"Les Miserables" (or, as it is often shortened, "Les Mis") is a novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1862. The title is French, translating in English to "The Wretched Ones". The book is nearly 3,000 pages long and considered an epic. It is set in France and spans the course of 17 years, starting in 1815 and ending in 1832.
Looking at the way of law and effortlessness, the novel explains upon the historical backdrop of France, the engineering and urban outline of Paris, governmental issues, moral reasoning, antimonarchism, equity, religion, and the sorts and nature of sentimental and familial adoration. "Les Misérables" has been promoted through various adjustments for the stage, TV, and film, including a musical and a film adjustment of that musical.
The presence of the novel was eagerly foreseen and promoted. Basic responses were different, however a large portion of them were negative. Monetarily, the work was an extraordinary achievement all around. The book consists of 5 parts that are joined together as they go along with the reoccurance of previously used characters but the main story centers around Jean Valjean, the hero and also an ex convict who was sentenced to the galleys for stealing a loaf of bread. The generous sympathy of a bishop who befriends him after he is released changes Valjean's character and he becomes a successful business man and mayor of his town. But he is hounded by Javert, a detective, and when his notoriety as an ex convict threatens the happiness of Cosette (daughter of a woman Valjean had befriended named Fantine) the noble Valjean disappears and it is up to Cosette and her lover to find him.
Summary
The story starts in 1815 in Digne, as the worker Jean Valjean, just discharged from 19 years' detainment in the galleys - five for taking bread for his starving sister and fourteen more for various escape endeavors - is dismissed by innkeepers since his yellow visa marks him as a previous convict.
Digne's kind Bishop Myriel gives him cover. However, in the evening, Valjean runs off with Myriel's flatware. At the point when the police catch Valjean, Myriel pretends that he has given the flatware to Valjean and presses him to take two silver candles too, as though he had neglected to take them. The police acknowledge his clarification and leave. Myriel tells Valjean that his life has been saved for God, and that he ought to utilize cash from the silver candles to make a fair man of himself.
Valjean agonizes over Myriel's words. At the point when opportunity presents itself he takes a 40-sous coin from 12-year-old Petit Gervais and pursues the kid off. He apologizes and looks through the city in frenzy for Gervais. In the meantime, his burglary is told to the police. Valjean stows away as they scan for him, in light of the fact that if caught he will be come back to the galleys for life as a repeated offender.
Six years pass and Valjean, utilizing the nom de plume Monsieur Madeleine, has turned into a well off production line proprietor and is selected leader of the town Montreuil-sur-Mer. Strolling down the road, he sees a man named Fauchelevent stuck under the wheels of a truck. At the point when nobody volunteers to lift the truck, he chooses to save Fauchelevent's life himself. He creeps underneath the truck, figures out how to lift it, and liberates him. The town's police overseer, Inspector Javert, who was an aide watch at the Bagne of Toulon at the time of Valjean's detainment, gets to be suspicious of the chairman in the wake of seeing this. He has known one and only other man, a convict named Jean Valjean, who could lift things in this way.
A long time prior in Paris, a grisette named Fantine was enamored with Félix Tholomyès. His companions, Listolier, Fameuil, and Blachevelle were additionally combined with Fantine's companions Dahlia, Zéphine, and Favorite. The men relinquish the ladies, regarding their connections as young entertainments. Fantine must look to herself to watch over her and Tholomyès' baby girl, Cosette. At the point when Fantine touches base at Montfermeil, she leaves Cosette under the watchful eye of the Thénardiers, a degenerate owner and his egotistical, coldblooded wife.
Fantine does not know that they are mishandling her little girl and utilizing her as constrained work for their motel, and keeps on attempting to meet their extortionate requests. She is later let go from her occupation at Jean Valjean's manufacturing plant, as a result of the revelation of her little girl, who was conceived out of wedlock. In the interim, the Thénardiers' fiscal requests keep on developing. In distress, Fantine offers her hair and two front teeth, and she depends on prostitution to pay the Thénardiers. Fantine is gradually passing away from an unspecified infection.
