"So long as there shall exist, by reason of law and custom, a social condemnation, which, in the face of civilization, artificially creates hells on earth, and complicates a destiny that is divine, with human fatality; so long as the three problems of the age-the degradation of man by poverty, the ruin of woman by starvation, and the dwarfing of childhood by physical and spiritual night-are not solved; so long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this cannot be useless."-Victor HugoLes Misérables was written by Victor Hugo and published in 1862. It is a historically pertinent novel which while maintaining a largely humanitarian feeling, also provides abundant information of nineteenth-century French politics and society.
A concise and total plot summary of Les Misérables is difficult due to the sheer multitude of sub-plots running in undercurrents throughout the novel and intimidating size of the book. The unabridged copy I had read was about 1500 pages long.
Cosette
Português: Jean Valjean e Cosette perto do casame...
Português: Parte da ilustração Les Enchantment ...However, I will attempt to cover the main points of interest.
Structurally, Les Misérables is divided into five volumes, each containing at least eight ÃÂbooksÃÂ, further divided into a number of chapters. The first volume, ÃÂFantineÃÂ, introduces convict, and main focus of the novel, Jean Valjean to us. Jean Valjean is the thread that binds the numerous plots together and a truly dynamic character. Valjean entered prison sentenced to five years of hard labor for breaking into a bakery and stealing a loaf of bread, a crime which he committed in order to feed his starving sister and her seven children. Ultimately, he serves nineteen years, having received three additional years for each of four escape attempts, and two more for resisting arrest following the second attempt. After his release, and what he believes to be his freedom, Valjean discovers...