding twelve hundred pages in unabridged editions. Within the borders of the novel's story arc, Hugo fills many pages with his thoughts on religion, politics, and society, including his three lengthy digressions, one being a discussion on enclosed religious orders, another being on argot, and most famously, his epic retelling of the Battle of Waterloo.

The story starts in 1815, in Toulon. After five years of imprisonment for stealing food for his starving family, and fourteen more for numerous attempts to escape, the peasant Jean Valjean is released. However, he is required to carry a yellow passport, which marks him as a convict. Rejected by innkeepers, who do not want to take in a convict, Valjean sleeps on the street. However, the benevolent Bishop Myriel takes him in and gives him shelter. In the night, he steals the bishop’s silverware and runs. He is caught, but the bishop rescues him by claiming that the silver was a gift and at that point gives him two candlesticks as well. The bishop then tells him he must become an honest man and must perform good deeds for others. As Valjean broods over these words, he out of habit steals two coins from a passer-by and chases him away. Immediately he realises his guilt and decides to follow the bishop's advice. At the same time, his theft is reported to the authorities which now look for him as an repeat offender.

Six years later, Valjean, having assumed the pseudonym of Monsieur Madeleine to avoid capture, has become a wealthy factory owner and is appointed mayor of his adopted town. Valjean meets the dying Fantine, who has been fired from her job at his factory and has resorted to prostitution. She has a young daughter, Cosette, who lives with a corrupt innkeeper and his selfish, cruel wife. As Fantine dies, Valjean, seeing in Fantine similarities to his former life of hardship, promises her that he will take care of Cosette, despite the imminent threat of arrest. The town's police inspector Javert had already suspected the identity of Madeleine and Valjean, whom he had seen in jail but this suspicion is momentarily dispelled when another man, mistakenly accused of being Valjean, is put on trial. To save the man, Valjean to reveals himself to the court and returns to his town and barely avoids being arrest. He pays off the innkeeper, Thénardier, to obtain Cosette, and flees with her to Paris. Once in Paris, they find shelter in a convent.

Ten years later, as Cosette and Valjean are leaving the convent, angry students, led by Enjolras, are preparing a revolution on the eve of the Paris uprising on June 5–6, 1832, following the death of General Lamarque, the only French leader who had sympathy towards the working class. They are also joined by the poor, including the young street urchin Gavroche. One of the students, Marius Pontmercy, who has become alienated from his family because of his liberal views, falls in love with Cosette, who has grown to be very beautiful. The Thénardiers, who have also moved to Paris, lead a gang of thieves to raid Valjean’s house while Marius is visiting. However, Thénardier’s daughter, Éponine, who is also in love with Marius, convinces the thieves to leave. The following day, the students revolt and erect barricades in the narrow streets of Paris. Valjean, learning that Cosette's lover is fighting, joins them, not certain if he wants to protect Marius, or kill him. Éponine also joins to protect Marius, and ends up taking a bullet for him and dying happily in his arms. During the ensuing battle, Valjean saves Javert from being killed by the students and lets him go. Valjean carries off the injured Marius, but all others, including Enjolras and Gavroche, are killed. Valjean escapes through the sewers, carrying Marius' body on his shoulders. At the exit, he runs into Javert, whom he persuades to give him time to return Marius to his family. Javert grants this request and another, then realises that he is caught between his belief in the law and the mercy Valjean has shown him, as he can no longer give Valjean up to the authorities. Unable to cope with this dilemma, Javert throws himself into the Seine. Marius and Cosette are soon married. Valjean loses his strength to live, since Cosette no longer needs him. Marius is convinced Valjean is of poor moral character and steers Cosette away from him. Marius learns of Valjean's good deeds too late and rushes to Valjean's house, where he lies dying. Valjean reveals his past to the pair, and in his final moments realises happiness at long last with his adopted daughter and son-in-law by his side. He expresses his love to them, and then dies.

