Posts Tagged “Marius”

Meeting Marius Marius grows up in a staunch royalist household, but when he learns they've lied about his Bonapartist father, he starts questioning everything.
Get to Know Your ABCs In the novel, the rebellious students are all individuals, not just Enjolras, Marius, Grantaire and the backup singers seen in the musical.
Poor, Poor Marius Marius fares much better in poverty than Fantine. One of his friends is completely absorbed by books. His grandfather is a classic grumpy old man.
Stealth Courtship At last, Marius and Cosette meet! Sort of. Long-distance flirting is all they can manage, and they still haven't spoken a word to each other after weeks.
Ambush in the Slums Marius meets his wretched neighbors, the Thenardiers, who try to extort money from Jean Valjean and Cosette. A tense standoff is interrupted by Javert.
Just a Lark Marius withdraws from the world and tries to contact Cosette telepathically. The gang is arrested, but accidentally points Eponine to the Rue Plumet.
Creeping Around the Garden Someone is stalking Cosette, watching her window and following her in the garden. Fortunately, it turns out to be Marius, so everything's okay!
Over the Edge Marius and Cosette's secret meetings start off well. They even escape an attempted robbery. But everything falls apart just as Paris begins to boil over.
(From) Drinking to Revolution Grantaire holds court in a tavern, the barricade goes up, Javert is discovered, and Marius has a very different experience getting into the combat zone.
Hey Barricade, Who’s in Charge Here? Initial skirmishes on the barricade, the first deaths, Marius' suicide mission, Gavroche pushing things a bit too far, and Valjean reaching another crisis.
Barricades of Future Past (Plus Cannon Geekery) After a look ahead to the 1848 barricades, Enjolras gives a speech, Valjean makes an entrance, and the students talk geek out over the army's new cannon.
Passing Peak Ammunition The barricade holds against several attacks the next morning, but they start running out of bullets...and defenders. Adieu to Gavroche and Javert.
Last Stand at the Barricade Hugo lays out the main theme of the book, 1000 pages in. The barricade falls, the surviving defenders retreat to the tavern, and Grantaire wakes up at last.
What a Wonderful Smell You’ve Discovered The history of the Paris sewers...and then Jean Valjean's flight through those offal tunnels, escaping the battle zone.
Don’t Worry, Be Happy Javert is no longer a threat, Marius is alive and reconciled with his grandfather, and he and Cosette have a chance to be together. What could go wrong?
This is the End Without Javert, Valjean pursues himself to his own shocking decline, stopped only when Thenardier tries and fails to blackmail Marius. Sadly, it's too late.
Revisiting the Movie Musical After Re-Reading the Novel I liked the film of Les Misérables better on second viewing, and also was able to see just how much they brought in from the novel.
Second Chances The offering of a second chance, and acceptance/refusal of said chance, happens repeatedly in Les Misérables.
The Wretched of the Earth While the whole novel is built around justice for those downtrodden by society, Victor Hugo focuses on five specific examples of poverty.
Marius’ Connections Marius doesn't do anything by halves: Royalist, Bonapartist, revolutionary, head over heels in love, suicidal, determined to help Thénardier, bound to denounce him.
Marius’ Timeline and the Missing Revolution Major events in Marius' life don't quite line up with the calendar. But we definitely skip over the ABC Society's actions in the 1830 July Revolution.
The Ambush We see the ambush entirely through Marius' limited POV. The reader has to piece things together, making the multiple dualities even clearer.
Aftermath of an Ambush No one gets out of the extortion attempt unscathed. Everyone's worse off. But a tiny moment with Éponine and Mabeuf calls back to the original well scene.
Marius: Stalker The flirting is funny. But Marius sneaking around Cosette's garden? Not so much. To Hugo's credit, he shows us how scared Cosette is and never suggests she shouldn't be.
The Bubble Bursts Marius and Cosette are seriously caught up in each other. They don't notice the attempted robbery. They don't even notice a cholera epidemic.
Two Old Men in Decline Age and despair come to both Mabeuf and Gillenormand, but Mabeuf's slide into poverty is drastically different than Gillenormand's loneliness.
Hitting the Fan A gripping description of Paris under siege. Mabeuf's BSOD leads to him being the first casualty. And then, everything happens at once.
Marius Joins the Persecution With all his ideals, you want Marius to know better, but he still treats Jean Valjean the way the people of Digne did two decades earlier.