A dandy named Bamatabois annoys Fantine in the road, and she responds by striking him. Javert captures Fantine. She asks to be discharged with the goal that she can accommodate her little girl, yet Javert sentences her to six months in jail. Valjean (Mayor Madeleine) arranges Javert to discharge her. Javert opposes yet Valjean wins. Valjean, feeling mindful in light of the fact that his processing plant dismissed her, guarantees Fantine that he will convey Cosette to her. He brings her to a hospital.
Javert comes to see Valjean once more. Javert concedes that in the wake of being compelled to free Fantine, he reported him as Valjean to the French powers. He tells Valjean he understands he wasn't right, on the grounds that the powers have recognized another person as the genuine Jean Valjean, have him in authority, and plan to attempt him the following day. Valjean is torn, however chooses to uncover himself to spare the pure man, whose genuine name is Champmathieu. He goes to go to the trial and there uncovers his actual character. Valjean comes back to town to see Fantine, trailed by Javert, who stands up to him in her room.
After Javert gets Valjean, Valjean requests three days to convey Cosette to Fantine, however Javert won't budge. Fantine finds that Cosette is not at the hospital and irritably asks where she is. Javert orders her to be tranquil, and after that reveals to her Valjean's real name. Debilitated by the seriousness of her sickness, she falls back in a stun and passes on. Valjean goes to Fantine, addresses her in an imperceptible whisper, kisses her hand, and afterward leaves with Javert. Later, Fantine's body is tossed into an open grave without ceremony.
Valjean escapes, is recovered, and is sentenced to death. The king of France changes his sentence to penal labor for the rest of his life. While detained at the military port of Toulon, Valjean saves a mariner trapped in the boat's huge rigging. Observers shout for his discharge. Valjean fakes his own particular demise by permitting himself to fall into the sea. The police report him dead and his body lost.
Valjean touches base at Montfermeil on Christmas Eve. He discovers Cosette bringing water in the forested areas alone and strolls with her to the hotel. He arranges a supper and watches how the Thénardiers mishandle her, while spoiling their own particular little girls Éponine and Azelma, who abuse Cosette for playing with their doll. Valjean leaves and comes back to make Cosette a present of a costly new doll which, after some faltering, she cheerfully acknowledges. Éponine and Azelma are jealous. Madame Thénardier is angry with Valjean, while her spouse downplays Valjean's conduct, mindful just that he pay for his sustenance and cabin.
The following morning, Valjean advises the Thénardiers that he needs to bring Cosette with him. Madame Thénardier quickly acknowledges, while Thénardier puts on a show about how they adore Cosette and, worried for her welfare, are hesitant to surrender her. Valjean pays the Thénardiers 1,500 francs, and he and Cosette leave the hotel. Thénardier, planning to cheat more out of Valjean, pursues them, holding the 1,500 francs, and tells Valjean he needs Cosette back. He advises Valjean that he can't discharge Cosette without a note from the girl's mother. Valjean hands Thénardier Fantine's letter approving the carrier to take Cosette. Thénardier then requests that Valjean pay a thousand crowns, however Valjean and Cosette clear out. Thénardier laments that he didn't bring his weapon and leaves to go home.
Valjean and Cosette escape to Paris. Valjean leases new lodgings at Gorbeau House, where he and Cosette live joyfully. Be that as it may, Javert finds Valjean's lodgings there a couple of months after the fact. Valjean takes Cosette and they attempt to escape from Javert. They soon discover cover in the Petit-Picpus religious community with the assistance of Fauchelevent, the man whom Valjean once safeguarded from being smashed under a truck and who now works at the convent. Valjean likewise turns into a nursery worker and Cosette turns into an understudy at the religious community school.
After eight years, the Friends of the ABC, driven by Enjolras, are setting up a demonstration of hostility to Orléanist on the eve of the Paris uprising on 5- 6 June 1832, after the passing of General Lamarque, the main French pioneer who had sensitivity towards the regular workers. Lamarque was a casualty of a noteworthy cholera pandemic that had assaulted the city, especially its poor neighborhoods, stirring suspicion that the administration had been harming their wells. The Friends of the ABC are joined by the poor of the Cour des wonders, including the Thénardiers' eldest child Gavroche, who is a road urchin.
