Les Miserables Literary Analysis
Class Conflict Between Characters In Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo many different themes and important lessons arise. Hugo goes into great depth and portrays the feelings people went through, during the revolution. Jean Valjean, a character convicted of stealing bread, goes from running away from Javert most of his life to being a changed man and taking in Cosette and raising her as his own. As he encounters this rebirth of his life, he tries to cover up his dark past. Through Eponine, who has nothing greater to live for other than her love for Marius, who she then dies for at the barricades. The love and romance between the grown up Cosette and Marius shows a circumstance that many people in times of revolution had to face. The most prominent theme of Les Miserables was class conflict; this can be best seen through the Thenardiers, Jean Valjean, and Fantine.
The Thenardier family was a poor family who struggled with money. They tried to take money from whoever they could. They took in Cosette to be her caretaker while her mother, Fantine worked and earned money. Fantine sent money to the Thenardiers often for the things Cosette needed and the Thenardiers, especially, M. Thenardier, took advantage of it and used it to benefit for themselves. He frequently told Fantine that they needed more money for Cosette through letters and Fantine would send more. The extra money he asked for was not going towards caring for Cosette, but rather to the Thenardiers. They treated Cosette very unfavorably and sometimes abused her. The novel supports this in saying, “When this sum was spent, the Thenardiers began to look upon the little girl as a child which they sheltered for charity, and treated her as such” (Hugo Page 46). This supports the fact that the Thenardiers didn’t really and truly care about Cosette, they just wanted the money for themselves. The Thenardier family did not only rob from Fantine but whoever they could. One could argue that in the novel, Hugo
The Thenardier family was a poor family who struggled with money. They tried to take money from whoever they could. They took in Cosette to be her caretaker while her mother, Fantine worked and earned money. Fantine sent money to the Thenardiers often for the things Cosette needed and the Thenardiers, especially, M. Thenardier, took advantage of it and used it to benefit for themselves. He frequently told Fantine that they needed more money for Cosette through letters and Fantine would send more. The extra money he asked for was not going towards caring for Cosette, but rather to the Thenardiers. They treated Cosette very unfavorably and sometimes abused her. The novel supports this in saying, “When this sum was spent, the Thenardiers began to look upon the little girl as a child which they sheltered for charity, and treated her as such” (Hugo Page 46). This supports the fact that the Thenardiers didn’t really and truly care about Cosette, they just wanted the money for themselves. The Thenardier family did not only rob from Fantine but whoever they could. One could argue that in the novel, Hugo
Bibliography: Anonymous. "Victor Hugo and Les Misérables." EXPLORING Novels. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Discover Collection. Web. 28 Jan. 2013. Porter, Laurence M. "The Masterpiece: 'Les Miserables '." Epics for Students. Detroit: Gale, 1997. Discover Collection. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. "Themes and Construction: Les Misérables." EXPLORING Novels. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Discover Collection. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.