SparkNotes: Les Misérables: Character List Les Misérables Plot Overview Analysis of Major Characters Jean Valjean - Cosette’s adopted father. Valjean is an ex-convict who leaves behind a life of hatred and deceit and makes his fortune with his innovative industrial techniques. He finds fulfillment in loving his adopted daughter and helping people who are in difficult situations, even when it means risking his own life and welfare. Valjean adopts pseudonyms to evade the police and combines a convict’s street smarts with his newfound idealism and compassion. His whole life is a quest for redemption, and he ultimately finds bliss on his deathbed. Read an in-depth analysis of Jean Valjean. Cosette - Fantine’s daughter, who lives as Valjean’s adopted daughter after her mother dies. Cosette spends her childhood as a servant for the Thénardiers in Montfermeil, but even this awful experience does not make her hardened or cynical. Under the care of Valjean and the nuns of Petit-Picpus, Cosette ultimately blossoms into a beautiful, educated young woman. She finds fulfillment in her love for Marius.

Cosette is innocent and docile, but her participation in Valjean’s many escapes from the law show that she also possesses intelligence and bravery. Read an in-depth analysis of Cosette. Javert - A police inspector who strictly believes in law and order and will stop at nothing to enforce France’s harsh penal codes. Javert is incapable of compassion or pity, and performs his work with such passion that he takes on a nearly animal quality when he is on the chase. He nurses an especially strong desire to recapture Valjean, whose escapes and prosperity he sees as an affront to justice. Ultimately, Javert is unable to say with certainty that Valjean deserves to be punished. This ambiguity undermines the system of belief on which Javert bases his life and forces him to choose between hypocrisy and honor. Read an in-depth analysis of Javert. Fantine - A working-class girl who leaves her hometown of Montreuil-sur-mer to seek her fortune in Paris. Fantine’s innocent affair with a dapper student named Tholomyès leaves her pregnant and abandoned. Although she is frail, she makes a Herculean effort to feed herself and her daughter, Cosette.

Even as she descends into prostitution, she never stops caring for Cosette. She represents the destruction that nineteenth-century French society cruelly wreaks on the less fortunate. Read an in-depth analysis of Fantine. Marius Pontmercy - The son of Georges Pontmercy, a colonel in Napoléon’s army. Marius grows up in the home of his grandfather, M. Gillenormand, a monarchist. Marius has an identity crisis when he learns the real reason for his separation from his father, and this crisis sets him on the path to discovering himself. An innocent young man, Marius is nonetheless capable of great things and manages both to fight on the barricades and successfully court the love of his life, Cosette. Read an in-depth analysis of Marius Pontmercy. M. Myriel - The bishop of Digne. M. Myriel is a much-admired clergyman whose great kindness and charity have made him popular throughout his parish. He passes on these same qualities to Valjean and initiates the ex-convict’s spiritual renewal by saving Valjean from arrest and making him promise to live as an honest man. M.

Thénardier - A cruel, wretched, money-obsessed man who first appears as Cosette’s keeper and tormentor. Thénardier extorts money from whomever he can, and he frequently serves as an informant to whoever will bid the highest. His schemes range from robbery to fraud to murder, and he has strong ties to the criminal underworld in Paris. Blinded by greed, Thénardier is incapable of loving other human beings and spends every minute in pursuit of money. Mme. Thénardier - M. Thénardier’s wife. Mme. Thénardier is just as evil as her husband and takes special pleasure in abusing Cosette. In later years, she becomes her husband’s most devoted accomplice and is particularly enthusiastic about his schemes to rob Valjean and Cosette. Eponine - The Thénardiers’ eldest daughter. Eponine is a wretched creature who helps her parents steal, but she is eventually redeemed by her love for Marius. She proves that no one is beyond redemption, and she ultimately emerges as one of the novel’s most tragic and heroic figures. M. Gillenormand - Marius’s ninety-year-old maternal grandfather.

Gillenormand prevents Marius from seeing his father, Georges Pontmercy, because he fears that Pontmercy will corrupt Marius. A devout monarchist, Gillenormand rejects the French Revolution outright and also rejects Pontmercy’s Napoléonic beliefs. Although Gillenormand’s classist views sometimes offend Marius, he truly loves his grandson and ultimately does what is necessary to make Marius happy. Gavroche - The Thénardiers’ oldest son. Gavroche is kicked out of the house at an early age and becomes a Parisian street urchin. He is a happy-go-lucky child who enjoys the small pleasures of life and demonstrates unusual generosity toward those even less fortunate than he is. He is also fierce and brave, and plays a decisive role in the barricade even though he does not have a gun. Colonel Georges Pontmercy - An officer in Napoléon’s army and Marius’s father. Pontmercy is severely wounded at the Battle of Waterloo, and mistakenly believing that Thénardier has saved his life, he asks that Marius honor this debt. Although we know little about Pontmercy’s personal life, his politics greatly influence the young Marius.

