Griet, from Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier and Jean Valjean from Les Miserables are both expected to steal because of their low class, limiting their position in the eyes of their respective societies. In Les Miserables, Jean Valjean is branded as a thief, although he stole for his struggling sister's sake. He is then hounded by the police inspector, Javert, even after serving his sentence, because his low class makes people expect him to continue to steal. When he is under the persona of Monsieur Madeleine and revealed to be Jean Valjean, Fantine dies from shock (Victor Hugo). She would not expect a seemingly rich man like Monsieur Madeleine to steal, because of his high class as a mayor. However, if he was known to be Jean Valjean,
Willa Cather's Paul's Case and Maupassant's The Necklace When comparing two fictional characters from two different writers one must first and foremost analyze their dreams, ambitions, or goals in the story. Whether the character is setting out to accomplish something physically, or they are on a personal or spiritual quest to find themselves. A character's ambitions can reveal a lot of underlying qualities that may not be as apparent at first glance from the reader. While many of the stories we have read this semester contain characters with very obvious similarities, I found that two in particular stood out for me the most. For the purposes of this paper I have chosen to write on Paul from Willa Cather's short story "Paul's Case" and Mathilde in "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant. I found that both of these characters complimented each other very nicely for this assignment, both wish to get a taste of lives they know they cannot have and in the end suffer for the thrill of it. Through the words of the authors we can see how miserable both characters are with their current stations in life and how much they strive to fit in with a "better" crowd. One may also see these characters as naïve, almost deserving of the tragedies that befall them due to the fact that they seem to dismiss their own class as inferior, and envy the upper class in the form of actors, aristocrats, political leaders, and social leaders.
Thinking too much of oneself can blind a person of their wrongdoings until it is too late. For instance, Armand found out after the departure of his wife and son that it was he that was not white while purging all things that reminded Armand of his family, “…Armand will never know that his mother… belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery” he reads from a stray letter found in his dresser from his mom to his father (Chopin). Fortunato was lustful to death for Amontillado, despite the series of warnings concerning his health. For prime example, “In an instant he had reached the extremity of the niche, and finding his progress arrested by the rock, stood stupidly bewildered” although Montresor guided him it was his greed that steered him to his demise (Poe). Both characters faced the harsh reality that their narcissistic ways ultimately ended with the presence of
"Lovely ladies ready for the call. Standing up or lying down or any way at all. Bargain prices up against the wall" (Boublil). The selling of one's body is consensual. When a woman decides to put herself for sale, she will be given the cold shoulder by her peers. Many women make the decision to sell themselves solely to provide for a child. The song "Lovely Ladies" from the musical Les Misérables, involves whores in France selling themselves to men in a Parisian back ally. The musical Les Misérables was based on a book written by Victor Hugo. One character in this book goes by the name of Fantine. She had a child out of wedlock to a man who left her and their child alone. She had to work to support not only herself but also her daughter, Cosette.
In “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant the character Madame Loisel was always longing for expensive possessions, larger
Hugo, Victor. Les Miserables. Comp. Lee Fahnestock and Norman MacAfee. Trans. Wilbour, C.E. Only Complete and Unabridged Paperback Editon ed. New York, New York: Signet Classics, 1987. Print.
Guy de Maupassant expresses his theme through the use of situational irony. Guy de Maupassant says, “She suffered endlessly, feeling herself born for every delicacy and luxury. She suffered from the poorness of her house. All these things, of which other women of her class would not even have been aware, tormented and insulted her.”(De Maupassant). She is poor and thinks of herself too much and then he says "but she was as unhappy as though she had married beneath her; for women have no caste or class.”(De Maupassant). She wants more than she can get which will ruin her later in the story. When she lost the necklace by the end of the week they had lost all hope to find it. Loisel, who had aged five years, declared:
Les Misérables (1862), a novel set in early nineteenth century France, presents a story of obsessions in honor, love, and duty, and through it redemption and salvation. It is the story of the poor Jean Valjean, condemned to an unfair amount of time in prison and a life on the run for stealing a loaf of bread for his starving family. The kind act of forgiveness from a Bishop with whom Jean Valjean stays one night, changes the course in which he chooses to live his life. Under a different identity, he becomes wealthy from a business he starts and later is elected mayor of the small town of Montreuil. He falls madly in love with Fantine, one of the workers in his factory. Because Fantine, one of the very poorest and most pitiful residents of Montreuil, has a child born out of wedlock, Jean Valjean as the respected mayor must keep his love for her a secret. When Fantine dies unexpectedly, Jean Valjean vows he will raise her daughter Cosette, and shield her from all the evils in the world. Through all of this, Jean Valjean is being pursued by Javert, a policeman whose entire life has been dedicated to finding Jean Valjean. While running from Javert, Jean Valjean and Cosette find themselves in Paris in the middle of the 1832 Revolution. As Cosette matures, she falls in love with Marius, a young revolutionist. Despite the objections of Jean Valjean, Cosette continues to secretly visit Marius at night. During the revolution, Marius is injured badly and Jean Valjean, after finding a love note from Marius to Cosette, quickly comes to the rescue of the wounded gentleman. Eventually Jean Valjean and Marius' Grandfather consent to the wedding of Cosette and Marius. In this novel, "there is a point at which...
