The Miserables

1. Detailed summary of the work

Well, Les Misérables is a book that begins by talking about a bishop (all set in 1815)

who was very generous and good and who before worrying about himself, worried about helping others

poor people and all those who were in worse situations, this bishop lived with his sister

(an old maid) and her servant lived in what was once a hospital. And she spends her time describing

how his life of holiness was and completely attached to his religious beliefs, a model man for

the whole society that several times thinking of others went through serious economic troubles, all that

It is described in the first part of the book called Myrel.

In the second part, there is a whole description of Jean Valjean, who is a man that

he wanted to be good, but he is sentenced to prison for having stolen a piece of bread for his nephews

that they had not eaten for several days, and for the simple fact of having tried to escape several times, their

the sentence was getting longer and longer, of course, it comes out 20 years later, but the fact of having

Having spent so much time in prison, it has changed his personality and he has become a cold man upon his release.

from the prison, seeks refuge in the house of the bishop (who is already an archbishop) and while there, sees the things of

silver that he has in his very humble abode and tries to steal it, the maid discovers him and runs to

to tell the archbishop what he saw, this being such a good man scolds his servant, and to Valjean he

he gives away his silver things and helps him not to step into jail again, which causes some confusion in

Valjean, why is it not explained how, even after trying to do harm to the archbishop, he still

this is how he cares for him and helps him.

In the third and fourth parts, it tells me the story of Fantine, who is a girl that is very

in love, but just like that, her boyfriend leaves her and that's when she realizes that she is

pregnant, very sad and heartbroken by her recent abandonment, decides to raise in the best way possible.
possible to her daughter whom she calls Cósete, when the mother realizes that she can no longer support

to her daughter alone, she asks a family (the Thénardiers) to take care of her, but these

they mistreated the girl a lot and demanded a lot of money from her mother to take care of her, even to Cósete.

they come to treat her like their maid.

In the fifth part, it tells us about a man who suddenly starts making a lot of money, his

Name, Monsieur Madeleine; this man is Jean Valjean who has undergone a very significant change.

in his life and who has been doing business and investing and he picks up Fantine and she becomes his

created.

Here is a man (Javert) who thinks he knows Monsieur Madeleine, he recognizes that he is Jean.

Valjean but he has no way to prove it, so he arranges a trial in which Valjean as he sees that not

he has another one and to fix everything once and for all, confess his true identity before the whole assembly, for

Indeed... Cósete's mother dies, dying while waiting to have her daughter with her again.

In this part of the book, he begins by describing the Battle of Waterloo, where he mentions

new characters like Baron Pontmercy and Thénardier. Something very boring in my opinion...

Now, the ex-convict Jean Valjean makes everyone believe that he has drowned by throwing himself into the sea.

with shackles and chains (although these were not tied) but he has his fortune buried nearby

Thénardier's house, where he meets Cosette when she was still a child, and decides to take her with him to

to protect her from her 'caretakers' and I put it in quotes because they were only exploiting the poor girl; already the

having the girl with her, she worries about her and adopts her as a daughter, and they live in the most

poor in Paris, but among them a fraternal bond is created and they love each other more and more; one day they are

recognized and taken to a convent, already there in the convent, she spends her time describing in great detail

details such as how they dressed, their schedules and what their daily activities were, in short, a whole description

which shows us why this romantic book has its realistic touches.
 Now, they are introducing more characters to us, starting with Gavroche, he is a boy.

worthy of example, since he has gone through so many situations like hunger, poverty, but he is so kind,

generous and with revolutionary ideas, he is the son of the Thénardiers, abandoned by the way.

Then comes M. Guillenormand, who is a 90-year-old man who married his daughter to a colonel who

dies in the Battle of Waterloo leaving behind a son named Mario; Mario has a vision

completely different from the one her grandfather painted for her, and that is why she gets in touch with groups

revolutionaries. After going around in circles, he finds out that his father is not dead, but

who is living in Normandy and preferred to give up seeing him, so that he wouldn't lose him all at once.

inheritance; by the time she can meet her father, it is too late, he is on his deathbed and dies.

asking her son to stay strong in his convictions and not to give up on what he wants.

Returning to Jean Valjean, he leaves the convent because Cosette did not want to become a nun, and it is because

this that they rent a small house; one day Mario sees Cossette with whom he believes is her father, and he

He falls hopelessly in love with her, and she, being a good lady, feels intimidated.

