September 6, 2009 10:04 PM
Les Miserables book study - pages 1169-1311
Book One: Fantine
Book Two: Cosette
Book Three: Marius
Book Four: Saint-Denis
Book Five: Jean Valjean
Hugo has taken us through the lives of many characters, but these stories all revolve around the protagonist -Valjean. Now he returns to finish Valjean's story in Book Five.
A few random notes:
page 1170 : Fex urbis, lex orbis refers to the state of Rome shortly before the Fall, when the masses were kept occupied with "bread and circuses" as the empire crumbled. Wikipedia notes:
Fex urbis lex orbis is a Latin saying, meaning "Scum [classical Latin faex] of the city, law of the world". In other words, the desires and needs of the lowest class of citizens actually determine how the world works, by the sheer force of their numbers.First said by St. Jerome, it is often erroneously attributed to Victor Hugo, as he quotes it with approval in Les Misérables.
Pages 1170-1176 are a digression by Hugo which fast forward to another ripple in the series of revolutions following the first. Apparently 1848 was larger and Hugo had some thoughts about it. But we are dealing with 1832, and eventually Hugo returns us to the barricade under the leadership of Enjolras. The men have no food and no hope. On page 1178, it is noted there are 50 left. But a few paragraphs later, there are 37. Since no gunfire has been exchanged, that means that 12 have fled.
On pages 1185-86, in the chapter Five Less, One More, it is decided that for those with wives and children at home, the most unselfish course of action is to quit the barricade and return home. Five agree to leave, but they have only four National Guard uniforms taken from those slain. As Marius prepares to make the difficult choice, Valjean - aka M. Fauchelevant - appears in his uniform and gives it to the fifth insurgent. With uniforms from the other side, their escape is secured.
"Who is this man?" asked Bousset."He," answered Combferre, "Is a man who saves others."
Pages 1188-1192 show us more of the intellectual motivation of Enjolras as a revolutionary. A powerful before the battle inspirational speech - as St. Crispin's Day in Shakespeare's Henry V.
On page 1193, Valjean enters the room where Javert is being held hostage. Javert, so sure he knows Valjean's character to be evil, is hardly surprised..
Page 1194 begins the final day of the battle of the barricade. Gavroche reappears and Marius asks him about M Fauchelevant, but since Gavroche did not see him clearly in the dark the night before, he does not recognize him - leading Marius to believe that his letter was delivered to Cosette.
Jean Valjean saves them all by shooting down a mattress behind which a sniper has been picking them off.
Pages 1202-1206 reveal Cosette awakening, and - not having received Marius's desperate note - being filled with hope that he will be coming to get her.
In all the time at the barricade, Valjean kills no one.
Pages 1214-1217 - Gavroche, who has overheard that they are running out of ammunition, decides to cross the barricade to collect more from the pockets of the slain National Guardsmen. As usual, he is singing. For some time he is protected by the clouds of gun smoke, but as he moves farther from the barricade, his cover is lost and he is shot down.
p. 1218-1226 - In a chapter called How Brother Becomes Father, we see the two orphan brothers of Gavroche, starving and a brutal portrait of bourgeois
neglect and contempt for "les miserables."
Then back to the barricade. When Enjolras tells Javert that he and Marius have been the saviors of the barricade, Valjean asks for a reward: the privilege of killing Javert. But when everyone has left, he cuts his restrains and sends him off - even providing his address. Valjean fires a shot into the air as Javert takes flight. Just before that happens, Marius realizes that the prisoner is Javert and so mistakenly thinks that M. Fauchelevant (Valjean) has killed him.
Pages 1234-1253 - the battle continues, the barricade is overrun. Enjolras is cornered and is last to die - as a proud hero.
Marius has fallen and is unconscious. In the play, this is one of the most beautiful moments as we see more of Valjean's heart than Hugo really shows in the book:
Valjean grabs him and flees from the National Guard by prying open a loose sewer grating. Remember the events throughout the book which show how his years of hard labor in prison had resulted in tremendous physical strength.
Pages 1256- 1275 are a digression on the history of the construction and reconstruction of the Paris sewer system, mixed in with social and cultural commentary. I liked this quote:
The sewer is the conscience of the city. Page 1261
More gripping drama through the darkness and unknown branches and as Valjean is nearly sucked into a quicksand-like mass of effluent.
When he finally reaches the light and sets down Marius' body, he checks his heartbeat and then binds his wounds, looking at him - as Hugo notes - with inexpressible hatred. So we know that this tremendous act of compassion by Valjean is not compassion for Marius but for Cosette.
Searches Marius' pocket, Valjean finds a note asking that his body be brought to his grandfather's. Then he follows the light and arrives at the place where the sewer pours out to the sea. It is covered by a locked grate. This seems to be the end of the road for Valjean, who cannot contemplate returning into the darkness and through the quagmire he miraculously survived.
Pages 1300-1305: Thenardier appears. Not recognizing Valjean in the darkness, he thinks he is a fellow criminal who has killed someone and is about to dispose of the body. He has a key to the grate and offers to get them out if Valjean gives him half of what he has. While searching the body, he tears off a strip of cloth for possible future extortion. Then he takes everything before letting Valjean go.
And then, Valjean and Marius - still unconscious are finally out of the sewer.outside. And into the hands of Javert, who has been following Thenardier and whom Valjean persuades to help get Marius to his grandfather's. When they have dropped off Marius's unconscious body, Valjean asks one thing more of Javert - to allow him to go see Cosette. Javert orders the driver to that address.
Hugo reports this without comment, but dear reader, you must have been surprised by how uncharacteristic this behavior is in Javert. He is acting outside the legalism he normally knows. Given what we know about him, this is nothing short of amazing.
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This is the penultimate (how I've always wanted to use that word! It means the next-to-the-last) segment in my Les Miserables commentary. I had hoped to wrap this up by Labor Day, but will be a week behind as my own real-life dramas have sometimes put this on the back burner for a while.
Be back soon. Please leave comments.
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Remember: complete notes, resources, maps,. music available by clicking on Les Miz icon and scrolling to the bottom to read forward.
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Comments
I just have to comment on the song Bring Him Home.
My husband told me a few years ago that he used to sing "Bring Him Home" to my son when he was in the NICU. I had no idea he had been doing this. He apparently only did it during the times he was alone with our son.
It's really amazing to me how a piece of music can so transcend its original setting when it's based on such universal themes. I can't listen to this without sobbing.
Thankfully, like Marius, our son also made it home safely.
Posted by: Lauren | September 7, 2009 9:56 AM
Amazing post! I just finished the book for the second time, and I found your commentary concise and well written.
Posted by: Amanda | April 21, 2012 10:18 PM