Primary characters

• Jean Valjean (a.k.a. Monsieur Madeleine a.k.a. Ultime Fauchelevent): Convicted for stealing bread, he is released from prison nineteen years later. Rejected as former convict, Bishop Myriel turns his life around. He assumes a new identity to pursue an honest life, becomes a factory owner and mayor. He adopts and raises Fantine's daughter, Cosette. He dies at an old age.
• Bishop Myriel, Bishop of Digne: A kindly old priest who is promoted to bishop by a chance encounter with Napoleon. He convinces Valjean to change his ways, after Valjean steals some silver from him.
• Javert: An obsessive police inspector who continuously hunts, tracks down, and loses Valjean. He goes undercover behind the barricade, but is unmasked. Valjean has the chance to kill him, but lets Javert go. Later Javert allows Valjean to escape. Unable to accept that a felon has shown him mercy, and that he in turn allowed that convict to go free, Javert commits suicide by jumping into the River Seine.
• Fantine: A worker in Mayor Madeleine's factory, she is unjustly fired by a foreman because she has a child. Since she has no husband and must send ten francs for her daughter, Cosette, she sells her locket and hair and begins working as a prostitute. She pays the Thénardiers, owners of an inn, to care for Cosette. She later dies of tubercolosis. But with the help of Jean Valjean is able to get the care for Cosette.
• Cosette: The daughter of Fantine, she is raised by Jean Valjean after her mother dies. She falls in love with Marius Pontmercy, and marries him at the end of the novel. For the first few years she is raised, used as a worker and beaten by the Thénardiers.
• Marius Pontmercy: An aristocrat who fell out with his royalist grandfather after discovering his father was an officer under Napoleon. He studies law, joins the revolutionary ABC students and later falls in love with Cosette.
• Thénardiers: An corrupt innkeeper and his wife. They take in Cosette in her first years, mistreating her. Later head of a criminal gang. He is also Marius' next-door neighbour and recognized by Marius as the man who tended to his father at Waterloo.
• Eponine: Thenardiers' daughter. She is obsessed with Marius and extremely jealous of Cosette. She dies at the barricades when she reaches out her hand to stop a bullet heading for Marius: she is mortally wounded and is the first to die. Her final request is that once she has passed, Marius will kiss her. He does, but never knows of her love for him.
• Gavroche: Thénardiers' son, an urchin. He takes part in the barricades and is the second to die.
• Enjolras: The leader of the revolutionary students.

Secondary characters

• Mademoiselle Baptistine - Bishop Myriel's sister. She loves and venerates her brother.
• Madame Magloire - Domestic servant for the Bishop and his sister. She grumbles at the life of poverty the Bishop insists upon, and is fearful that he leaves the door open to strangers.
• Sister Simplice - A nun who cares for Fantine on her sickbed.
• Petit Gervais - A small boy who drops a coin. Valjean, lost in thought, puts his shoe over the coin, but doesn't hear the boy's protests. When he exits the reverie, and the boy is gone, he realizes what happened, and searches for the boy in vain.
• Fauchelevent - Fauchlevent's life is saved by Valjean when Valjean is able to lift a carriage he is caught underneath. Fauchlevant later will return the favor by providing sanctuary for Valjean and Cosette at a convent, and by providing his name for Valjean's use.
• Monsieur Gillenormand - Marius's grandfather. A Monarchist, he disagrees sharply with Marius on political issues, and they have several arguments. He attempts to keep Marius from being influenced by his father, an officer in Napoleon's army. While in perpetual conflict over ideas, he does illustrate his love for his grandson.
• Mademoiselle Gillenormand - M. Gillenormand's daughter, she lives with her father.
• Colonel Georges Pontmercy - Marius's father, and an officer in Napoleon's army. Wounded at Waterloo, Pontmercy erroneously believes his life is saved by M. Thénardier. He tells Marius of this debt.
• Azelma - The daughter of the Thenardiers; she lives with her family, and is part of the reason why Fantine leaves Cosette with them. Azelma participates in the Gorbeau robbery and, aside from Thenardier himself, she is the only Thenardier who does not die— it is implied that she goes to America with her father.

Critical Reception

The first two volumes of Les Misérables were published on 3 April 1862, heralded by a massive advertising campaign; ^[1] the remainder of the novel appeared on 15 May 1862. At the time, Victor Hugo enjoyed a reputation as one of France's foremost poets, and the appearance of the novel was a highly anticipated event.

Critical reactions were wide-ranging and often negative; some critics found the subject matter immoral, others complained of its excessive sentimentality, and still others were disquieted by its apparent sympathy with the revolutionaries.^[2] The Goncourt brothers expressed their great dissatisfaction, judging the novel artificial and disappointing.^[3] Flaubert could find within it "neither truth nor greatness."^[4] Baudelaire reviewed the work glowingly in newspapers^[5], but in private castigated it as "tasteless and inept."