Enjolras - The leader of the Friends of the ABC. Enjolras is a radical student revolutionary. He is both wild and beautiful. Together with Courfeyrac and Marius, Enjolras leads the insurrection at the barricade. Fauchelevent - A critic of Valjean’s while Valjean is the mayor of Montreuil-sur-mer under the assumed name of Madeleine. Fauchelevent becomes indebted to Valjean when Valjean saves him from a carriage accident. When they meet again years later, Fauchelevent returns the favor by hiding Valjean and Cosette in a convent. Petit-Gervais - A small boy whom Valjean robs shortly after leaving Digne. Champmathieu - A poor, uneducated man who unfortunately resembles Valjean so much that he is identified, tried, and almost convicted as Valjean. Champmathieu proves to be too dim-witted to defend himself successfully, revealing the callousness of the French justice system. M. Mabeuf - A churchwarden in Paris who tells Marius the truth about his father.

Mabeuf and Marius become friends during tough times, and Mabeuf later dies a heroic death on the barricade. Patron-Minette - Actually four people, Patron-Minette is a Parisian crime ring so close-knit that its four members—Montparnasse, Babet, Claquesous, and Gueulemer—are described as four heads of the same violent beast. Patron-Minette controls all the crime in one section of Paris and assists in the Thénardiers’ ambush of Valjean. Felix Tholomyès - Fantine’s lover in Paris. Tholomyès is a wealthy student who thinks much less of his relationship with Fantine than she does. He gets Fantine pregnant and then abandons her as a joke. Tholomyès is Cosette’s biological father, although the two never meet. Azelma - The Thénardiers’ younger daughter. Azelma grows up pampered and spoiled but ends up enduring the same poverty as the rest of her family. More Help Jean Valjean | Les Misérables Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Edit Jean Valjean as Monsieur Madeleine Valjean was born into a poor peasant family.

His parents died when he was very young, leaving him with his older sister to fend for him. Unfortunately, his sister was widowed, having seven children to look after, the eldest being eight and the youngest being one year old. Valjean found work as a tree pruner in Faverolles, the same as his father, earning only a few sous a day. Winter passed. Valjean could not work, and so the family starved. He became a convict, imprisoned for breaking the window pane of Maubert Isabeau, the baker, to steal a loaf of bread to feed his sister's children. He was sent to prison for five years for "burglary at night in an inhabited house". He is paroled from prison 19 years later (after 4 unsuccessful escape attempts added 12 years, and fighting back during the second escape attempt added 2 extra years). The conditions must have been uncomfortable, due to Valjean mentioning sleeping on a wooden bed. He entered the galleys in Toulon in 1796 and left in 1815. He tries to find an inn after he leaves, but is turned away, due to being a former convict.

A woman sees him trying to find a shelter, and tells him to go to the church, where he encounters the bishop Monsieur Myriel of Digne who turns his life around by showing him mercy and encouraging him to become a changed man. While sitting and pondering on what Monsieur Myriel had said, he accidentally puts his foot on a forty-sous piece dropped by a young chimney-sweep named Petit Gervais. Valjean threatens him with his stick when he attempts to rouse Valjean from his reverie and retrieve his piece. He tells a passing priest his name, and the name of the young chimney-sweep, and this allows the police to charge him with armed robbery, a sentence that, if he were caught again, would return him to prison with a death-sentence. Several years later, Valjean fulfills his promise to Monsieur Myriel and becomes a changed man under the alias Monsieur Madeleine in the city of Montreuil-sur-Mer. After a few years in the city, he is elected mayor and revolutionizes the city's economy, building many factories and creating many jobs. He became a very famous, influential, popular, and charitable man.

After unwittingly letting his foreman dismiss a factory worker named Fantine , he accidentally becomes wrapped up in the events that ruined her life, making her fall into poverty. After realising the damage he had done, he had the former worker taken from the custody of Javert and sent to a hospital, where he swore to bring her child to her side. Meanwhile, Valjean discovered that Javert, the police inspector who had recently began working under his supervision in the city, had recognized him as Valjean. He was visited by the inspector whose guilt over his accusations (that he was told to be false) made him wish for dismissal. After letting Javert remain at his post, Valjean set off to find the man who was to go to sentence in his place. After admitting to being the convict, Valjean returned to Fantine's bedside, where he was confronted by Javert. After hearing Javert cry out Madeleine's true identity and the fact that her daughter was not present, Fantine lost her will to live and died of her illness. Valjean surrendered to Javert, but swiftly escaped to rescue Cosette , Fantine's daughter.