One of the understudies, Marius Pontmercy, has gotten to be distanced from his family (particularly his granddad M. Gillenormand) as a result of his liberal perspectives. After the demise of his father Colonel Georges Pontmercy, Marius finds a note from him asking him to give assistance to a sergeant named Thénardier who spared Pontmercy's life at Waterloo – in actuality Thénardier was stealing from dead bodies and just spared Pontmercy's life unintentionally; he had called himself a sergeant under Napoleon to abstain from uncovering himself as a burglar.
At the Luxembourg Garden, Marius experiences passionate feelings for the now developed and delightful Cosette. The Thénardiers have additionally moved to Paris and now live in neediness subsequent to losing their hotel. They live under the surname "Jondrette" at Gorbeau House (unintentionally, the same building Valjean and Cosette quickly lived in the wake of leaving the Thénardiers' motel). Marius lives there too, adjacent to the Thénardiers.
Éponine, now battered and gaunt, visits Marius at his loft to ask for cash. To awe him, she tries to demonstrate her education by reading from a book and by writing down "The Cops Are Here" on a piece of paper. Marius feels sorry for her and gives her some cash. After Éponine leaves, Marius watches the "Jondrettes" in their condo through a break in the divider. Éponine comes in and declares that a giver and his little girl are going to come by to visit them. Keeping in mind the end goal to look poorer, Thénardier puts out the flame and breaks a seat. He additionally requests Azelma to punch out a window, which she does, cutting her hand.
The donor and his little girl enter- really Valjean and Cosette. Marius instantly knows Cosette. In the wake of seeing them, Valjean guarantees them he will come back with rent cash for them. After he and Cosette leave, Marius approaches Éponine to give him her address. Éponine, who is infatuated with Marius herself, reluctantly consents. The Thénardiers have additionally remembered Valjean and Cosette, and vow to get revenge on them. Thénardier enrolls the help of the Patron-Minette, an understood and dreaded pack of killers and looters.
Marius hears Thénardier's arrangement and goes to Javert to report the wrongdoing. Javert gives Marius two guns and trains him to discharge one into the air if things get perilous. Marius returns home and sits tight for Javert and the police to arrive. Thénardier sends Éponine and Azelma outside to pay special mind to the police. At the point when Valjean comes back with rent cash, Thénardier, with Patron-Minette, surprise him and he reveals himself to Valjean. Marius perceives Thénardier as the man who "spared" his great father's life at Waterloo and is torn by the revelation. He tries to figure out how to spare Valjean while not selling out Thénardier. Valjean denies knowing Thénardier and lets him know that they have never met. Valjean tries to escape through a window however is stopped and tied up. Thénardier orders Valjean to pay him 200,000 francs. He additionally requests Valjean to compose a letter to Cosette telling her to come back to the flat, and they would keep her with them until he conveys the cash. After Valjean composes the letter and educates Thénardier of his location, Thénardier conveys Mme. Thénardier to get Cosette. Mme. Thénardier returns alone, and declares the location is a fake.
During this episode Valjean figures out how to free himself. Thénardier chooses to execute Valjean. While he and Patron-Minette are going to do as such, Marius recalls the scrap of paper that Éponine composed on before. He tosses it into the Thénardiers' flat through a crack in the wall. Thénardier understands it and thinks Éponine tossed it inside. He, Mme. Thénardier and Patron-Minette attempt to get away, just to be halted by Javert. He captures all the Thénardiers and Patron-Minette (aside from Claquesous, who gets away during while being transported to prison; Montparnasse, who stops to keep running off with Éponine as opposed to joining in on the burglary; and Gavroche, who was not present and doesn't take part in the crimes of his family). Valjean figures out how to get away from the scene before Javert sees him.
After Éponine's discharge from jail, she discovers Marius at "The Field of the Lark" and unfortunately lets him know that she discovered Cosette's location. She drives him to Valjean's and Cosette's home on Rue Plumet, and Marius watches the house for a couple of days. He and Cosette then at long last meet and pronounce their affection for each other. Thénardier, Patron-Minette and Brujon figure out how to escape from jail with the guide of Gavroche. One night, amid one of Marius' visits with Cosette, the six men endeavor to rob Valjean's and Cosette's home. Éponine, who has been perched by the entryways of the house, says she will shout and stir the entire neighborhood if the cheats don't take off. Listening to this, they reluctantly resign. In the interim, Cosette educates Marius that she and Valjean will be leaving for England in a week, which significantly inconveniences the pair.
