“They fed her on the odds and ends, a little better than the dog, and a little worse than the cat. The dog and cat were her messmates.” (Hugo, et al. 48) Though possibly just a simple quote detailing the character of Cosette near the beginning of the novel, perhaps this verse could possibly be describing a greater, broader theme about the story. Throughout the meandering tale that is Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo, we are subject to many conflicts betwixt characters and events; however, possibly the most grotesque example would be the warring amidst the lack of discernment between acting of extreme compassions or ignorant selfishness. This fight of perspective makes our characters seem quite different to the readers, as they can all at times seem, a little better than the dog, and a little worse than the cat. After all, the two ideas are messmates.
For our first case study into this idea, we can turn our eyes upon the ‘protagonist’ of the story Jean Valjean. In his time before Cosette, Valjean had been a man representative of little value and even fewer possessions. Though the galley slave that he is, he tells himself that he can suffer through all the complications that life presents unto him, thusly it refers to him as a stone-hearted …show more content…
Where everyone else is vying for either self-redemption, or the quality of the people around them to improve, Marius has then, more simply, just been a deer in the headlights for Cosette. He is a complete dog for her as he has often stated that he could just die without her in his immediate presence. Now, while this may just be so whimsical writing on Hugo's part to bring a necessary romance to the novel (in a time when all literature had to), it can’t help but become noticeable that Marius is but a foolish young pup that doesn’t know the extent of his feelings, and walks into everything without fully thinking through
For our first case study into this idea, we can turn our eyes upon the ‘protagonist’ of the story Jean Valjean. In his time before Cosette, Valjean had been a man representative of little value and even fewer possessions. Though the galley slave that he is, he tells himself that he can suffer through all the complications that life presents unto him, thusly it refers to him as a stone-hearted …show more content…
Where everyone else is vying for either self-redemption, or the quality of the people around them to improve, Marius has then, more simply, just been a deer in the headlights for Cosette. He is a complete dog for her as he has often stated that he could just die without her in his immediate presence. Now, while this may just be so whimsical writing on Hugo's part to bring a necessary romance to the novel (in a time when all literature had to), it can’t help but become noticeable that Marius is but a foolish young pup that doesn’t know the extent of his feelings, and walks into everything without fully thinking through