After successfully rescuing Cosette, Valjean was offered shelter in a convent by Fauchelevant , an old man who he had rescued from beneath his cart while he was mayor. After smuggling Valjean in initially, he later had to smuggle him out in a coffin for him to stay officially. Valjean stayed in the convent with Cosette as his own daughter. Personality SparkNotes: Les Misérables: Analysis of Major Characters Analysis of Major Characters Themes, Motifs & Symbols Jean Valjean Jean Valjean stands at the center of Les Misérables and becomes a trial figure for Hugo’s grand theories about the redemptive power of compassion and love. Valjean goes into prison a simple and decent man, but his time in jail has a seemingly irreversible effect on him, and he emerges from the chain gang a hardened criminal who hates society for what it has done to him. By the time Valjean encounters M. Myriel in Digne, he is so accustomed to being a social pariah that he almost seeks out such abuse, greeting even the kindly bishop with scorn and hatred. Myriel, however, turns out to be the first person in decades to treat Valjean with love and respect.

The meeting with Myriel forever changes Valjean’s character, as Myriel makes Valjean promise to become an honest man. Once Valjean opens up his heart, he becomes a testament to the redemptive power of love and compassion. His hard work and new vision transform the derelict town of Montreuil-sur-mer into a thriving manufacturing center, which in turn teaches Valjean the value of philanthropy. In taking care of Cosette, Valjean learns how to love another person and how to pass that love onto others. He is exceptional only in his physical strength and his willingness to discover what is good, and this earnestness is enough to make him the novel’s hero as well as a savior and a friend to a number of people who find themselves in danger. Hardened by prison and rescued by the kindness of M. Myriel, Valjean is a blank slate, molded by his encounters and circumstances. This ability to change makes him a universal symbol of hope—if he can learn love and charity after suffering so much injustice, anyone can.

Cosette Cosette, like Valjean, grows up in an atmosphere of poverty and fear, but she is rescued from this life before her innocence gives way to cynicism. Though she spends a number of years under the tyrannical care of the Thénardiers, she never adopts their cruel views, which indicates that she possesses a fundamental decency and goodness that they lack. Once Valjean takes charge of Cosette’s upbringing, she quickly transforms from a dirty, unhappy child into a lovely, well-educated young woman. For Hugo, this transformation is so natural that he does not even bother to walk us through it and instead skips several years ahead. Though she is obedient and fiercely loyal to her adoptive father, Cosette also has her own personality, which emerges as she enters adolescence and begins to hunger for a less sheltered life. In this period of their lives, Valjean’s role temporarily changes from Cosette’s savior to her jailer. Cosette’s ability to truly love Marius, however, is due in large part to Valjean, who has taught her to trust and love.

In the end, Cosette remains true to her upbringing, and her love for Marius becomes her way of applying to her own life what she has learned from Valjean. Javert Javert is so obsessed with enforcing society’s laws and morals that he does not realize he is living by mistaken assumptions—a tragic and ironic flaw in a man who believes so strongly in enforcing what he believes is right. Although Javert is such a stern and inflexible character that it is hard to sympathize with him, he lives with the shame of knowing that his own Gypsy upbringing is not so different from the backgrounds of the men he pursues. He lives his life trying to erase this shame through his strict commitment to upholding the law. Javert’s flaw, however, is that he never stops to question whether the laws themselves are just. In his mind, a man is guilty when the law declares him so. When Valjean finally gives Javert irrefutable proof that a man is not necessarily evil just because the law says he is, Javert is incapable of reconciling this new knowledge with his beliefs. He commits suicide, plagued by the thought that he may be living a dishonorable life.

True to Javert’s nature, he makes this decision not with any emotional hysterics, but rather with a cool determination. Although he is a man of logic, he is impassioned about his work. To this end, Hugo frequently uses animal imagery to describe Javert, particularly when he likens him to a tiger. In the end, it is difficult to feel anything other than pity for Javert, who assumes his duty with such savagery that he seems more animal than man. Marius Pontmercy Unlike the other major characters in the novel, Marius grows up in a well-to-do household free of financial worries. Nonetheless, his family is split apart by politics, and it is not until he develops his own personality that he is able to become whole. Marius’s loyalties are torn between his father, Georges Pontmercy, who is a colonel in the Napoléonic army, and his staunchly monarchist grandfather, M. Gillenormand, who raises him.

The political differences between his father and grandfather threaten to tear apart Marius’s identity, as he learns that his conservative grandfather intentionally prevented him from establishing a relationship with his father out of fear that Marius would succumb to his father’s liberal political views. Angry and confused, Marius adopts his father’s beliefs, but it soon becomes apparent that what he really needs is an idealism of his own. Marius begins to develop truly only when he leaves Gillenormand’s house, finding himself and falling in love for the first time. Marius is more innocent than the other characters in the novel, and while this innocence keeps him from becoming cruel or cynical, it also makes him occasionally blind to the problems of others. This lack of perception first becomes clear in Marius’s treatment of Eponine, and becomes especially unattractive when Marius drives Valjean from his house. In the end, Marius is a good person, but his inability to perceive the needs or feeling of others can at times make him unwittingly malicious. Fantine Although all of Fantine’s misfortunes are caused by the callousness or greed of others, society always holds her accountable for her behavior.