The following day, Valjean is sitting in the Champ de Mars. He is feeling disturbed about seeing Thénardier in the area a few times. Out of the blue, a piece of paper lands in his lap, that says "Move Out." He sees a figure fleeing in the faint light. He returns to his home, informs Cosette that they will be going to their second house on Rue de l'Homme Arme, and reconfirms to her that they will move to England. Marius tries to get consent from M. Gillenormand to wed Cosette. His granddad appears to be stern and irate, however has been yearning for Marius' arrival. At the point when tempers flare, he rejects his consent to the marriage, advising Marius to make Cosette his mistress. Offended, Marius takes off.
The next day, the students finally revolt and erect blockades in the limited avenues of Paris. Gavroche spots Javert and tells Enjolras that Javert is a spy. At the point when Enjolras goes up against him about this, he concedes his personality and his requests to keep an eye on the students. Enjolras and some other students bind him to a post in the Corinth eatery. Later that night, Marius goes to Valjean's and Cosette's home on Rue Plumet, yet finds the house empty. He then hears a voice letting him know that his companions await him at the blockade. Upset to discover Cosette gone, he goes.
At the point when Marius touches base at the blockade, the "insurgency" has as of now begun. When he stoops down to get a powder barrel, a fighter comes up to shoot Marius. A man covers the gag of the fighter's weapon with his hand. The warrior fires, lethally injuring the man, while missing Marius. Then, the officers approach. Marius trips to the highest point of the blockade, holding a light in one hand, a powder barrel in the other, and announces to the police that he will explode the blockade. In the wake of affirming this, the officers retreat from the blockade.
Marius chooses to go to another blockade, which he discovers totally abandoned. As he turns back, the man who took the deadly shot for Marius before calls him by his name. Marius finds this man is Éponine, wearing men's garments. As she lies dying on his knees, she admits that she was the person who instructed him to go to the blockade, trusting they would pass on together. She likewise admits to sparing his life since she felt that she needed to die before he did. The writer additionally lets us know that Éponine secretly tossed the note to Valjean. Éponine then tells Marius that she is in possession of a note for him. She additionally admits to have acquired the letter the day preceding, initially not wanting to offer it to him, but rather chooses to do so in fear he would be furious at her about it if found in the wake of her death. After Marius takes the letter, Éponine then requests that he kiss her on the temple when she is dead, which he agrees to do. With her final gasp, she admits that she was in love with him.
Marius satisfies her last wish and goes into a bar to peruse the letter. It is composed by Cosette. He takes in Cosette's whereabouts and he composes a goodbye letter to her. He sends Gavroche to convey it to her, yet Gavroche abandons it with Valjean. Valjean, discovering that Cosette's mate is in the battle, is at initially eased, however after a hour, he puts on a National Guard uniform, arms himself with a firearm and ammo, and goes out.
Valjean touches base at the blockade and quickly spares a man's life. He is still not certain whether he should secure Marius or murder him. Marius recognizes Valjean right away. Enjolras declares that they are verging on being out of cartridges. At the point when Gavroche goes outside the blockade to gather more ammo from the dead National Guardsmen, he is shot by the troops.
Valjean volunteers to kill Javert, and Enjolras agrees. Valjean takes Javert beyond anyone's ability to see, and afterward shoots into the air while releasing him. Marius erroneously trusts that Valjean has murdered Javert. As the blockade falls, Valjean takes away the half dead and oblivious Marius. All of the other students are murdered. Valjean escapes through the sewers, conveying Marius' body. He dodges a police watch, and finds a way out but discovers it is bolted. Thénardier rises up out of the haziness. Valjean remembers him, yet his messy appearance keeps Thénardier from remembering him. Thinking Valjean a killer carrying his casualty's carcass, Thénardier offers to open the entryway for cash. As he peruses Valjean and Marius' pockets, he surreptitiously detaches a bit of Marius' jacket so he can later discover his name. Thénardier takes the thirty francs he discovers, opens the entryway, and permits Valjean to leave, expecting Valjean's rising up out of the sewer will occupy the police who have been seeking after him.
