Les Miserables Archetypes
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo is a book written in 1845 about the time period directly following the French Revolution. As is the case with most literature, Les Miserables includes character archetypes. In Les Miserables, the characters Cosette and Jean Valjean are both character archetypes.
The character Cosette represents the archetype of the orphaned child. Her mother, Fantine, was forced to abandon her as she needed a job and couldn't take Cosette with her, who was an infant at the time. She left Cosette in the care of Madame Thenardier, to whom she explained, "I cannot take my child into the country. Work forbids it. With a child I could not find a place there; they are so absurd in that district" (Hugo 127). When Fantine dies of fever
later in the book, the Thenardiers keep Cosette until she is adopted by Jean Valjean. Cosette is the archetype orphaned child because her mother abandoned her to go and work until she had enough money to support them both, but she died before she had the chance to return.
The character Jean Valjean represents the archetype of the wanderer. He also represents the archetype of the thief. Jean Valjean was in jail for nineteen years; his sentence was originally five years for stealing bread for his starving family. After several escape attempts, his sentence was extended to a total of nineteen years. When he was finally released, he wandered until he stumbled upon the unlocked house of Monseigneur Bienvenu. While staying there, a basket of silver plates and candlesticks caught his eye. He awoke in the early morning and "put the silver in his knapsack, threw away the basket, ran across the garden, leaped over the wall like a tiger, and fled" (Hugo 87). Jean Valjean represents the archetypes wanderer and thief because he is put in prison for theft, wanders when he is released from prison, and steals silver from Monseigneur Bienvenu.
In literature, character archetypes are inevitably going to be encountered. Two of the archetypal characters in Les Miserables, Cosette and Jean Valjean, represent the contrasting characters of orphaned child and wanderer/thief. However, both of these types of characters exist in the literature of all time periods, and they are therefore archetypal characters.
The character Cosette represents the archetype of the orphaned child. Her mother, Fantine, was forced to abandon her as she needed a job and couldn't take Cosette with her, who was an infant at the time. She left Cosette in the care of Madame Thenardier, to whom she explained, "I cannot take my child into the country. Work forbids it. With a child I could not find a place there; they are so absurd in that district" (Hugo 127). When Fantine dies of fever
later in the book, the Thenardiers keep Cosette until she is adopted by Jean Valjean. Cosette is the archetype orphaned child because her mother abandoned her to go and work until she had enough money to support them both, but she died before she had the chance to return.
The character Jean Valjean represents the archetype of the wanderer. He also represents the archetype of the thief. Jean Valjean was in jail for nineteen years; his sentence was originally five years for stealing bread for his starving family. After several escape attempts, his sentence was extended to a total of nineteen years. When he was finally released, he wandered until he stumbled upon the unlocked house of Monseigneur Bienvenu. While staying there, a basket of silver plates and candlesticks caught his eye. He awoke in the early morning and "put the silver in his knapsack, threw away the basket, ran across the garden, leaped over the wall like a tiger, and fled" (Hugo 87). Jean Valjean represents the archetypes wanderer and thief because he is put in prison for theft, wanders when he is released from prison, and steals silver from Monseigneur Bienvenu.
In literature, character archetypes are inevitably going to be encountered. Two of the archetypal characters in Les Miserables, Cosette and Jean Valjean, represent the contrasting characters of orphaned child and wanderer/thief. However, both of these types of characters exist in the literature of all time periods, and they are therefore archetypal characters.