Nonetheless, the book was a great success among the masses. First translated into foreign languages (including Italian, Greek and Portuguese) the same year it originally appeared, it proved popular across Europe.^[6][7]

Translations

English translations

At least six English translations of the novel exist, by:

• Charles E. Wilbour. New York: Carleton Publishing Company. June 1862. The first American translation, published only months after the French edition of the novel was released.
• Lascelles Wraxall. London: Hurst and Blackett. October, 1862. The first British translation.
• Translator Unknown. Richmond, Virginia. 1863. Published by West and Johnston publishers.http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0149-6611(195903)74%3A3%3C240%3ASTOLM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-X
• Isabel F. Hapgood. Published 1887, this translation is available at Project Gutenberg.
• Norman Denny. Penguin Classics. 1976. This edition is sometimes erroneously considered to be unabridged; however, in Norman Denny's introduction, he states that several of the longer passages that did not directly relate to the plot were removed. Paperback ISBN 0-140-44430-0
• Lee Fahnestock and Norman MacAfee. Signet Classics. March 3, 1987. An unabridged edition based on the Wilbour translation with modernization of language, generally considered the most readable of current translations. Paperback ISBN 0-451-52526-4

Arabic translations

Several translations of the novel exist, notably by:

• Munir al-Baalbaki — both abridged and unabridged copies (the latter in five volumes) exist. They were published for the first time in 1955 in Beirut, Lebanon.
• Hafiz Ibrahim — an abridged translation which appears in two small volumes.

Adaptations

Film adaptations

• 1907, On the barricade, directed Alice Guy Blaché, early adaptation of a part of the novel
• 1907, Le Chemineau
• 1909, directed by J. Stuart Blackton
• 1911, directed by Albert Capellani
• 1913, directed again by Albert Capellani
• 1913, The Bishop's Candlesticks, directed Herbert Brenon, adaptation of the second book of the first volume
• 1917, directed by Frank Lloyd
• 1922, director unknown
• 1923, Aa Mujo, directed by Kiyohiko Ushihara and Yoshinobu Ikeda, Japanese film, production cancelled after two of four parts
• 1925, directed by Henri Fescourt
• 1929, The Bishop's Candlesticks, directed by Norman McKinnell, first sound film adaptation
• 1929, Aa mujo, directed by Seika Shiba, Japanese film
• 1931, Jean Valjean, directed by Tomu Uchida, Japanese film
• 1934, directed by Raymond Bernard
• 1935, directed by Richard Boleslawski
• 1937, Gavrosh, directed by Tatyana Lukashevich, Soviet film
• 1938, Kyojinden, directed by Mansaku Itami, Japanese film
• 1943, Los Miserables, directed by Renando A. Rovero, Mexican film
• 1944, El Boassa, directed by Kamal Selim, Egyptian film
• 1947, I Miserabili, directed by Riccardo Freda
• 1949, Les Nouveaux Misérables, directed by Henri Verneuil
• 1950, , directed by Daisuke Ito, English title: Gods and demons
• 1950, Ezai Padum Pado, dirceted by K. Ramnoth, Indian film
• 1952, directed by Lewis Milestone
• 1952, I miserabili, re-release of the 1947-film
• 1955, Kundan, directed by Sohrab Modi, Indian Hindi film
• 1958, directed by Jean-Paul Le Chanois
• 1967, directed by Alan Bridges
• 1967, Os Miseráveis, Brazilian film
• 1967, Sefiler, Turkish film
• 1972, directed by Marcel Bluwal
• 1973, Los Miserables, directed by Antulio Jimnez Pons, Mexican adaptation
• 1977, Cosette, animation
• 1978, UK telefilm, directed by Glenn Jordan
• 1978, Al Boasa, Egyptian adaptation
• 1979, Jean Valjean Monogatari, directed by Takashi Kuoka, Japanese animation
• 1982, directed by Robert Hossein
• 1985, TV version of the 1982 film
• 1988, animation
• 1990, directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau
• 1995, directed by Claude Lelouch (a loose, multi-layered adaptation set in the 20th century)
• 1995, Les Miserables - The Dream Cast in Concert Musical done in concert style
• 1998, directed by Bille August and starring Liam Neeson
• 2000, French TV miniseries directed by Josée Dayan and co-produced by Gérard Depardieu (starring: Gérard Depardieu, Christian Clavier, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Virginie Ledoyen, Asia Argento, Jeanne Moreau, Veronica Ferres, John Malkovich,...)
• 2007, , Japanese animated TV series by Nippon Animation

Adaptations in other media

In 1935, Solomon Cleaver published a short English-language adaptation titled Jean Val Jean. It remains a popular children's version of Les Misérables.