After leaving, Valjean runs into Javert and asks for time to return Marius back to his family before surrendering to him. Javert concurs, accepting that Marius will be dead inside of minutes. In the wake of going out, Valjean requests that be permitted a brief visit to his own home, and Javert concurs. There, Javert tells Valjean he will sit tight for him in the road, however when Valjean looks into the street he discovers Javert has gone. Javert strolls down the road, understanding that he is stuck between his strict confidence in the law and the kindness Valjean has demonstrated to him. He feels he can no more surrender Valjean to the police but additionally can't disregard his obligation to the law. Not able to adapt to this quandary, Javert decides to commit suicide by jumping into the Seine.
Marius gradually recuperates from his wounds. As he and Cosette make wedding arrangements, Valjean blesses them with a fortune of about 600,000 francs. As their wedding gathering winds through Paris amid Mardi Gras merriments, Valjean is spotted by Thénardier, who then requests Azelma to tail him. After the wedding, Valjean admits to Marius that he is an ex-convict. Marius is astonished, expects the worst about Valjean's ethical character, and limits his time with Cosette. Valjean consents to Marius' judgment and his division from Cosette. Valjean loses the will to live and resigns to his bed.
Thénardier approaches Marius in mask, however Marius remembers him. Thénardier endeavors to coerce Marius with what he knows of Valjean, yet in doing this, he unintentionally adjusts Marius' misinterpretations about Valjean and uncovers the majority of the good deeds he has done. He tries to persuade Marius that Valjean is really a killer, and presents the bit of coat he removed as confirmation. Staggered, Marius perceives the fabric as his very own major aspect coat and understands that it was Valjean who protected him from the blockade. Marius then stands up to Thénardier and offers him a monstrous amount of money to withdraw and stay away for the indefinite future. Thénardier acknowledges the offer, and he and Azelma go to America where he turns into a slave dealer. As they race to Valjean's home, Marius tells Cosette that Valjean spared his life at the blockade. They arrive to discover Valjean close to death and consent to forgive him. Valjean recounts to Cosette her mother's story and name. He passes on happily and is interred underneath a blank headstone in Père Lachaise Cemetery.
Character analysis
Jean Valjean - he remains at the focal point of Les Misérables and turns into a trial figure for Hugo's fabulous speculations about the redemptive force of empathy and adoration. Valjean goes into jail a basic and conventional man, however his time in prison has an apparently irreversible impact on him, and he rises up out of the group of convicts a solidified criminal who detests society for what it has done to him. When Valjean meets Myriel in Digne, he is so used to being a social outsider that he just about searches out such abuse, welcoming even the merciful minister with contempt and disdain. Myriel, be that as it may, ends up being the only individual in decades to treat Valjean with affection and appreciation. The meeting with Myriel everlastingly changes Valjean's character, as Myriel makes Valjean guarantee to end up an honest man.
Once Valjean opens up his heart, he turns into a demonstration of the redemptive force of adoration and empathy. His diligent work and new vision change the abandoned town of Montreuil-sur-mer into a flourishing assembling focus, which thusly shows Valjean the value of magnanimity. In dealing with Cosette, Valjean figures out how to adore someone else and how to pass that adoration onto others. He is extraordinary just in his physical quality and his ability to find what is great, and this sincerity is sufficient to make him the novel's legend and in addition a guardian angel and a companion to various individuals who wind up in peril. Solidified by jail and protected by the thoughtfulness of Myriel, Valjean is a clear slate, shaped by his experiences and circumstances. This capacity to change makes him a widespread image of trust—if he can learn love and philanthropy after so much treachery, anybody can.
Javert - he is so fixated on upholding society's laws and ethics that he doesn't understand he is living by mixed up presumptions—a terrible and unexpected blemish in a man who trusts so firmly in implementing what he accepts is correct. Despite the fact that Javert is such a stern and resolute character that it is difficult to sympathize with him, he lives with the disgrace of realizing that his own Gypsy childhood is not all that different from the foundations of the men he seeks. He carries on with his life attempting to delete this disgrace through his strict duty to maintaining the law.
