Les Misérables

Jean Valjean redirects here. For the novel by Solomon Cleaver, see Jean Val Jean. For the musical theatre production, see Les Misérables (musical).

Portrait of "Cosette" by Emile Bayard, from the original edition of Les Misérables (1862)

Les Misérables (translated variously from French as The Miserable Ones, The Wretched, The Poor Ones, The Victims) (1862) is a novel by French novelist Victor Hugo. Among the most well known novels of the 19th century, it follows the lives and interactions of several French characters over a twenty year period in the early 19th century that includes the Napoleonic wars and subsequent decades. Principally focusing on the struggles of the protagonistâ€"ex-convict Jean Valjeanâ€"to redeem himself through good works, the novel examines the impact of Valjean's actions as social commentary. It examines the nature of good, evil, and the law, in a sweeping story that expounds upon the history of France, architecture of Paris, politics, moral philosophy, law, justice, religion, and the types and nature of romantic and familial love. Hugo was inspired by the real-life criminal/policeman Francois Eugene Vidocq, and split the personalities into the two main characters in his novel. Les Misérables is known to many through its numerous stage and screen adaptations, of which the most famous is the stage musical of the same name, commonly known as "Les Mis" (pronounced //).

Plot

Les Misérables contains a multitude of plots, but the thread that binds them together is the story of the ex-convict Jean Valjean, who becomes a force for good in the world, but cannot escape his past. The novel is divided into five parts, each part divided into books, and each book divided into chapters. Each chapter is relatively short; usually no longer than a few pages. Nevertheless, the book in its entirety is quite lengthy by usual standards, well exceeding twelve hundred pages in unabridged editions. Within the borders of the novel's story arc, Hugo fills many pages with his thoughts on religion, politics, and society, including his three lengthy digressions, one being a discussion on enclosed religious orders, another being on argot, and most famously, his epic retelling of the Battle of Waterloo.

After nineteen years of imprisonment for stealing food for his starving family, the peasant Jean Valjean is released on parole. However, he is required to carry a yellow ticket, which marks him as a convict. Rejected by innkeepers who do not want to take in a convict, Valjean sleeps on the street. However, the benevolent Bishop Myriel takes him in and gives him shelter. In the night, he steals the bishop's silverware and runs. He is caught, but the bishop rescues him by claiming that the silver was a gift. The bishop then tells him that in exchange, he must become an honest man.

Six years later, Valjean has become a wealthy factory owner and is appointed mayor of his adopted town, having broken his parole and assumed the false name of Père Madeleine to avoid capture by Inspector Javert, who has been pursuing him. Fate, however, takes an unfortunate turn when another man is arrested, accused of being Valjean, and put on trial, forcing the real ex-convict to reveal his true identity. At the same time, he meets the dying Fantine, who had been fired from her job at his factory and has resorted to prostitution. She has a young daughter, Cosette, who lives with a corrupt innkeeper and his selfish, cruel wife. As Fantine dies, Valjean, seeing in Fantine similarities to his former life of hardship, promises her that he will take care of Cosette. He pays off the innkeeper, Thénardier, to obtain Cosette. Valjean and Cosette flee for Paris.

Ten years later, angry students, led by Enjolras, are preparing a revolution on the eve of the Paris uprising on June 5â€"6, 1832, following the death of General Lamarque, the only French leader who had sympathy towards the working class. One of the students, Marius Pontmercy, falls in love with Cosette, who has grown to be very beautiful. The Thénardiers, who have also moved to Paris, lead a gang of thieves to raid Valjean's house while Marius is visiting. However, Thénardier's daughter, Éponine, who is also in love with Marius, convinces the thieves to leave.

The following day, the students revolt and erect barricades in the narrow streets of Paris. Valjean, learning that Cosette's lover is fighting, joins them in order to protect Marius. Éponine also joins. During the ensuing battle, Valjean saves Javert from being killed by the students and lets him go. Javert, a man who believes in absolute obedience of the law, is caught between his belief in the law and the mercy Valjean has shown him. Unable to cope with this dilemma, Javert kills himself. Valjean saves the injured Marius, but many others, including Enjolras and Éponine, are killed. Escaping through the sewers, he returns Marius to Cosette. Marius and Cosette are soon married. Valjean loses his strength to live as the last thing he lived for in his life, Cosette, no longer needs him. Marius is convinced Valjean is of poor moral character so steers Cosette away from him. Marius learns of his good deeds too late on Valjean's death bed and, finally, Valjean reveals to them his past, then dies.