In this sense, she embodies Hugo’s view that French society demands the most from those to whom it gives the least. Fantine is a poor, working-class girl from the desolate seacoast town of Montreuil-sur-mer, an orphan who has almost no education and can neither read nor write. Fantine is inevitably betrayed by the people she does trust: Tholomyès gets her pregnant and then disappears; the Thénardiers take Cosette and use the child to extort more money; and Fantine’s coworkers have her fired for indecency. In his descriptions of Fantine’s life and death, Hugo highlights the unfair attitude of French society toward women and the poor. Fantine’s fellow citizens criticize her for her behavior and depravity, but they also take every opportunity to make her circumstances even more desperate. Hugo’s portrayal of Fantine’s mistreatment distinguishes the honest, hardworking poor from the parasitic opportunism of the working-class Thénardiers. By juxtaposing Fantine with the Thénardiers, Hugo suggests that poverty does not necessarily equal indecency. In doing so, he condemns a system that allows the indecent poor to survive even as it crushes the honest and needy.

More Help Cosette | Les Misérables Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Edit When she is nearly three, Cosette's mother Fantine leaves her with the Thénardiers and gives them money to look after her. The two similarly-aged daughters of the Thénardiers, Éponine and Azelma play with Cosette at first upon their first meeting. Later, the sisters begin acting cruel towards her, following their parents' example. They tease her and, at times, ignore her completely. Monsieur and Madame Thénardier themselves mistreat Cosette, and force her to do all the work around the inn - sweeping the floors, scrubbing the tables, beating the rugs, etc. Cosette is forced to dress in rags and go about with no shoes even in the snow, and is regularly beaten. Meanwhile, Éponine and Azelma are spoiled and indulged by their parents and have many lovely toys and dresses; they play games all day. While Fantine is ill in the hospital, Jean Valjean (by this point going by Monsieur Madeleine) promises her to get and retrieve Cosette for her, but Fantine dies before she can see her beloved daughter again.

However, Valjean is still determined to find and adopt Cosette, despite being pursued by Javert. Cosette as a child in Montfermeil On Christmas Eve of 1823, Madame Thénardier sends Cosette out into the woods to fetch a pail of water, and a reluctant Cosette obeys; she is terrified of the forest after dark. There, she is met by Valjean, who is startled to discover that she is the child he'd been looking for. He helps her and accompanies her back in the inn. He sees how Éponine and Azelma are unkind to her, when they go to their mother and point at Cosette for "stealing" their doll. After seeing this, he leaves the inn for a while to buy a brand new expensive doll that cost about 30 Francs - a princely sum. She names her doll Catherine. Later that night, Cosette naively places her wooden shoe before the fireplace next to Éponine and Azelma's shoes in expectation of receiving something from Father Christmas, though she knows that Father Christmas always ignores her. Valjean anonymously places a gold Louis coin in her shoe.

On Christmas Day, Valjean informs the Thénardiers that the real reason he is at the inn is because he wants to take Cosette with him. Mme. Thénardier immediately agrees to this, but M. Thénardier pretends to have adoration for Cosette and acts reluctant to give her up. Valjean then offers them 1,500 francs, settling all of Fantine's debts, and he and Cosette leave the inn. However, Thénardier tries to swindle more money out of Valjean by running after them and telling Valjean that he has changed his mind and how he does not want to give Cosette away. He informs Valjean that Cosette's mother had entrusted her to their care and that he cannot release Cosette to a stranger without a note from her mother. Valjean, agreeing with him, hands him a letter signed by Fantine. Thénardier then attempts to order Valjean to either return Cosette or pay a thousand crowns, but Valjean ignores him and leaves with Cosette. Life after the Thénardiers Edit Valjean takes Cosette directly to Paris.

They lodge at Gorbeau House , and Valjean begins giving her a basic education. When Javert discovers Valjean's whereabouts, Valjean and Cosette are forced to escape. After climbing over a wall, they soon find themselves in the Petit-Picpus Convent. The gardener Fauchelevant , who was once rescued by Valjean in Montreuil-sur-Mer , recognizes "Monsieur Madeleine" and is eager to help him. Valjean poses as Fauchelevent's brother, assuming that name for Cosette and himself, and the two live peacefully in the convent for many years. Valjean works with Fauchelevent while Cosette is educated. Over time, she appears to have no recollection of her childhood before arriving at the convent. She leaves the convent at the age of fifteen. It is here Cosette receives her unofficial surname. Her original surname is Tholomyès. Relationship with Marius Edit Cosette's love for Marius is deep Cosette and Marius first meet at Luxembourg Gardens. Now Cosette is very beautiful, with chestnut (châtain) hair and blue eyes.

Both Marius and Cosette fall in love with each other when their eyes meet (although this only happens after constantly seeing each other over the course of several months). When Valjean takes notice of Marius’ affections, he sees Marius as a coward for not confronting him and seeking approval to court her. He also fears losing Cosette, who has become the source of his happiness, to Marius. After Marius discovers their address, Valjean then takes Cosette away from the Luxembourg Gardens and moves to another house, in which he thought Marius was a hired spy by Javert . Marius spots Cosette again during a charitable visit she and Valjean make to the Thénardiers at Gorbeau House, directly next door to Marius. He asks Éponine to find her new address for him, and she reluctantly agrees. After many weeks, Éponine takes Marius to Cosette’s new home. Marius idly watches Cosette for a few nights before approaching her. When Cosette and Marius finally meet again in Cosette's garden, they confess their love for each other and spend the rest of their lives together.