Javert's problem, nonetheless, is that he never stops to address whether the laws themselves are just. In his brain, a man is liable when the law proclaims him so. At the point when Valjean at last gives Javert verifiable evidence that a man is not, as a matter of course insidious on the grounds that the law says he is, Javert is unequipped for accommodating this new learning with his convictions. He commits suicide, tormented by the possibility that he might be carrying on with a disreputable life. Consistent with his tendency, he settles on this choice not with any enthusiastic hysterics, but instead with a cool determination. In spite of the fact that he is a man of rationale, he is energetic about his work. To this end, Hugo as often as possible uses creature symbolism to depict Javert, especially when he compares him to a tiger. At last, it is hard to feel something besides sorry for Javert, who accept his obligation with such brutality that he appears to be more creature than man.
Cosette - as Valjean, she experiences childhood in a climate of neediness and apprehension, however she is saved from this life before her blamelessness becomes pessimism. Despite the fact that she spends various years under the domineering consideration of the Thénardiers, she never receives their barbarous perspectives, which demonstrates that she has a key respectability and goodness that they need. Once Valjean assumes responsibility of Cosette's childhood, she rapidly changes from a filthy, troubled tyke into an exquisite, accomplished young lady. For Hugo, this change is natural to the point that he doesn't much try to walk us through it and rather moves quite a long while ahead.
Despite the fact that she is loyal to Valjean, Cosette likewise has her own particular identity, which rises as she enters youthfulness and starts to strive after a less protected life. In this time of their lives, Valjean's part in the book briefly transforms from Cosette's friend in need to her guard. Cosette's capacity to genuinely love Marius is mostly attributable to Valjean, who has taught her to trust and love. At last, Cosette stays consistent with her childhood, and her adoration for Marius turns into her method for applying to her own particular life what she has gained from Valjean.
Fantine - even though the majority of Fantine's hardships are brought on by the hardness or avarice of others, society dependably considers her responsible for her conduct. In this sense, she typifies Hugo's view that French society requests the most from those to whom it gives the minimum. Fantine is a poor, average young lady from the barren seacoast town of Montreuil-sur-mer, a vagrant who has no instruction and can neither read nor write at all. Fantine is unavoidably deceived by the general population she trusts: Tholomyès gets her pregnant and after that vanishes; the Thénardiers take Cosette and utilize the girl to blackmail more cash; and Fantine's associates have her fired for being an unwed mother. In his depictions of Fantine's life and passing, Hugo highlights the unreasonable state of mind of French society toward ladies and poor people. The people surrounding Fantine scrutinize her for her conduct and degeneracy, yet they additionally take each chance to make her circumstances considerably more terrible.
Hugo's depiction of Fantine's abuse recognizes the legitimate, persevering poor from the parasitic advantage of the common laborers like Thénardiers. By comparing Fantine with the Thénardiers, Hugo proposes that neediness does not as a matter of course equal foulness. In doing so, he condemns a framework that permits the profane poor to survive even as it pulverizes the genuine and penniless.
Marius Pontmercy - dissimilar to the other characters in the novel, Marius experiences childhood in a well-to-do family unit free of monetary stresses. In any case, his kin are part separated by governmental issues, and it is not until he adds to his own identity that he can become who he truly wants to be. Marius' loyalties are torn between his dad, Georges Pontmercy, who is a colonel in the Napoléonic armed force, and his staunchly monarchist granddad, M. Gillenormand, who raises him. The political contrasts between his dad and granddad undermine to tear apart Marius' character, as he discovers that his moderate granddad purposefully kept him from setting up a relationship with his dad out of apprehension that Marius would succumb to his dad's liberal political perspectives. Furious and confounded, Marius receives his dad's convictions, yet it soon gets to be clear that what he truly needs is his very own vision. Marius truly starts to grow when he goes out, finds himself and begins to fall in love.
Marius is more guiltless than some other characters in the novel, and though this purity keeps him from getting to be barbarous or critical, it likewise makes him ignorant concerning the issues of others. This absence of discernment first turns out to be clear in Marius' treatment of Eponine, and ends up being particularly ugly when Marius drives Valjean from his home. In the end, Marius is a decent individual, yet his failure to see the requirements or sentiment of others can on occasion make him unwittingly vindictive.
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