Those without work resorted to crime to meet the basic needs of their family, were arrested, unfairly punished, and when finally let out, doomed to be haunted forever by their past conviction. Web. Acasestudy.com © 2007-2019 All rights reserved. Specifically, the author uses the characters Jean Valjean, Fantine and her daughter Cosette in this work to enlighten readers of the struggles faced by men, women and children living in poverty during the years leading up to the French Revolution. had ended in becoming a crime of society against the individual, a crime which was being committed afresh every day, a crime which had lasted nineteen years.” Sadly, this vicious cycle was all too common among poverty-stricken men in the days before the French Revolution. . ” (mtholyoke.edu) In narrating the troubled stories of Jean Valjean, Fantine, and Cossette, Victor Hugo leads us to see the desperate plight of the needy that ultimately led to the Revolution. Web. According to one source, “For many working class children, work was a major part of life, and the work was exploitative.They worked in unsafe conditions, for long hours… (rmschwartz.wordpress.com). Would you like to get a custom case study? Modern Library ed. In fact, research says, “when the (abandoned) children were released. He was caught, and sentenced to five years in the galleys, but five failed attempts at escape ultimately cost him fourteen more. Hugo, Victor, and Charles E. Wilbour. Here, at ACaseStudy.com, we deliver professionally written papers, and the best grades for you from your professors are guaranteed! [email protected] 804-506-0782 350 5th Ave, New York, NY 10118, USA. The Thenardier holstery was like a spider’s web in which Cosette had been caught and where she lay trembling.” Through these descriptions of her childhood, it is shown that the ordeals which Cosette and orphans like her encountered on a daily basis were largely due to an absence of laws concerning child abuse and labor. 1 Mar. We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. While men endured all of the above and more in Les Miserables, the novel also illustrates trials of an entirely different nature dealt with by women of the same social class. Here, it is the Bishop of Digne who sets the spiritual keynote for Les Misérables. They never let her forget that she was permanently indebted to them for saving her from a bleak life of poverty. In short, because of the French society’s negligence, children suffered at the hand of abusive adults and grew up to be caught in the same or similar dilemmas as either of the aforementioned adults. 28 Feb. 2015. Les Miserables. It says in the text, “This penalty.. We Will Write a Custom Case Study SpecificallyFor You For Only $13.90/page! 28 Feb. 2015. Scores of men were given overly harsh, ruinous sentences for crimes committed so that their families could eat, and many women were faced with seemingly impossible family situations and suffered at the workplace because of it. 2013. When her character is first introduced, she is seen leading a fairly easy, uneventful life with the man she assumes to be her lover, Felix Tholomyes. ” (mtholyoke.edu) As Fantine bore her solitude and poverty, her daughter Cosette experienced a third type of misery that affected the young people of pre-Revolution France. These trials can be observed primarily through Fantine, a young woman upon whom many troubles befell during a tragically short life. A truly good man or woman is one of the most difficult characters for a writer to portray convincingly. Finding herself alone and heartbroken once again, she trudged on, eventually resorting to prostitution in order to survive. 6 Effective Content Marketing Strategies You May Have Overlooked, Market Analysis Definition (With Explanation and Examples). One analyst described the process as, ” a corrupt criminal justice system which fails to discipline true criminals while converting essentially good people into hardened criminals” (stuartfernie.org). “Child Labor and Education.” France in the Age of Les Misrables. Based on the classic novel, Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo, and the classic Broadway stage show of the same name, Les Misérables is the story of Jean Valjean, a prisoner who breaks parole, and the police inspector, Javert, who tries to hunt him down for breaking parole. Brief Biography of Victor Hugo Victor Hugo was the son of a French major and general in Napoleon’s army, so he traveled around often as a child. New York: Modern Library, 1992. He is a wealthy, care-free student who never valued his relationship with Fantine, and showed this through unexpectedly leaving her at an inn one day never to be seen or heard from again. 25 Apr. whether it was not outrageous for society to treat thus precisely those of its members who were the least well endowed in the division of goods made by chance, and consequently the most deserving of consideration.” Works Cited “Child Abandonment in 19th Century France.” Child Abandonment in 19th Century France. What Is the Macro Environment in Business Analysis? The two began to sink lower and lower into complete destitution, until finally, Fantine made the difficult decision to entrust her only pride and joy to a perceivably kind innkeeper’s wife in hope that her daughter might enjoy a brighter future than she could offer. Though a riveting story that is both heart-rending and eye-opening, the purpose of the novel stretches far beyond the narration of an escaped convict’s adventures: It is a study in human misery and an account of the desperation that led the impoverished citizens of France to revolt against an oppressive government. “Les Miserables – a Social Critique.” Les Miserables – a Social Critique. How about receiving a customized one? Through the character Jean Valjean, Hugo shows the consequences suffered by a man unable to provide for his family in this time period. Meanwhile, children went completely unprotected from the wrath of cruel adults. This quote is said by Fantine as she begs the inkeeper to take her baby, and encompasses the situation faced by many women in this time: “You see I cannot take my child into the country. The man was left with no choice left but to procure food through stealing. Analysis It is often the case that the opening lines of a book set the keynote for the whole. His mother was a royalist (committed to the French monarchy), and Hugo initially adopted her views. There was no mercy for her; a fierce mistress and a venomous master. Web. Unfortunately, conditions steadily worsened within the household after the sole breadwinner found himself without work in the winter months. ..they were often illiterate and unskilled. A passage from the second volume reads, “Cosette was between them (the Thenardiers), subjected to their double pressure, like a creature who is at the same time being ground up in a mill and pulled to pieces with pincers…. An interactive data visualization of Les Miserables 's plot and themes. Negotiating their options- child abandonment, dangerous and crude abortions, or complicating their lives by keeping the infant- proved a difficult task.

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