Themes

Grace

Les Misérables is, among its many other themes, a discussion and comparison of grace and legalism. This is seen most starkly in the juxtaposition of the protagonist, Valjean, and the apparent antagonist, Javert.

In the beginning of the book when Valjean breaks away from prison after serving 19 years, all Jean Valjean knows about is the judgment of the law. He committed a crime, he suffered the punishment â€" although he feels that this is somehow unjust. In a way, his view at this point is similar to that of Javert, with the exception that Javert does think the punishment just. Nevertheless, both operate on a basis of deeds and rewards, or legalism: in the musical adaptation of the work, this is expressed very well in the solo "Stars", with the lines:

And so it has been, and so it is writtenOn the doorway to paradiseThat those who falter and those who fallMust pay the price

It is from the starting-point of legalism that the two worldviews start to separate. Valjean's first encounter with grace occurs after he has found himself rejected because of his status as an ex-convict, and is forced to take refuge with a bishop for the night (see synopsis). He runs off with the bishop's silver, is caught and returned, but the bishop not only says that the silver was a gift, but famously also gives him the two silver candlesticks from his table. This treatment that does not correspond to what Valjean "deserves" is a powerful image of grace.

Throughout the course of the novel, Valjean is haunted by his past, most notably in the form of Javert. It is therefore fitting that the greatest triumph of grace in the book is between Valjean and Javert. After Javert is captured going undercover with the revolutionaries, Valjean volunteers to execute him. However, instead of taking vengeance as Javert expects, he sets the policeman free. This can be seen as the ultimate triumph of grace in Valjean's life; however, the author also makes the point that legalism can become entrenched: Javert is unable to reconcile his black-and-white view with the apparent high morals of this ex-criminal and with the grace extended to him, and commits suicide.

Grace is seen as a positive moral force in Valjean's life. Whereas prison has hardened him to the point of stealing from a poor and charitable bishop, grace frees him to himself be charitable to others â€" as in the case of Fantine, accused of prostitution, and the innocent man falsely accused of being Jean Valjean (see the synopsis). It also teaches him to react differently to his mistakes: having ducked responsibility when Fantine is fired by his foreman, Valjean proceeds to try to right the wrong. Despite his selfishness in guarding Cosette and keeping her from Marius, when he reads Marius's last note to her he goes to the barricades to save Marius. The reforming nature of grace as opposed to the embittering nature of legalism is a major theme in Les Misérables.

Translations

English translations

At least four English translations of the novel exist, by:

*Charles E. Wilbour. The first translation, published in 1862, only months after the French edition of the novel was released.
*Isabel F. Hapgood. This version is in the public domain and is that offered by Project Gutenberg.

The 1887 edition printed by Thomas Crowell and Co, New York is complete in one volume with various pagings to each section plus a 2 page index and an additional 2 page advertisement in the back of the book including a full page for Anna Karenina. 7 1/2" X 5" Brown hardcover with gilt title on spine and light green flowered endpapers. Frontis illustration plus 4 additional plates by F Meaulle.
*Norman Denny. Published 1976. This edition is considered to be unabridged; however, in Norman Denny's introduction, he states that several of the longer passages that did not directly relate to the plot were removed.
*Lee Fahnestock and Norman MacAfee. Published on March 3, 1987 by Signet Classics, based on the Wilbour edition with updates, generally considered the most readable of current translations. Paperback ISBN 0451525264

Arabic Translations

Three famous translations of the novel exist, by:
*Hafiz Ibrahim, an abridged translation which appeared in two small volumes.
*noted translator Munir al-Baalbaki, who wrote an abridged copy and an unabridged one (in five volumes). They were published for the first time in 1955 in Beirut, Lebanon.

