Les Miserables - Week 17

[Gem , Moderator]

Is it really December already? Wow, this year has flown by.

As we start the last book, Jean Valjean, there is are a lot of emotions in play, for me maybe more than in any other chapter we've read so far. And this week's read, the first chapter, ends in a cliffhanger.

We find the insurgents behind the barricade, realizing they have more men than necessary to defend it. The leader, Enjolras, decided they need to send some of the men who have families, home because a smaller force is capable of defending the barricade and no one wants children, wives, and parents to go hungry because their men died. There discussion among the insurgents themselves... no one wants to leave. Enjolras chooses five men to send home. I was struggling with this scene figuring there would be at least a couple of takers and fortunately in my own life I've ever been in the situation where I needed to put my life on the line for a cause. So this had me thinking, was it heroism? Real selflessness? Peer pressure? Or something else that was holding this group of men together and causing them all to be willing to die for the cause?

We see the death of Gavroche, the street urchin, at the hand of the army troops. His death seem, to me, to be the biggest tragedy that we have seen so far, and perhaps in the entire book. Gavroche embodied courage, ingenuity, humility, joy, wit and compassion. I don't know that we would have amounted to anything as an adult because of his lack of education and social standing but it seems to me that truly is society's loss. What do you think about this?

And then we have Jean Valjean. It surprised me when we saw him (in the previous book/chapter) don his National Guard uniform as I assumed he was going to join the army troop but he arrives at the barricade of the insurgents. What do you think his motivation was? Were you surprised when he handed over his uniform so the fifth man could be sent home? What of him shooting the soldiers on the roof in helmet vs. killing them?

I was also surprised when Jean Valjean volunteered to execute Javert, however, he not only let him go but also told Javert the name he was living under and his address. What do you make of what he did? If Javert comes to find him isn't that going to turn Cosette's world upside down? He's spent his life with Cosette trying to protect her, this seems to be contradictory to everything else he's done for her... she would be devastated to see her father taken away and put in prison. Thoughts?

And of course, we have to address Jean Valjean rescuing Marius. Did this act surprise you? Do you think it was heroism? Or was there some other motivation behind it?

[Robin P, Moderator]

Occasionally in this book, Hugo has a great storytelling scene, such as here where the 5th uniform magically appears, Marius recognizes his beloved's father and we are told simply that JVJ has arrived. Kind of like Superman is on the job. He had this kind of scene when JVJ was captured by Thenardier and then Javert entered. I wish he would do it more and spend less time on theorizing about politics and "the people".

[Rafael]

Poor Gavroche! What a loss! I felt that he will die but somehow I was expecting that he would survive.

Jean Valjean did not surprise me with his attitude towards Javert. This attitude helps to make Javert confused about Jean Valjean's character.

Maybe Jean Valjean saved Marius because he feared Cosette heartbreak. I think that he saw that he could no longer protect Cosette from the world. I guess that the opera Carmen puts it better: l'amour est un oiseau rebelle (the love is a wild/rebel bird). He should protect his daughter lover. Even hating him.

Gem, this week is the 17th one.

[Robin P, Moderator]

I'm not done with this section but was struck by the ode to the 20th century, when there are not supposed to be any more wars, hunger, inequality, etc. Pretty ironic to read now.

[Gem , Moderator]

Rafael wrote: "Gem, this week is the 17th one.."

Thanks, I corrected it.

[Robin P, Moderator]

Finally caught up for first time in 6 weeks! In this section, we see everybody from the outside. We get to be inside Marius' head in earlier sections of the riot, but not as much now. And we get nothing from JVJ. We only get to observe his actions.

JVJ really enters a saintly realm within a hellish scene. He shoots off hats in order to keep the soldiers at bay, but doesn't kill anyone.
(And how did he get to be such a good shot? If he had been a hunter in his youth, he could have provided food for his family that way.) He saves the day with his extra uniform. He not only releases Javert, but gives him his address. Maybe he decided that since Cosette will have a new protector, he can go back and serve the time he technically merits for that small theft from the boy years ago? And then since Marius has to protect Cosette, JVJ has to rescue Marius?

I'm curious about the translations of one part. After JVJ lets Javert go, Javert begins to use the formal "vous" to him (a sign of respect) as the word for "you", as opposed to the more insulting "tu". The informal is used for friends and family but from one adult to another at that time, it was an insult. Hugo remarks that Javert did this without realizing it. This kind of thing is a headache for a translator as you either need a footnote or you have to have some convoluted way to convey it in English.

[Gem , Moderator]

Robin wrote: "In this section, we see everybody from the outside. We get to be inside Marius' head in earlier sections of the riot, but not as much now. And we get nothing from JVJ. We only get to observe his actions."

Great observation, I had not realized that when I read this part.

[Gem , Moderator]

Robin wrote: "I'm curious about the translations of one part. After JVJ lets Javert go, Javert begins to use the formal "vous" to him (a sign of respect) as the word for "you", as opposed to the more insulting "tu". The informal is used for friends and family but from one adult to another at that time, it was an insult. Hugo remarks that Javert did this without realizing it."

That's interesting. The drawback of reading translated works.

[Linda]

Warfare, as even this small scale violence is, is the most hellish and tragic of human endeavors. That is what stands out for me in this section. Perhaps my reaction is colored by an American series I recently saw about World War II called Band of Brothers which follows a group of American soldiers from their arrival in Normandy on D-Day to the end of the war. The same assault on the senses as I read or watched, the same sense of how war has its own code of honor and rules, the same devotion to duty and to the ideals one is fighting for, how random events can influence an outcome, how men become heroes, how enormously tragic it is in loss of life even in the defense of righteous ideas and principles.

I really am not sure why JVJ decided to come to the barricade. Was he trying to protect Marius because Cosette loved him? That certainly is what he ended up doing. And since we learn that he always was observing Marius after he arrived at the barricade, perhaps that was his reason. Certainly his immediate reaction to Marius’s shoulder injury was to quickly remove him from the scene of carnage and certain death. Hopefully, his intentions will become clearer as we read on.

JVJ certainly does almost seems more divine than human in this section. He never suffers injury despite opening himself up to injury or death as when he walks out in the open to retrieve the mattress for the barricade. His shooting skills certainly must be divinely inspired for him to accurately shoot the casques off two soldiers without injuring them. He helps out the insurgents in many ways but almost with no conversation. He seems to be operating above the human sphere.
I agree another mystery is why he revealed his name and address to Javert. I understand his setting him free, he will not take human revenge, but exposing himself to future arrest, and possible consequences for Cosette, doesn’t seem to make any sense.

After reading Hugo’s discussion of revolution versus emeute and the events of 1848 and the background of the 1832 emeute, I finally feel as if I have a more complete and almost intuitive understanding of the motivations of the insurgents and why the emeute failed.