Life after Valjean Edit Marius and Cosette at Valjean's deathbed In February of 1833, Marius and Cosette are married. The next morning, Valjean tells Marius of his criminal history. This leads Marius to believe Valjean is dangerous, and asks him to leave him and Cosette. Valjean wishes not to be permanently separated from Cosette, so Marius grants him a visit every evening. But slowly, he makes it clear that Valjean is not wanted in the house, so Valjean leaves and never comes back. When Marius finds out through M. Thénardier that Valjean had saved him, Marius and Cosette go to Valjean, now on his deathbed. Valjean then shares the last minutes of his life with Marius and Cosette, while Cosette learns from Valjean about her past and her mother Fantine. Musical Les Misérables: Law, Grace and Redemption Les Misérables: Law, Grace and Redemption from L.

Michael Morales Dec 26, 2012 Category: Articles Victor Hugo’s monumental novel Les Misérables, first published in 1862, has been compared to a gothic cathedral — and justly so. One comes away from the work with the alternating images of grotesque gargoyles and chipped, mildewed saints, cobwebbed shadows and illuminating shafts of light lingering in the memory. Structurally, the book contains all the intricate, and oft-dizzying, architecture of the late medieval period, along with dark crypts and cold corridors. While one may easily get lost in this literary labyrinth — literally, too, as Jean Valjean, the novel’s hero, scurries about the streets of Paris with Javert the police inspector hot in pursuit — the artistic genius is evident at every turn. Virtually every major scene, for example, is doubled, finding a poetic and often ironic parallel. We will consider three of these twice-told vignettes to see how they develop the drama of Valjean’s redemption, of his struggle between the equally pressing demands of law and grace.

Stumbling into Grace: Two Hallowed Havens The action of Les Mis begins at dusk on a cold October evening, precisely one hour before the inevitable darkness of sunset, with Valjean, the recently released convict, seeking refuge in the small town of Digne. His yellow passport brands him as a criminal, and so he is rejected from inn after inn. In a tragic parody of Christ’s birth, innkeepers, having an abundance both of available rooms and of steamy, delicious-smelling suppers, turn Valjean away. “Put me up in the stable,” he finally cries, to no avail — even the local prison ward refuses him a cell, saying, “Do something to get arrested first” (a not-so subtle critique of the social system). Having knocked on every door but the church’s, before which he had merely shaken a defiant fist, Valjean prepares to sleep on a stone bench through the starless, dark, and bitterly frigid Alp-air night. Then, the church door opens. An elderly woman emerges, bidding him to knock at one more door, that of a small house. Having done so, Valjean is warmly invited to supper and a bed fitted with clean sheets.

“You mean, you’re not chasing me away?” he says, overjoyed with surprise. “I’m going to have supper! And a bed with a mattress and sheets — I haven’t slept in a bed for nineteen years! … Pardon me, what’s your name? … You are an innkeeper, aren’t you?” His host, the bishop of Digne, introduces himself. “This is not my house,” Bishop Myriel declares, “it’s the house of Jesus Christ,” a refuge for the outcast. Within this unassuming refuge, there are silver candlesticks, a kind of menorah symbolizing the presence of God in this kind-of holy place. When Valjean is later brought back to the bishop for having stolen his silverware, the bishop gives him the candlesticks, too, and their light — a token of God’s grace and the debt of love he owes. On another wintry night many years later, after becoming “Madeline,” the benevolent governor of Montreuil-sur-mer, only to be discovered and imprisoned by Javert, Valjean finds himself on the run in the dimly-lit streets of Paris.

He escaped prison in order to fulfill his promise to rescue and tend the orphaned girl Cosette, now at his side. They hide away in a lonely, enclosed garden as the sound of Javert and his troops, like a storm, breaks and rushes on. Then, out of the stillness, a hauntingly awe-filled scene unfolds, a mystery better experienced than explained: sudden singing; voices of an angelic choir fading in and out of the night air; a cruciform shape spied through a dim glass (dead, or alive?); the sound of a little bell. Like Jacob of old, Valjean discovers “the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it… . How awesome is this place!” (Gen 28:16–17). He and Cosette, the penitent and the innocent, fall to their knees. The garden complex, a dilapidated convent for women, becomes a refuge for Valjean: “I must remain here,” he says, and becomes its gardener. Cosette, the illegitimate orphan, receives schooling from the women. It is an unexpected refuge in Christ — thus is grace portrayed.

