LES MISÉRABLES
BY: VICTOR HUGO
NEW HISTORICISM APPROACH
To encourage reform and progress is undeniably challenging. It takes time to make people notice glitches in a system they perceived as thriving and empowering. Since the beginning of time, advocating for political, cultural and economic improvements has been quite a tough ride for the oppressed. It even took most of them in the battlefield just to achieve equality and finally put an end to all the prejudices. This struggle was evident during the time of the French Revolution where the cry for reform became the kind of battle the world will never forget. “To die is nothing; but it is terrible not to live.”, Victor Hugo made a great emphasis of the importance to fight for a better life in his well-renowned novel, Les Misérables.
Les Misérables is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original French title. The story of Les Misérables begins in 1815, more than two decades after the start of the French Revolution. The revolution began in 1789; it was "a deep-rooted revolt by many classes against the whole order of society." The impoverished were infuriated by their economic hardships, food shortages, and the callous attitudes upper class. With this, the author wanted to showcase the staggering violent acts over the control between royalty and citizens during the revolutions of France. According to an article entitled The Life of Victor Hugo in his Novel “Les Misérables”, Victor-Marie Hugo was greatly influenced by the situation of his family. His father was a high officer of the army in the time of Napoleon. He even stated that as far as a man can will it, he would destroy human fatality, condemn slavery, banish misery, enlighten ignorance, cure disease, illumine darkness, and detest hatred. These are his guiding principles in writing the novel Les Misérables. No wonder, relevant issues during the French Revolution were really portrayed in the novel. From the economic struggles to the injustices experienced by the bourgeoisies, all of it are clearly manifested in the novel. The author even identified the principle of social evils of French society through the actions and qualities of his characters. Each of the main characters symbolized the threefold problem of the century: Jean Valjean represents the degradation of proletarian man, Cosette symbolized the destruction of children and Fantine mirrors the fall of woman through hunger. This style of the writing and presenting a story line made Hugo a very interesting author. According to Pitt, M. (2011), Hugo’s style of the novel results from Romanticism, an intellectual and artistic movement that become very popular over in Europe and in the United States around the 19th century. It’s the kind of principle that supported a movement that redefined the fundamental ways in which people in Western cultures thought about themselves and about their world (Pitt, 2011). Hence, Les Misérables employs Hugo’s style of imaginative realism and is set in an artificially created human hell that emphasizes the threefold problem of the century. The revolutionists coincide with Hugo’s goal which are the liberte, egalite, and fraternite. Through Les Misérables, Hugo’s belief that good always triumph with evil was shown when Jean Valjean had a change of heart and help other people despite of the law. Economically speaking, France experienced deterioration of the economy. When Napoleon took the governing power, the taxes of the people increased which led the lower classes to resort in illegal means just to meet ends. These were illustrated by Hugo in Les Misérables through its main characters. Those who were in poverty turned to thievery and prostitution. Hugo also showed aspects of the Industrial Revolution, a major turning point in the 19th century where there were changes in agriculture, manufacturing and technology. This was shown when Jean Valjean developed a cheaper method to produce black beads which is the town’s largest industry. Politically, the novel details the theme of social injustice in the 19th century. Around this time, the bourgeoisies were forced to endure injustices from the high classes, despite the middle classes growing wealth and position. This is rooted in Hugo’s involvement in French politics around this time. At a certain point, he had the privilege to speak against social injustice when he was promoted to the peerage of King Louis-Philippe. Given such experience, it became a turning point in Hugo’s novel for it became more and more political. According to Pitt, M. (2011), the fight for freedom and justice in the novel come from Hugo’s republican background. He was also exiled while writing this novel, so his political views on republicanism and free thought and the unjust social system only made him more of his political thoughts into his novel as they became stronger (Pitt, 2011).
Les Misérables is an epic work of hope, empathy and thrive for social reform set in post-revolutionary France. Although, it became a struggle to amplify the objective of fostering change, the novel became a valuable instrument in waking up the society about the injustices and prejudices experienced by most people. The release of the novel became a turning point to make people realize the need to speak up and stand for what truly matters. As mentioned above, “To die is nothing; but it is terrible not to live.”, this should serve as an implication that life should be more than just about surviving. It’s honorable to live knowing you fought for the kind of life that you and the coming generation truly deserve. More so, it’s fulfilling to die knowing you are able to promote a better and worth-living life. The struggles experienced by humanity should be nothing but to remain a history and a lesson to always strive for change. People should stand hand in hand to build a better world and live in accordance to John F. Kennedy’s great principle: “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”
References
Alfar, M. (2015). Les Misérables :Historical Criticism. Retrieved from http://literarycritics2015.blogspot.com/2015/10/rica-rose-m-alfar-historical- approach.html
Sparknotes (n.d.). Les Misérables Plot Overview. Retrieved from https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/lesmis/summary/
Pitt, M. (2011). Les Misérables: A New Historicist Perspective. Prezi. Retrieved from https://prezi.com/pfqlqp67lp_g/les-miserables-a-new-historicist-perspective/
Bartleby Research (n.d.). The life of Victor Hugo in his novel “Les Misérables”. Retrieved from https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Les-Miserables-In-Victor-Hugo- FCDP6CLKU
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