Adaptations

Film adaptations

*1907, On the barricade, directed Alice Guy Blaché, early adaptation of a part of the novel
*1907, Le Chemineau
*1909, directed by J. Stuart Blackton
*1911, directed by Albert Capellani
*1913, directed again by Albert Capellani
*1913, The Bishop's Candelsticks, directed Herbert Brenon, adaptation of the second book of the first volume
*1917, directed by Frank Lloyd
*1922, director unknown
*1923, Aa Mujo, directed by Kiyohiko Ushihara and Yoshinobu Ikeda, Japanese film, production cancelled after two of four parts
*1925, directed by Henri Fescourt
*1929, The Bishop's Candlesticks, directed by Norman McKinnell, first sound film adaption
*1929, Aa mujo, directed by Seika Shiba, Japanese film
*1931, Jean Valjean, directed by Tomu Uchida, Japanese film
*1934, directed by Raymond Bernard
*1935, directed by Richard Boleslawski
*1937, Gavrosh, directed by Tatyana Lukashevich, Soviet film
*1938, Kyojinden, dirceted by Mansaku Itami, Japanese film
*1943, Los Miserables, directed by Renando A. Rovero, Mexican film
*1944, El Boassa, directed by Kamal Selim, Egyptian film
*1947, I Miserabili, directed by Riccardo Freda
*1949, Les Nouveaux Misérables, directed by Henri Verneuil
*1950, Re mizeraburu: Kami to Akuma, directed by Daisuke Ito, English title: Gods and demons
*1950, Ezai Padum Pado, dirceted by K. Ramnoth, Indian film
*1952, directed by Lewis Milestone
*1952, I miserabili, re-release of the 1947-film
*1955, Kundan, directed by Sohrab Modi, Indian Hindi film
*1958, directed by Jean-Paul Le Chanois
*1967, directed by Alan Bridges
*1967, Os Miseráveis, Brazilian film
*1967, Sefiler, Turkish film
*1972, directed by Marcel Bluwal
*1973, Los Miserables, directed by Antulio Jimnez Pons, Mexican adaption
*1977, Cosette, animation
*1978, US telefilm, directed by Glenn Jordan
*1978, Al Boasa, Egyptian adaptation
*1979, Jean Valjean Monogatari, directed by Takashi Kuoka, Japanese animation
*1982, directed by Robert Hossein
*1985, TV version of the 1982 film
*1988, animation
*1990, directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau
*1995, directed by Claude Lelouch (a loose, multi-layered adaptation set in the 20th century)
*1995 Musical done in concert style
*1998, directed by Bille August and starring Liam Neeson
*2000, French TV miniseries directed by Josée Dayan and co-produced by Gérard Depardieu (starring: Gérard Depardieu, Christian Clavier, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Virginie Ledoyen, Asia Argento, Jeanne Moreau, Veronica Ferres...)

Adaptations in other media

In 1935, Solomon Cleaver published a short English-language adaptation titled Jean Val Jean. It remains a popular children's version of Les Misérables.

In 1937, Orson Welles wrote, produced and directed a seven-part series for radio. Welles himself narrated the story and played the part of Valjean. The series co-starred Martin Gabel as Inspector Javert, and featured his then wife Virginia Nicholson Welles as the older Cosette, with Gwen Davies (young Cosette), Alice Frost (Fantine), William Johnstone (Marius), and in other roles, Frank Readick, Ray Collins, Agnes Moorehead, and Everett Sloane, many of whom would perform for The Mercury Theatre on the Air.

In 1980, a musical (see Les Misérables (musical)) opened in Paris which has gone on to become one of the most successful musicals in history. It was written by the composer Claude-Michel Schönberg and the librettist Alain Boublil.

In 1998, possibly the strangest adaptation of Hugo's work was released in the form of a 2-D computer fighting game published by a Japanese developer known as Takase. Entitled "Arm Joe," (a pun based on the Japanese translation of the title "Les Miserables," "Aa Mujo") the game's character roster is drawn directly from the novel, with the exceptions of a personification of divine judgment, an animated stuffed rabbit, and a robotic replica of Valjean.

In 2001, BBC Radio 4 produced a 25-part radio dramatisation, with a cast of 27 featuring Joss Ackland narrating, Roger Allam as Valjean, and David Schofield as Javert. (Allam also originated the role of Javert in the English language version of the Boublil/Schönberg musical.)

In May 2001, François Cérésa published Cosette, or the Time of Illusions, a sequel to Les Misérables. Victor Hugo's descendants attempted to have the book banned, condemning it as a money-seeking enterprise and an attack on Hugo's work (more subjective offences aside, it is undeniable that Ceresa retconned a key scene in Hugo's novel to avoid the death of a character he wanted to use in his novel). Victor Hugo's heirs and the Société des gens de lettres lost the first trial [1] but won in appeal [2].

A Les Miserables game [3] is due for release Christmas 2007.