Pursued by Law: Two Poignant Pleas The novel’s literary shadows are deepened by the ever-lurking presence of the law’s condemnation, by the tension between who we are and who we were. Within this context, Javert represents that inescapable, shameful past that ever haunts and pursues one’s conscience — the “Devil’s advocate,” as it were — so that Valjean winds up disguising himself in order to make a clean start. Javert is called “the man of the law,” and indeed, represents the strict and merciless application of law, blind to and befuddled by the possibility and hope of redemption. Early in the story, Valjean, captured by Javert, pleads for release in order to rescue the soon-to-be-orphaned Cosette, but Javert refuses — as expected. There are no surprises with law. The principle of retribution is simple and monotonous, like Euclidean logic — it’s a system closed to alternatives, shut-up against intervention. Near the end of the story, captured once more by Javert, Valjean begs to be released in order to rescue Cosette’s suitor, Marius.

The inspector, having been saved recently — and surprisingly — from execution by Valjean, now yields. Perplexed that Valjean spared him, and even more petrif ied by his own sparing of Valjean, Javert mentally gores himself on the horns of the paradox. Caught between his debt of mercy to Valjean and his debt of justice to duty, agonizing between grace and law, Javert finally flings himself into the River Seine and drowns (a scene that itself ironically mirrors Valjean’s mock-drowning escape in order to rescue Cosette after Javert’s original refusal). He is unable to integrate the shock of grace into his legal system, and, perhaps more to the point, unable to bow before his own need of grace — his release of Valjean had been merely an act of retribution, not a debt of love. Javert’s demise is a penetrating reminder that to escape its grip, one must die to the law. Love’s Fulfillment: Two Cross-bearing Confessions Woven into the warp and woof of Les Mis is the theme of appearances.

The story is filled with disguises so that the question of true identity, even of reality, repeatedly surfaces like a bubble — yet only to pop. The treacherous Thénardiers (the cruel caretakers of young Cosette), for example, assume a new name but remain substantially the same, plotting to rob Valjean. But Valjean’s “changes” seem to reflect true transformations, somewhat akin to the name changes found in the Bible (Gen. 17:5; 32:28). Within this narrative drama, the law’s vision is shown to be flat, literally judging by appearances and focusing on who and what a character inescapably was or has done, while the eyes of grace penetrate to the soul and to truth, ever hopeful of who a character may become and what he or she may finally do. While the law looks for justice, grace sees to redemption, and the tightrope walker betwixt is love. There are two key points in the novel where Valjean sacrificially casts off his disguise in confession. The first is when he discovers that another man, Champmathieu (but thought to be Valjean), has been captured and is being tried in his place.

All the evidence of “Euclidian logic” is against this poor man: he has been identified as Valjean by three fellow convicts, Javert himself denying the need for “moral assumptions or material proofs, for I recognize him perfectly.” But worst of all, his appearance is that of a criminal: “I’d send him to the galleys on the strength of his face alone,” a lawyer remarks. The innocent Champmathieu indeed faces a life term in the galleys upon conviction. The real Valjean is thrown into turmoil by the dilemma: should he enjoy his own paradise at another’s expense (thereby becoming a demon) or should he reenter the fires of suffering (and become an angel)? Disrupting the legal proceedings, he confesses: “Let the accused go … arrest me. I am Valjean.” Ironically, the judge, lawyers, and witnesses think he has gone mad — they cannot see how the upstanding gentleman Madeline could ever be the infamous convict Jean Valjean. And he’s not, of course — but he was. Thus, the apparent scoundrel is innocent, and the respectable benefactor of society is guilty.

“I am the only one who can see clearly here,” Valjean says, “and I am telling you the truth.” The spectators are stunned, frozen by the illuminating event of a man submitting himself under the law so that another will not be condemned in his place. At the end of the novel, and moving from the courtroom to the home, Valjean risks sharing his criminal past with his new son-in-law. Marius, angered, cuts him off from seeing Cosette. Deeply distraught and ill over this isolation, Valjean prepares to die wretchedly alone. Marius, however, eventually discovers the deeper truth: “You save people’s lives, and you hide it from them! You do more than that, you slander yourself while you’re pretending to unmask yourself.” In the happy reunion of his family, reconciled in love, Valjean dies, peacefully anticipating his eternal refuge. The story that began at dusk before the inevitable darkness now ends in the starless dark of night (before the inevitable dawn) — with the light of the silver candlesticks, recently bequeathed to Cosette, shining brightly upon Valjean’s still, heavenward face.

Les Miserables Audition Information For more information email Director Alison Chambers at Alison (at) TheTwilightTheatre (dot) com Principle Role Requirements and Descriptions: Males JEAN VALJEAN is the hero of the story. It is his life journey that we follow. Jean Valjean is supposed to be stronger than other men, and so physically should appear robust. He should reasonably carry himself as mature and paternal. Valjean's ability to change is his greatest asset. The key to his character is his great humanity and compassion. Jean Valjean is a vocally demanding role. Range: Tenor - Low A to High A Audition Song: Bring Him Home Age: 15 to 19 years JAVERT is the inspector who serves as the antagonist to Jean Valjean. At first glance Javert might appear to be the villain of the story, but on closer examination it is clear that he is not an evil man, but is a man with a profound sense of duty. He sees everything in black and white and is unswerving in his pursuit of justice. His attitudes are rigid and unmoveable. He is stern, foreboding, and lacking in compassion.

Must have a very strong and rigid, almost mean, presence and voice. Strong singer and actor. Range: Low F to High F sharp Audition Song: Stars Age: 15 to 19 years THENARDIER is the true villain of this show, but also the comic relief. He is amoral and an opportunist. That said, he should also possess a wicked sense of humor. He delights in cheating, robbing, fraud and blackmail, relishing every aspect of them with glee. He is tough, greedy, brutal, stupid and crafty and yet irresistible. Strong character role. Does not have to be a good singer. Range: C (below Middle C) to G sharp (above Middle C) Audition Song: Master of the House Age: 16 to 19 years ENJOLRAS is the student leader and is an old soul. He is handsome, brave, daring, and very mature for his age. He is described by Victor Hugo as “a thinker and a man of action”. He oozes with charisma and confidence. On the barricade he physically and vocally should dominate everyone else. Must have a very strong, confident presence and voice.

His death at the barricade is one of the dramatic highlights of the show. Range: Tenor or High Baritone - A to G above the middle C Audition Song: Do You Hear the People Sing? and possibly Red and Black – be ready for both Age: 15 to 19 years MARIUS is the handsome romantic hero. Very impulsive, awkward, and naïve, but matures by the end of the show. Marius should have a lovely lyrical voice with a contemporary edge. Range: Low A to High A flat Audition Song: Empty Chairs and Empty Tables Age: 15 to 19 years BISHOP OF DIGNE is the kind man who saves Valjean with his compassion. A very strong supporting role. Needs a very lyric, compassionate, and soothing voice. Range: Low A to High E Audition Song: The Bishop’s part in the show. Music will be available at audition Age: 15 to 19 years GAVROCHE is a willful, cocky, charismatic boy who lives on the streets and hangs out with the ABC gang. Considers himself the leader of the streets. He is brave and witty. Think a young Artful Dodger.

He has a dramatic death at the barricade. Note: Says “What the hell” in one song, so parents must be comfortable with that. Range: B below middle C to G Audition Song: His solo part in Look Down Age: 8 to 11 years, height maximum of 58” Supporting Role Requirements and Descriptions: Males *Please prepare a Broadway song that shows off your range. ABC SOCIETY is a secret society of students and workers, the letters "A" "B" "C", as pronounced in French, make the word "abaisse," which means "the underdog" or "the people below." The members are drawn from wealthy families, and members have chosen to fight for freedom in stark contrast to the poor who have no choice due to their downtrodden circumstance. Additional characters, besides Enjolras and Marius are: COMBEFERRE - Is the philosopher and believer in peace. He is gentle, humane, strong and brave. Feuilly - Is a worker, self-educated and an orphan. A believer in "nationality." Affectionate, warm and poetic. COURFEYRAC - Is a student. His is youthful, passionate and fearless.

JOLY - A medical student. Eccentric and light-hearted, although sometimes morbid. His name is derived from the English word "jolly." Prouvaire - A student of social studies. He is kind, softly spoken and at the right moments strong and masterful. He is also a poet. LESEGLES - A student. Cheerful, laughing at life but unlucky. His close friend is Joly. GRANTAIRE - A student. He is the opposite of Enjolras. He believes in nothing. Although he admires Enjolras he loves to mock him. Witty and drunken, he is happy being with the group and they put up with him because of his good humour. He also keeps a watchful eye on Gavroche, the mascot of the group, and is the most heartbroken when Gavroche is killed. So much so that Grantaire abandons his cynicism and rushes to die on the barricade. Vocal ranges: Low A to F PIMP controls the prostitutes at the docks. He is mean, aggressive and abusive. The Pimp has a small solo line in "The Docks." Does not have to be a strong singer.

Vocal range: E (below Middle C) to D FAUCHELEVANT is the victim of the cart crash. Does not have to be a strong singer. Vocal range: B (below Middle C) to E flat JUDGE presides over mistaken Valjean’s trial – non singing part. MISTAKEN VALJEAN is the man who Javert believes to be Jean Valjean – non singing part. FOREMAN begins Fantine on her downward spiral of desperation. He should be virile, commanding and a bit sleazy around the edges. Does not have to be a strong singer. Vocal range: E (below Middle C) to D flat (above Middle C) CHAIN GANG consists of Jean Valjean's fellow prisoners. There are four soloists (indicated as convicts 1, 2, 3, 4). Vocal range: Low F to High E flat CONSTABLES guard the chain gang and catch Valjean when he flees from the Bishop’s house. Vocal range: E to High E FARMER turns Valjean away. Does not have to be a strong singer. Vocal range: Middle C to D flat LABORERS deride Valjean.

Do not have to be strong singers. Vocal range: A sharp to D flat SAILORS are interested in the services of the Lovely Ladies. Do not have to be strong singers. Vocal range: Low C to Middle C BAMATABOIS is the "customer" who taunts Fantine into violence. He is dressed in expensive clothes. He is a wealthy dissolute young man who thinks of himself as a gentleman. He is drunk and in a sadistic mood and chauvinistically feels it is his right to buy anything, even Fantine. Does not have to be a strong singer. Vocal range: D (below Middle C) to High D MONTPARNASSE, BABET, BRUJON, and CLAQUESOUS are all members of Thenardier's gang of thieves. Brujon - Physically very strong. The body of a bear and a pea sized brain. A genuine gangster, he is stupid and evil. Babet - Physically frail. He is lean and cunning. Claquesous - Tough, dangerous and secretive. Montparnasse - A teenager. Handsome and dangerous. Kills with a knife.

Vocal ranges: C sharp (below Middle C) to E Principle Role Requirements and Descriptions: Females FANTINE is the beautiful young girl who, abandoned by her lover, is left to fend for herself and her daughter Cosette. She is rejected by society and forced through circumstances to become a prostitute. She is a brave woman defeated by life, sustained by her love for her daughter and clinging to her dignity. Sick with consumption, we witness her descent through poverty, hunger, cold, loneliness and destitution to death. She is a noble and proud character, whose life becomes a series of terrible events that rob her of her pride, character, and ultimately her life. This is a real heartbreaker of a role that requires a mature actress. This actress needs to comfortable with her emotions out in the open and has to have the ability to convincingly go from wistful to bitter to heartbroken to shouting at God, all in one song. Fantine’s physical and emotional pain needs to be very real. Audition Song: I Dreamed A Dream Age: 16 to 19 COSETTE is the beautiful daughter of Fantine. She is an intelligent, inquiring, personable girl.

Once adopted by Jean Valjean, Cosette lives a comfortable, if secluded life. She is strong willed and loving. She falls instantly in love with Marius, changing her world and her priorities. The role calls for an excellent singer with a lovely, lyrical soprano voice. Vocal range: B flat below middle C to High 2 octaves above middle C Audition Song: In My Life and the ending of A Heart Full Of Love Reprise to check range Age: 16 to 19 years EPONINE is the daughter of the Thenardiers. She is a young girl who is streetwise and tough, but also sensitive and lonely. She is in love with Marius, and knowing that he will never love her, she is very vulnerable when it comes to him. She bravely follows Marius to the barricades in the hope that they will die there together. Eponine is a tragic character, hopelessly in love with Marius and dies there. Strong singing and acting.

Range: F Sharp below middle C to E Audition Song: On My Own Age: 16 to 19 years female LITTLE COSETTE is Cosette as a child and the ward of the Thenardiers, who force her into slavery at their inn. She is a trembling little creature, underfed, beaten by Madame Thenardier and bullied by Eponine, but very sweet despite her circumstances. Range: A below middle C to C Audition Song: Castle on a Cloud Age: 8 to 11 years – height maximum of 53” MADAME THENARDIER is the drunk and vulgar wife of Thenardier. Madame Thenardier is as "one" with Thenardier. Together they con the world as partners in crime. They were made for each other, although she complains about him. She is coarse and vulgar; unhappy in her existence without knowing why. She is greedy, evil, and larger than life. She is mean and nasty to Little Cosette and able to improvise in nearly any situation. Strong character actress. Does not have to be a strong singer.

Note: She has to swear at the end of “Master of the House”, so parents please listen to it before your daughter auditions. Range: G Sharp below middle C to D Audition Song: Master of the House Age: 16 to 19 years Supporting Role Requirements and Descriptions: Females *Please prepare a Broadway song that shows off your range. LITTLE EPONINE is the pampered daughter of the Thenardiers and a spoiled brat who taunts Little Cosette. The role requires no singing or speaking. FACTORY GIRL fights with Fantine. She is mean, catty and selfish. She also is having an affair with the Foreman and is jealous of Fantine. Strong singer and actress. Vocal range: B flat (below Middle C) to C (above Middle C) OLD WOMAN is a nice feature part. This is the character that purchases Fantine's hair. Vocal range: E (above Middle C) to D LOVELY LADIES are ladies of the night. FACTORY WORKERS: Strong singing and acting roles. Must be willing to portray prostitutes (not tasteful, but not too bad either) in one scene as Lovely Ladies.

Age: 13 to 19 years Supporting Role Requirements and Descriptions: Males and Females *Please prepare a Broadway song that shows off your range. Street Urchins/Gavroche’s Gang: Young street orphans who sing and dance in several scenes in the show. Males or Females Age: 10 to 13 years Hotel Patrons, Wedding Guests, and People of Paris: Males and Females Age: 10 to 19 (NOTE: From this group several smaller solo roles will also be cast.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Question: In "Les Miserables", what is the name of the little orphan girl adopted by the hero Jean Valjean ?
Answer: COSETTE