And in this part, there are several events that I find hard to understand, I'm learning that

There is a leak in the Thénardier mansion, Mario goes with his grandfather to ask for permission to ask for

Cossette in marriage and the grandfather, all cruel, mocks him, and also for some reason I take revenge.

To find out that Cossette disappears, the truth is that I do not quite understand that part... as the book

He is meticulous, all these events are happening very fast.

In this part, Victor Hugo describes in great detail how the people rise up.

against General Lamarque and how everyone fights for the revolution, here I extend my respects to Víctor.

Hugo, who even seemed like a history book with so much detail.

Now the death of Valjean is described, where he rescues Mario from serious injuries and he

he takes him to his grandfather's house, the grandfather becomes very sad to see his grandson in such

conditions, but they decide to give him their support to heal him and that he recovers soon, Valjean forgives him the

life to Javert and he confesses to him that he has been pursuing him and that he was not honest and faithful when he
promised, Valjean forgives him everything, Valjean does not want Mario to continue visiting Cosette (even though

I had already told him who he really was and that he was not his real father) and they decide that the visits

they will be more sporadic until no visit is made anymore.

Finally, one day when they visit Valjean, they find him on his deathbed and Valjean them

he embraces them considering them his children and dies embraced by them.

glossary

appear.- disassemble

manure - horse excrement

bulwarks.-solid defense

digression - part of a speech that has nothing to do with it

sternutation - breathing with snoring

diners.-people who eat at the same table

3. Text Localization:
Victor Hugo

Les Misérables

1862

Era: Modernist

4. Relationship of the text with its historical context:

The monarchical restoration between 1815 and 1848, with the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 that

they infected all of Europe. The Second Empire of Louis Napoleon III, nephew of the former Bonaparte,

with whom the process of industrialization and colonization was accentuated. And the establishment of the Third

Republic in the last decades of the century.

colonial empire, its economy and its population, seeing its status as a dominant nation-state affected in

the world scene.

I think the part that relates the most to this is the third and fourth part, which are more

related to what was happening in society, where it describes step by step the Battle of Waterloo and

where it shows us that each character is involved with the French Revolution.

5. General characteristics of the era, literary movement to which

the text belongs. Relationship with other artistic and cultural movements of

moment

In the second half of the 19th century, society does not change substantially. However, there is an appreciation of a

new attitude of the author who confronts reality instead of fleeing from it. Reality is portrayed just as

appears and throughout the novel there is an attempt to criticize society from within. This transition from Romanticism

Realism is also reflected in the literature of bourgeois society. It should not be forgotten that at its base

Romanticism protested against the bourgeois world. In realism, these ideas are maintained and developed.

certain aspects of Romanticism such as the interest in nature and the interest in the regional and the

local, the traditional. However, other elements are also removed and purified. A stop is put to

Imagination and all things fantastic are rejected. The characters are no longer so passionate and are abandoned.

the evocation of a legendary past.

This period following Romanticism is characterized by profound social transformations:

rural exodus to the cities, significant population growth, an increasingly conservative bourgeoisie.

It is the era of the Industrial Revolution in England and somewhat later in other European countries, a
time in which there is a technical progress with new inventions and a development of the industry and the

trade never seen until that moment.

6. Characteristics of the author's personality reflected in the text.

Deep with his comments

According to me, a supporter of the revolution

Romantic and Realistic at the same time

7. Relationship of that work with the rest of the author's production.

Well, I was partially reading some of the other novels that Victor Hugo has written, and I can

to say that it has me really confused, since it has works in which it criticizes with all its being everything, and

he demonstrates that he is dissatisfied with various things about the government and the type of life his people lead,

full of descriptions and many other characteristics that tell me their works are realistic, but

Victor Hugo also has poems and other writings in which he is shown as a romantic writer.

So I believe that an author doesn't always have to be involved in just one genre, but rather in two genres.

based on the description they can be mixed just as Victor Hugo did.

8. Genre and subgenre

Epic genre and subgenre novel

9.Special aspects

I believe this work is very important for its time because it describes from the perspective of

a writer, as he saw the revolution, describes how the lowest sectors of the population lived and
This can help us realize that if we fight for something, we all need to be together.

united and thus the benefits will be for everyone and not for a minority that always likes to win. I believe

What is a good novel to reflect on what is good and what is bad and if we are

Following a wrong path, let us return to the right one and thus attain salvation.

10.Form of Expression

Narration, since it describes the events with a lot of detail while remaining realistic and without

fall into exaggerated description.

11. Prose or verse and its particularities

Prose, without particularity, includes some small rhymes, but it is prose without meter.