He makes Louis and himself pretend to eat when in the presence of his blind father and spends a lot of money on the decor in his house. After all coming off as rich makes it easier for him to get closer to his victims as people seem to be more trusting with those who are richly dressed. He also owned a box in the French Opera House or the Theatre Orleans. While Lestat claimed it was because he loved Shakespeare but Louis remarked that Lestat seemed to sleep through most the performances and only woke up when it came to seduce a lady and later kill her. Carmilla also used her appearances as a lady to get people to trust her. Her mother, who was able to get Carmilla into the house of the General and Laura's father, had an "air and appearance so distinguished and even imposing and in her manner so engaging, as to impress one, quite apart from the dignity of her equipage, with a conviction that she was a person of consequence" (Le Fanu p.281). It seems that both Lestat and Carmilla have a taste of going after those with money and status. When Carmilla met the General's niece she was at a very aristocratic assembly (Le Fanu p.322). It certainly helped Carmilla that it was a costume ball as it helped her pretend that she and her mother were someone they clearly weren't, the general's old friend. It would make sense why Le Fanu would make Carmilla go after the daughters of rich men. In the late 1800s only a
Hugo’s social commentary focuses on three main concepts that he believes must be reformed in the French society: criminal justice, education and the treatment of women. By showing the unreasonable punishments both Valjean and Fantine shows how the social structure has turned innocent and good people into criminals.
“It is precisely of him that I wished to speak. Dispose of me as you please; but help me first to carry him home. I only ask that of you.” Upon examination of Les Miserables, it is clearly evident that the elements of Forgiveness, Self – Sacrifice, and Courage are only a few of the main themes Hugo wanted to develop.
He only connected with Fantomina on a sexual level and showed only false interest to expand their relationship past a sexual one. His efforts at deception, e.g. sending letters simultaneously to her many personas, are naive and inferior to Fantomina’s expert handling of disguises and her natural talent for manipulation. However, Beauplaisir’s actions are expected and fit into the male stereotype, thus he is not punished for what he has
All humans have different morals that change based on their environment and circumstance. Jean Valjean, in the novel Les Miserables(1961), changes from someone with confused morals to a man with more morals than most whom with respect learns to love and share.
He borrowed “asking a thousand franc from one , five hundred from another” (Maupassant 3) to spend the next ten years of his and Mathilde Loisel life to repay the thirty thousand to everyone they have had borrowed from. After completing the long and dreadful ten years of hard labor Mathilde Loisel quiensidently ran into Mme.Forester to only find out that the necklace she had worn that night was fake and worthless. Being a female that has absolutely no authority over her assets and has no say what so ever in where the are placed thus meaning that she is practically worthless. Realizing all of this it is no longer astonishing that Mr.Loisel went out of his way to borrow 36 thousand francs in loans without the permission from his wife Mrs.Losiel. She understand the fact that they would have to repay these outstanding loans and had spent the next ten years of her youthfull life paying back all the money that was owed. In efforts to pay of this debt Mrs. Losiel works around the house and does her daily duties with no intensions of having control over her finances and accepts that the debt of her husbands is a debt of
Victor Hugo’s Les Misèrables is a classic novel that demonstrates how a child is unable to mature in darkness. In the book, Fantine, gets pregnant and is left alone with her child, Cosette. Fantine searches for a place where Cosette can stay while she goes out to work. When she finds the right house she leaves her child, little did Fantine know that Cosette was going to be mistreated and miserable. On Fantine’s death bed, she begs Jean Valjean to find and take care of her child. In Victor Hugo’s novel, Les Misèrables, Cosette is a symbol of the child atrophy by darkness through her time spent with the Thènardiers, her transformation with Jean Valjean, and her flourishing into a young woman. Victor Hugo uses Cosette to represent the children of the time period and how they cannot grow without love and light.
In Les Mis by Victor Hugo, the moment when Jean Valjean redeemed Javert from death by his grace parallels the way my mother redeems me by her forgiveness.