Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

“If the soul is left in darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but the one who causes the darkness. " - [Monseigneur Bienvenue] Les Misérables.

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo is the story, set in the 19th Century, of the intertwining lives of Jean Valjean, Fantine, The Theodores, Javert, Cosette and Marius Pontmercy. Jean Valjean was a convict, released after 19 years in prison. He goes from a distraught, dark and even malicious man to a "saint". He grows to become very successful and a respected man in his new town. That is, until Javert (a police agent) discovers the truth and Jean Valjean must escape. The others are characters that he meets later on that affect his actions and attitudes. 

This book was amazing!!! Don't get me wrong,I struggled a lot at the start and it took me months to read the book, but it was all worth it! Because the stories all intertwine at the end, it is only at the end of each chapter and especially at the end of the book that the story seems to be making complete sense and it is at such moments that the book becomes so gripping. Victor Hugo did a fantastic job exploring the darkest parts of society and while it seemed dry at some parts, it all joined up to create a very well written and intriguing book. It is one of those times that you have to step away to see the whole picture. I have to admit, the language was quite hard at times and I did not understand everything and I'm sure I missed important ideas Hugo wrote. I will definitely revisit this book in a few years to get even more from it...

Les Misérables wasn't just about the French Revolution, it is a book that can be used to analyse all of society from the 19th Century to now. It is the story of transformation, love and society. It focuses on the areas of society that are wrong and those that need reform. This includes education, criminal justice and treatment of women. While the ideas are conveyed through every single character and action it is mostly concentrated in Fantine and Jean Valjean. 

One of the ideas that stood out the most for me was the corruption of the sometimes unfair judicial system. It seems that people born in poverty are labelled as criminals from the beginning, or at least not given enough educational or financial support to become anything more than a criminal. Jean Valjean started as a fair, working man with the best of intentions for his nieces and nephews. He had no other option than to steal so that those he loved could survive. He was very harshly condemned for this and spent life labelled as a very "dangerous" criminal. The prison he was sent to, was supposed to teach him and make him "a better man". Instead, it drove him into even more despair and darkness. It was only when he met Monseigneur Bienvenue who believed and had faith in Valjean that Valjean really became better in a moral sense. The same story happened with Fantine, who was just trying to help her daughter and instead was led into a degrading life turning to prostitution as a last resort. This also shows the hypocrisy of society and condemns the class hierarchy that existed and in some places still occur today. While, it was Tholomyès who left Fantine as a single mother he was not looked down upon because he was a man and he was of a higher social class. It was Fantine who had to cope with problems. 

To me, this book showed that nothing can be accepted willingly and with no doubts. As Victor Hugo put it, “If you wish to understand what Revolution is, call it Progress; and if you wish to understand what Progress is, call it Tomorrow.” He didn't just mean the Republican movement in France. It refers to everything, it refers to challenging expectations and rules to create a better tomorrow. It is about find your own opinions and questions the system that so strictly governs our society. It is almost that people must waken up to the real problems of society and to find oneself. Hugo mentions in his narration that the conscience is the highest justice. Therefore, one must question the government, question societal laws, question education and a modern thing to question is to question the media. What feels right must take precedence and it is not always the accepted social norm. Marius Pontmercy felt a bit of this when standing up for the Republican movement however, his heart was only in this because of his father and he never truly established a really opened to truth of his world.  He only found out about his neighbours' living standards very late on after Eponine had walked into his bedroom asking for money. Again shown by Marius' reaction to Valjean's confession. Even Javert realises that social justice will not always be right and that moral consciousness will take precedence. However, he was of a weaker character and not at all flexible in his opinion which led to his death. 

The ideas mentioned above are the ones that jumped out for me while I was reading; however, there are many, many more ideas that Victor Hugo cleverly put into his story. Les Misérables is certainly a fascinating book to study and it has many layers to uncover. I think everyone should read this, and even if it seems at the start of each chapter that the book is very inconclusive, fight through it, the ending is worth it. Just a warning- you may start crying at the end of the novel.