The plotline of Terry Pratchett's 28th Discworld novel, Night Watch, is inspired by uprisings such as the one in Les Misérables.

Cultural references

Jean Valjean's prisoner number was 24601. Popular myth states the number was chosen by Hugo because it was the date that he was conceived (24th of June, 1801); in fact, he was born on Feb 26, 1802, approximately 8 months later. In addition, the number has frequently appeared as a reference in other works:

Historical

* During the American Civil War, many Confederate soldiers carried the book with them to read. Most could not pronounce the name correctly so they would just say "Lee's Miserables", a reference to General Robert E. Lee.
* The Black Canyon School (a juvenile detention facility for girls) in Phoenix, Arizona is located at 24601 North 29th Avenue. There is nothing else abutting that remote mile of frontage road, so the state could have chosen any address number within range for it; that they would choose to locate a "prison" at 24601 demonstrates some literary humor on the part of somebody with the Arizona Department of Corrections. There is no indication that the girls living at the school receive any reward for discovering the significance of that number through independent study, though they certainly could; the Black Canyon School and the nearby Adobe Mountain School for Boys do provide library amenities to inmates.

Movies

* In the opening monologue of American Psycho (2000), the main character, Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale), stares at a wall while urinating. During this time, you can see the reflection of his face in a picture hanging on his wall. This picture is the portrait of Little Cossette.

Television

* In a Family Guy episode, Stewie flashes back to the time Brian took him to see Les Misérables. At the last minute the actor portraying Jean Valjean is replaced by Kirk Cameron, which makes Stewie gasp in delight: "Oh! Oh God how lucky are we, huh? Hey Stewie, what are you doing tonight? Oh nothing, just watching KIRK CAMERON PLAY JEAN VALJEAN! Oh my God curtain up!"
* Sideshow Bob's prisoner number in The Simpsons episode 8F20 â€" "Black Widower"
* The number on Principal Skinner's helmet in The Simpsons episode 9F21 â€" "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" It is possible that this number has appeared at other points in the series as well.
* In episode 7f07 of The Simpsons, "Bart vs. Thanksgiving", when Bart tries to steal Mr. Burns' pie, an alarm goes off and one of the guards the scene flashes to is reading Les Misérables.
* In South Park episode 4.02 â€" "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000", a prison guard refers to Eric Cartman as 24601 even though his prison uniform says 23654. Creator Trey Parker also used this prison number for his role as Alferd Packer in his first film, Cannibal! The Musical. Also, the entire "La Resistance" medley in South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut is based on "One Day More", a climactic song from the musical. Finally, in Episode 414 "Helen Keller! The Musical", the "musical theater expert" sounds similar to Colm Wilkinson, who played the original Jean Valjean on Broadway. In fact, Cartman says the expert (introduced as Geoffrey Mainard) played the lead in a production of Les Misérables.
* In Drawn Together episode #206 ("Ghostesses in the Slot Machine"), Captain Hero's indiscretion before the League of Friends is cited as "24601"
* In Arrested Development, Oscar Bluth's prison number is 24601.
* In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "For the Uniform", rogue Starfleet officer Michael Eddington compares himself to Valjean and Benjamin Sisko to Javert.
* In the Seinfeld episode " The Jacket", George gets a song from an adaption of Les Misérables stuck in his head, and causes him to panic about never getting it out of his head.

Other

* Animaniacs parodied the musical using Rita and Runt under the name 'Les Miseranimals'.
* The employee number of the hacker/player character in System Shock
* In the comicbook GrimJack issue #73, the main character's prison number is 24601.
* Gothic horror anime "Le Portrait de Petite Cossette" ("Portrait of Little Cossette") uses the title of the Emile Bayard illustration for its title character, though little else is borrowed from the story.
* Fantine Valjean's name, a character in the anime series IGPX is an allusion to the characters Fantine and Jean Valjean in the book Les Miserables.
* Nippon Animation is producing the anime Les Misérables - Shoujo Cosette, based on the book Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. the story will focus on Cosette, not on Jean Valjean that's why the name is Shoujo Cosette. The show will have 52 episodes.

External links

*Free ebook of Les Misérables at Project Gutenberg â€" English translation.
*Les Misérables according to a Bonapartist
*Reflections on Les Misérables â€" discussion of characters and themes.
*Different versions of Les Misérables in the IMDb
*Discussion and reviews of ten versions of Les Misérables.