In 1937, Orson Welles wrote, produced and directed a seven-part series for radio. Welles himself narrated the story and played the part of Valjean. The series co-starred Martin Gabel as Inspector Javert, and featured his then wife Virginia Nicholson Welles as the older Cosette, with Gwen Davies (young Cosette), Alice Frost (Fantine), William Johnstone (Marius), and in other roles, Frank Readick, Ray Collins, Agnes Moorehead, and Everett Sloane, many of whom would perform for The Mercury Theatre on the Air.

In 1980, a musical (see Les Misérables (musical)) opened in Paris which has gone on to become one of the most successful musicals in history. It was written by the composer Claude-Michel Schönberg and the librettist Alain Boublil.

A versus fighting game, Arm Joe, was made in 1998 by a Japanese game developer known as Takase. The name is pronounced Āmu Jō, which is a pun on the title of Les Misérables in Japanese ("Ā, Mujō," meaning "Oh, Cruelty"). The game incorporates the major characters as they appear in the musical, namely Jean Valjean, Enjolras, Marius, Cosette, Eponine, Thénardier, and Javert—as well as a policeman, a robotic clone called Robojean, an embodiment of Judgement, and a stuffed rabbit.[1]

In 2001, BBC Radio 4 produced a 25-part radio dramatisation, with a cast of 27 featuring Joss Ackland narrating, Roger Allam as Valjean, and David Schofield as Javert. (Allam also originated the role of Javert in the English language version of the Boublil/Schönberg musical.)

In May 2001, François Cérésa published Cosette, or the Time of Illusions, a sequel to Les Misérables. Victor Hugo's descendants attempted to have the book banned, condemning it as a money-seeking enterprise and an attack on Hugo's work (more subjective offences aside, it is undeniable that Ceresa retconned a key scene in Hugo's novel to avoid the death of a character he wanted to use in his novel). Victor Hugo's heirs and the Société des gens de lettres lost the first trial [2] but won on appeal [3].

The plotline of Terry Pratchett's 28th Discworld novel, Night Watch, is inspired by uprisings such as the one in Les Misérables.

There has also been an Asian adaptation from a school located in Hong Kong. King George V School (King George the Fifth School) was the first ever school to perform 'Les Misérables' in Asia.

A Les Misérables adventure game [4] is due for release Christmas 2007.

In January 2007, Nippon Animation released a "Les Miserables" anime series (consisting of 52 episodes) under the title "," airing Mondays at 7:30. [5]

A North Korean animated series, of about 26 episodes, was made in the 1990s. It was faithful to the novel in the main narrative sense, though at times the story strays to dark and more adult oriented themes. The series focused more on Cosette than many other adaptations. It was produced by SEK Studio. [6]

Cultural references

24601

Popular myth states 24601, Valjean's convict number, was chosen by Hugo because it was the date that he was conceived (24th of June, 1801). It is only known that he was born on Feb 26, 1802, approximately 8 months later. Many characters in contemporary culture, most notably Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons, Oscar Bluth from Arrested Development, and the player character from the computer game System Shock, have the prisoner number 24601 as a homage to original novel.

Corey Taylor, vocalist of the band Slipknot, has a tattoo of the number.

Musical adaptation

The musical adaptation has also made a lasting impact on popular culture because of its immense popularity. Les Misérables the musical is the third longest running show in Broadway history.^[8] Episodes from the television shows South Park, Family Guy, Scrubs, Animaniacs, Saturday Night Live and Seinfeld have all parodied the musical.

Other

• During the American Civil War, many Confederate soldiers carried the book with them to read. Many referred to the book, and themselves, as "Lee's Miserables", a reference to General Robert E. Lee.^[9][10]
• The Australian alt-rock band TISM has a member called Les Miserables. 'Les' is pronounced as though his first name is 'Leslie'.
• The Californian band Ozma has a song titled "Eponine" that appears in 2 of their albums: Spending Time on the Borderline and Pasadena.
• In the novel "American Psycho", the characters make frequent references to Les Misérables.
• At one time, the letters between Victor Hugo and the British publisher Hurst and Blackett was a world record for the shortest correspondence. Hugo was on vacation at the time and was wondering how his book was selling in Britain, in his letter to the publisher he wrote "?" and received "!" as a response.^[11]

References

External links

• French text of Les Misérables
• Les Misérables, available at Project Gutenberg. – English translation.
• Les Misérables according to a Bonapartist
• Reflections on Les Misérables – discussion of characters and themes.
• Different versions of Les Misérables in the IMDb
• Six other plays based on Les Misérables.
• Les Misérables - Shoujo Cossette - The Official Anime Site
• Les Misérables - Shoujo Cosette (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia