#Hugo being weird about motherhood

[akallabeth-joie]

Brickclub Les Mis 1.4.1

There’s a typo in my 1992 Modern Library edition of Wilbour: this chapter is set in 1818, not 1815. Three years makes a slight difference when the inn is called “The Sergeant of Waterloo” and the scene concerns children age 2 and under.

Hugo’s imagery is intriguing here: he’s describing freight equipment that children are playing on by evoking gun-carriages, the galleys, and supernatural monsters. Interesting choice, and immediately used to throw shade on Mme Thenardier. He could absolutely have gone the opposite direction here: childhood’s innocence redeeming a decaying vehicle, after it could no longer serve its initial purpose. And he does dig into the contrast by comparing the children to roses and cherubim, where the dray is a cavern and a titan’s chain. Rather than it being improved by the children, the grotesque vehicle foreshadows the viciousness and bad judgement of the children’s parents.

Fantine’s in an awful situation, and Hugo’s giving her maximum sympathetic treatment. Even if he is still weird about motherhood. Also, I’m pretty sure nursing doesn’t cause lung complaints. All the same, I’d like to propose the interpretation that Cosette is, in fact, a vampire.

I love the detail Hugo goes into about Fantine’s change in attire, and how it illustrates her changed situation and outlook since the summer. She’s not exactly worn our her nice things, but has chosen to put them aside, even as she’s renouncing her former position as a quasi- kept woman, in order to wear clothing suitable for the sort of work she intends to do. I wonder how much of this is pragmatism about her chances of getting hired*, and whether she’s also giving herself a sartorial penance for her transgressions against social ideals.

Also, Tholomyes is an ass, and a jerk, and a bad person, and I hope he steps on tacks everyday for he rest of his life. Good riddance, now we never have to hear from him again. 

Returning to crack theories, may I also put forth that Fantine being transfixed by the Thenardier girls is connected to Hugo’s insistence that teenage girls has gaze attacks (3.6.3). Someday, I’m going to write a stat block for human (female-presenting) based on Hugo’s odd assertions, and it’ll either be hilarious or terrifying.**

I might need a whole second post to start unpacking the paragraph describing Mme T. It’s like a laundry list of inverted feminine ideals. Hugo may like to mess with our expectation to foster empathy for social outcasts (Fantine, JVJ), but he does that in part by giving them a lot of mitigating factors and emphasizing their superhuman dedication to doing good. He also goes the other way--giving ‘ordinary, pleasant, you could have a beer with him’ characterizations to people who do great harm to others (forcing us to rethink our social assumptions). But still, Mme T has villain written all over her from the get-go by making her do and be only things the audience is pre-disposed against. She didn’t just let her children play on the cart, but is characterized as choosing it for them. She’s reading novels (not horrible, but not the positive thing that reading religious or improving books would be) and does the worse possibly thing by becoming affected by them. Even her physical description is the opposite of how sympathetic or benevolent women tend to be depicted: she’s large, masculine, angular, “browny” (probably tanned) and red-haired. It’s pretty standard in the short fiction I’ve read (not to mention other “classic” novels) that a young female protagonist or love interest is going to be hitting at least 3-4 of small, delicate, soft, pale and either blonde or brunette.***

Anyway, Fantine meets Mme Thenardier, tells an edited version of her story, and they let the kids start playing together. We learn than Cosette’s given name is Euphrasie--where Fantine had no name, her daghter has two (still no last name, though). IIRC, wasn’t Pepita the name of a girl Hugo had had a crush on when he was a kid in Spain?

Fantine leaves Cosette with the Thenardiers, using the understandable-if-not-sufficient metric that their own daughters look healthy and happy, so they should treat Cosette well. Of course, Hugo doesn’t let us indulge in that fantasy, by immediately showing M. Thenardier to be quick-thinking, covetous, and in a poor financial state (the last not a vice, but still a concern if Cosette is to be living with them). If they have no trouble pressuring Fantine for more money right now when they know she has only 80 francs, no sure work, and no place to live, how will they treat Cosette when her mother isn’t present? They could easily have turned her outdoors, farmed her out to someone else, or done worse, and Fantine would never have known the difference if they kept lying about it.

Tangent, but I’m also wondering about the 15 franc “initial expenses” and what they would have said about them if asked. It’s not for outfitting, since Cosette’s fully stocked on clothing; they’re getting 7 francs a month for her food and the work of supervising her; they already have a house furnished for small children and she’s too young for school expenses. All I can think of that they’d legitimately need for her is a bed, and even that could be shared with the other children, rather than buying another. It could be described as an advance for whatever miscellaneous expenses come up for her, but I don’t recall that they even pretend to have spent it on Cosette before requesting more money for medical bills, more clothes, etc.

It is quite provoking that we’re no sooner rid of Tholomyes than Thenardier shows up. Boo.

Fantine and Mme T use “vous” with eachother; M. Thenardier uses “tu” towards his wife.

*Again, I mostly study English language sources, and closer to the mid-century, but unless things are drastically different in 1820s France, there’s little that will get you expelled from menial/domestic labor jobs faster than dressing above your station. At least one magazine article I’ve read (1860s, I think American) stated that Frenchwomen of all classes look better than people in other countries because they dress neatly within their social roles instead of imitating their superiors or wearing second-hand finery. It’s all tied up in ideas of prudence, economy, moderation, and modesty (as in, opposite of ‘vanity’, not opposite of ‘sexy’)--but in every morality tale in every magazine or guidebook, the person who’s over-dressed (for her role or for the activity at hand) will turn out to be vain, dishonest, un-biddable, incautious, and every other bad thing you can imagine.

**I’m sort of relieved and sort of annoyed at not having these alleged magical powers. Maybe leg-o’-mutton sleeves are the material focus?

***Dickens’ useful women might be the exception, but their ornamental partners are all this to the point of uselessness. Good-coded female servants are a little different, in so far as they can be sturdier physically, but also less refined. Wishing I still had journal access, because there’s probably some good research on how class intersects with gender in literary characterizations at this time.

[insomniac-dot-ink]

Books I’ve Read in 2020

AHello! I’m trying to read as many books as I can during the quarantine, here’s what I’ve finished so far:

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (literary fiction): a son writes a letter about his life to his illiterate mother. Breathtakingly beautiful with it’s way with words this book is lovely and real in the hardest and sweetest ways. The author’s combination of prose and poetry is dazzling and intricate, this book has stuck with me for days afterward. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (fantasy): a money-lender gets in trouble after bragging she can turn silver into gold and is kidnapped and ordered to do so by a fey creature. It may be that I am the perfect audience for this type of book, but it’s my favorite thing I’ve read all year. It’s a book that equally takes on the fantastical and real-world with compelling female characters at the center of the whole thing. A wonderful fantasy journey inspired by eastern-European Jewish folklore. 5 out of 5 stars.

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (horror graphic novel): a series of short horror comics. Absolutely bone-chilling! This was a really fun type of scary story, especially the last one which made my skin absolutely crawl. Deliciously eerie, this was treat to read if not a little too short. 4 out of 5 stars.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender (magical realism): a young girl can taste other people’s emotions in their cooking and begins to understand her family in new ways. This was a weird book, but it has everything you’ve got to love about that combination of the surreal and mundane. It’s sense of character was electrifying and I had fun engaging with this type of off-kilter real world. I was a little frustrated in parts bc of some characters choices, but that too was true to life. 4 out of 5 stars.

Crier’s War by Nina Varela (steampunk fantasy wlw): about a Made automaton heir to a throne and her human hand-maiden that is trying to kill her. This was an easy read with a lot of tension between the two main characters that I liked, but the writing itself was very weak. There was waaay too much exposition in parts and the dialogue had some really hockey lines. I enjoyed the twists and turns in the middle of the book, but the beginning and end didn’t have much movement. 2.5 stars out of 5.

The Huntress by Kate Quinn (historical fiction): honestly, I’m a little disappointed. This book just did not hit my sweet spots, it wasn’t fast-paced enough for me to get immersed in the plot, and the characters weren’t real enough to be wholly invested in them. That said I adored Nina Markova and the Night Witches, so that did help. 3 starts out of 5.

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White (horror sci-fi retelling): HAND IN UNLOVABLE HAND. A retelling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein from the perspective of Victor Frankenstein’s wife and my God! The characters! The plot was well-enough, but the characters took the whole show for being complex and compelling. The main character was breathtakingly layered and I was wholly invested in Elizabeth and her story and the triumph at the end of this story was tangible. 4 out of 5 stars! 

Uprooted by Naomi Novik (fantasy): A story of a young woman who lives in a valley where a girl must go live with a wizard for 10 years. She is certain she won’t be chosen, but ends up having to be “uprooted” herself. I enjoyed most of this book! However, I think I liked “Spinning Silver” a lot more just because the ending of this one somehow lost me. The characters were good and plot compelling, but (SPOILERS) the big battle at the end seemed to drag and didn’t interest me somehow. 3.8 out of 5 stars.

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (fantasy): excellent read! A story of a young woman in Jazz Age Mexico who goes on an adventure with a Mayan death God who is trying to regain his throne. A romp across the country absolutely brimming with likable characters and fairy tale twists. My only complaint would be that most of it felt a little predictable due to the fact we knew where we were going throughout the whole story, However, it was still greatly enjoyable for the heroine herself, Casiopea. 4 out of 5 stars!

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (literary): a story of two families in a progressive “planned” community, how their lives intertwine, their secrets, and a central question surrounding motherhood. Deeply empathetic to its characters and introspective, this is an every-day story of people in suburbia that reads like a thriller. I could barely put it down and felt deeply for its characters and situations, 5 out of 5 stars!

Wilder Girls by Rory Power (YA sci-fi suspense): a story of a group of girls at a boarding school on an island affected by the “tox” which alters their bodies in strange ways like giving them scales or an extra spine. This was an eerie, interesting read with a wlw romance! Watch out for the body horror in this one, but it was very gripping and held my interest. Some of the pacing was off in places (like the romance), but had a very creepy atmosphere that did it for me. 3.8 out of 5 stars!

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio (thriller-mystery): A thriller about a group of Shakespeare actors in their last year of college and one of their classmates who turns up dead. I enjoyed the murder mystery part of this novel more than I expected despite the fact I had guessed who had “done it” pretty early on. I really enjoyed the James-Oliver dynamic with its growing homoeroticism, but I didn’t like how the character of Meredith was handled at all. She felt like a one-note aside. I might have given this book four stars, but the ending was EXTREMELY frustrating for me and I did not like the “open-ended” conclusion. 3 out of 5 stars.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (literary humor): a weird character-driven comedy about an old grumpy man and a new family that moves in next to him. Warning for themes of suicide. Anyway, I don’t normally indulge in cliches like “I laughed, I cried, I loved one Cat Annoyance.” However, that’s exactly what I did. I laughed out loud, I cried my eyes out (THE CAT’S HEAD WAS IN HIS PALM), I loved this book. It was sweet and compelling and thoroughly immersive. 5 out of 5 stars!

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (historical fantasy): set in the early 1900s comes a story of a young girl and her experience with “Doors” that lead to different worlds. This book had a lot of great character development and really interesting descriptions, however, I didn’t like it as much as I wanted to. I found it hard to get myself to sit down a read it. There was just something missing with the push to “page-turn,” but it was still a really good book. 3.7 out of 5 stars!

Gideon the 9th by Tamsyn Muir (high fantasy, kinda gay): I AM FILLED WITH EMOTIONS. This was book was definitely a page-turner. I was very confused with it at the beginning, but the characters and their interactions were, forgive the expression, the life blood of the story and kept me wholly invested. The ending has CRUSHED my heart, but damn did I have a good time reading it. 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Harrow the 9th by Tamsyn Muir (sequel to Gideon the 9th): I really enjoyed this book. It was just as strange and twisting as the first book, though I think I enjoyed the first one a bit more since I love Gideon. It was fun ride overall, though the ending was kind of really confusing. So 4 out of 5 stars.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (historical fiction): Overall, I really enjoyed this book! The writing style was personable and grounded in reality. I found myself really liking the main characters and the exploration of the life of a bi main character was really well done I thought. A solid book with drama and glamor to boot. 4.6 out of 5 stars!

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (historical fiction): A story of two sisters during WWII and their resistance to Nazi occupation. To be honest, this book wasn’t my cup of tea. It was compelling, but also wholly depressing and I felt like gloried in the pain of the two main characters too much. The history was wonderful and realistic, but it didn’t make me feel anything good afterward. It was just dark. 3 out of 5 stars.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (mlm romance): I finally finished this after the heaviness of The Nightingale. This is a story of the First Son of the USA falling for the prince of England. And it turned out to be a very fun and light hearted read! Some of it was kinda generic and too political, and it coulda been shorter, but I thought the romance itself made up for it. It just made me feel so sweet and lovely inside. 4 out of 5 stars!

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (literary humor): I’m searching out heartfelt books and this one ticked off all the marks on my “sweet” list. A lovely book that made me cry more times than I would like to admit. Compassionate beyond belief, funny and heartfelt. I think I enjoyed A Man Called Ove slightly more, but this book was also dear to me and something I hope to reread in the future. 4.2 out of 5 stars!

Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel (sci-fi): A post-apocalyptical story about a group of traveling Shakespeare actors and a symphony. Overall, an excellent read that somehow pictures a more realistic or even softer version of the apocalypse. At first, I wasn't happy with the jumping around of the story, but as I progressed I grew fonder and fonder of the interwoven characters and their journey. A very fascinating read about a world that hits a little too close to home. The appreciation of the arts and preserving humanity was somehow very hopeful and I was fully engaged with this story. 5 out of 5 Stars!

Up next: The Hidden Life of Trees by by Peter Wohlleben (nonfiction science), The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin (urban fantasy), The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (fantasy)

[rosettastarlight]

*holds up* LOOK AT MY SON!

I worked a long time on this, and it's the first time I actually placed this much effort in sketching and making an oc, especially since I wanted to make his prosthetic so detailed. Also first try at digital art, let's go! Anyway, this is my oc, Medein. He is one of my ocs I will probably use for many fandom universes (I swear at this point, I just like to think a version of them exists in each, it's just easier), but is made as a Tangled oc. Sorry if his bio’s a bit long, I just love him so much I couldn’t help it, heh. 

Medein is a musician who’s always traveling, never really satisfied just staying in one place for too long and with an ever-growing desire to see the rest of the world and all it has to offer, especially he has yet to even get out the Seven Kingdoms. He's originally from the Water Kingdom, called Atarah in my headcanon, and grew up surrounded by the arts (water represents creativity and life), which is one of the reasons for his passion for music. He was born without his left leg, and his current prosthetic was given to him as a favor by someone in the Industrial kingdom. Due to always traveling on foot on various types of terrain, it needs constant maintenance to make sure nothing’s caught in it and that it won’t break down (whenever he forgets, he has to use a crutch until he can work on it properly). His parentage is unknown since he never met his father and his mother didn't like to be tied down, abandoning Medein when he was six after she got sick of being “tied down” by motherhood. Despite this, everyone who meets him just knows he can't be 100% human after hearing him play music or sing. Rumors circulate that those of Atarah are descended from sirens and merfolk, having similar abilities, but rarely are there those as strong as his.

Whenever Medein sings or plays, many claim it’s the most beautiful thing they’ve ever heard, and he can make people feel what he tries to convey. On his travels, he's used his music to help others, making flowers and crops grow in barren land or soothing beasts/tyrants. Over the past two years he’s been traveling so far, having started at fourteen, he’s made many friends, joining various groups on quests or other nomads like himself before eventually going about his way again, unknowingly making a name for himself and becoming almost an urban legend in the process. When I first made the concept of him, he was going to end up one of Cassandra’s companions on her post-series journey, but then I heard of the Varian and the Seven Kingdoms AU, so now he’s in both. He ran into Varian and crew on the road, coming along for the ride but soon becoming curious about the Eternal Library and what it might hold. After all was said and done, he stuck around for a bit to rest and because he enjoyed Varian and Hugo’s (him not so much) company, before eventually moving on with promises to come back and keep in touch. It’s a couple months after that when he finds Cassandra.

Medein himself comes off as kind of naive but is far from it, having spent the first few years after his mother left fending for himself on the streets before being taken in by a friend of his father’s. Still, he remains sensitive and chooses to see the best in people regardless. He’s not one to hold grudges, loyal, and easy to trust. He’s also not someone easy to anger, calm and disliking confrontation. If you’ve managed to piss him off, it’s because you’re either so irritating not even he can stand you or you’ve gone one step too far. Despite his music being his only strength, it’s wise not to mess with him, because he might not be scary, but he has made friends with a lot of scary people. 

He’s aro-ace, which was a weird thing for him to accept for a while since he is a romantic and as a child, imagined what it would be like to be in love. Since, though, he’s come to understand there are other types of love and does eventually find a platonic soulmate in a future traveling companion. Instead, he puts that romantic energy into being a wingman and occasional moodsetter.

[upthehillask]

i’d love to hear your cursed child opinions!

Oh boy, well now you’ve unleashed me :D lol I don’t know if you’re interested more in what I loved or in what I’d critique, so I’ll go for both I guess? And you can read whichever you like :) But tbh you won’t hear anything new from me that you haven’t heard other fans talk about. Anyways, here are my thoughts on the actual play: [Spoiler alert I guess!]

Things I loved:

- THE MAGIC!!! The effects were EVERYTHING. The time warp, the telephone booth, the floo, the underwater, the dementors, the writings on the walls, and so much more… Really cool!!! And I loved the whole vibe and aesthetic of the play too, it felt authentic and fitting! THE SWISHY CLOAKS!! I want them!!

- The scenes I especially enjoyed were Harry’s nightmares, glimpses into his past and scenes from the books in general. I think they executed those quite well, made me really soft! Especially the scenes of little Harry in his cupboard and also him in the graveyard. Gripped my heart. Oh, I also loved that they finally showed Cedric in the end, he was so perfect!!

- Draco. Yes yes yes to dad Draco. Still bitchy, pretentious, and petty, trying so hard to play cool and tough, but a pained softie deep inside—we STAN. The relationship between him and his son I CRI EVRITIEM!!! Draco in the alternative timeline letting Scorpius do what he believes in, Draco in the real timeline hugging his son, I LIVE. And oh my god that scene where Draco walked in to Harry crying.. GOD. Yes emotions, yes vulnerability, yes bonding, yes yes yes. (Though I still can’t get over the ponytail. Would’ve been more than fine if Lucius hadn’t been portrayed with long hair lol)

- I loved Albus!! He’s a good Slytherin boy! That’s all I have to say. He’s a good friend and son who tries his best. I liked him a lot, more so now after watching the play. He really did remind me of Harry in a lot of ways. (Also, unpopular opinion, but I always loved Albus Severus’ name and I always will, fight me.)

- And just all the dad-son relationships, parenthood themes, friendship between the boys, related conflicts… Loved all of them. Touching, inspiring, couldn’t get enough!

- McGonagall was fcking ON POINT. Fcking QUEEN. Get it girl. Show em how to understand and respect children 👏👏👏

- I really loved Snape too! It was nice to finally see him being his self that only Dumbledore got to see in the books. I loved his demeanor too. I know actors change, but the one I saw portrayed Snape in a way that felt more canon. As much as I love Alan Rickman, he was a bit too graceful and sophisticated for canon Snape. In the play, however, Snape was kind of more rough, more rash, less pulled together in a way that he spoke and moved. It’s subtle but I lived for that. Also he was finally short. Yes.

- I feel like I have to mention Harry too. I actually quite liked him, so I’m gonna put him under this list as well. Yeah, that one scene where he threatened McGonagall into strict surveillance of his son is a bit much, errr 😅😅😅 But overall, I like the idea of him struggling as a father, making mistakes and learning from them. He’s a good egg.

- Ron and Hermione, my babies!! I had issues with Ron’s characterization, but I did mostly enjoy the portrayal of their relationship. I liked that their roles within the play were mostly to be together or to find their ways to each other. Since so many fans are against their ship, I was really excited to see them. And I just loved Hermione in general. They got her characterization almost on-point too, I think. I just love her 🥰

- In general, I enjoyed a lot of the dialogue. I liked all those strong, emotional one-liners that make you gasp. Harry saying things, Albus saying things, Scorpius, Draco, Ginny, others… There were good examples of lines they’d say that perfectly articulated everything that they embodied or felt or were dealing with. Well done there.

Okayyy I’m sure there’s more I could think of, definitely, but I’ll stop here since this is already a lot 😁

Things I questioned:

- So the one single biggest thing that I am the most critical of has to do with the plot itself, and it’s about Cedric turning into a Death Eater. I’m sorry but I just can’t. I could write a whole essay on how this makes no canonical sense (and I probably will if you ask me lmaoo), but to sum it up, Cedric eventually turning bitter and evil because he was publicly humiliated directly contradicts his canon character development. Cedric’s humility, kindness, and fairness are the core qualities around which Cedric’s personality was developed in the books. He almost explicitly places popularity, glory, and reputation second, and that’s critical, because if failure and humiliation were to affect him so drastically, his primary core values needed to be broken down and changed beforehand, but they never weren’t. So presenting the Triwizard incident as the turning point for him does not make any sense, and as a result the rest of the narrative falls apart. This is a plot hole and hasty writing.

- Yeah, Bellatrix having a child is still kinda weird 🙃🙃 I just hate that because in the books Bellatrix played the archetype of this anti-mother, the antithesis of motherhood and motherly love. I feel like having her voluntarily bring a child into this world destroys that symbolism. It makes me unsatisfied.

- I had some issues with the very beginning and the whole “montage” of events leading up to the fourth year. I found it overwhelming and disorienting, even though I’ve already read the script and knew what’s going on. Still, I felt like I was hit by a train, watching all the fast-paced scenes, cliché chaotic small talk going on, years going by… It felt messy for some reason. I feel like I need to watch it again in order to fully catch up and process everything I saw, and that’s not a good sign. But I didn’t hate it, I just wish we were more eased into the story.

- Scorpius. Now listen. When I read the script, Scorpius was my favorite character. I LOVED him, this awkward nerd who loves his dad and best friend with all his heart. The way I grew to imagine him was quite not how he was portrayed in the play. I know the dialogue and everything’s all the same, but idk, Scorpius in the play was way more hyper, bolder than I pictured, and worst of all, he was going out of his way to be this wannabe player. He seemed so all over the place, even acting a bit arrogant sometimes, celebrating moments of over-confidence, chasing after girls, trying to be everything BUT himself. But that honestly might just be my takeaway alone. There’s nothing actually wrong with his character, I just found myself slightly disappointed with him in the play specifically. I wish I could see the play again to actually analyze things more thoroughly to explain why I feel this way, but I can’t. I still like Scorpius, but a different version of him. (tho damn did I love those skinny pants on him lmao 👌👌)

- Moaning Myrtle. Like, I laughed, it was funny, but it just wasn’t very tasteful lol and I was left feeling a bit uncomfortable from the idea of this young murdered girl writhing and thirsting over literally everyone. The play really blew that out of proportion and idk it’s kinda awkward when I think about it 😅 And in general, there was just so much thirsting… with Rose, Polly Chapman, Delphi… Not to mention Albus kissing his AUNT… Like damn chill JK please 😂 Weird cliches and teenage hormones aren’t the only source of comedy okay?? 😂😂😂 Also, speaking of Myrtle, I kinda wish there was something mentioned about Draco having had been friends with her in sixth year. Idk it would’ve been nice to see that relationship somehow reminisced since we didn’t really get to see it :) 

- Craig Bowker Jr... If he was supposed to be a parallel to Cedric, both being the spare, why did he get literally zero attention?? We don’t really know who he is, we don’t see anyone hurting because of his death, he’s killed with such apathy. We don’t even see his parent grieving, like we saw Amos (who also happen to be an integral part to the plot of CC!). The whole parallel is so incomplete. Poor Craig and his unsymbolic death..

- Ok I am obviously elaborating way too much so let me just quickly summarize the rest of things I don’t actually hate but might wanna rant about: RON IS NOT A JOKSTER—GEORGE IS. RON IS A FIGHTER. HE IS ALSO HARRY’S BEST FRIEND, NOT HERMIONE, BUT HE WAS MADE USELESS AND UNNEEDED, WHICH IS HIS ACTUAL WORST FEAR, SO WHO THE FUCK DARED. ROSE IS MORE THAN A BITCHY ROMANTIC INTEREST AND A BAD FRIEND. WHERE THE HELL IS HUGO. GINNY’S EVEN COOLER THAN SHE WAS PORTRAYED, I PROMISE. THE SURPRISE SECOND TIME TURNER ERRRR LOUSY PLOT DEVICE I’M SORRY. LACKLUSTER PLOT IN GENERAL, THE ONLY ACTUAL TWIST IS DELPHI’S REVEAL—NOT ENOUGH, JKR KNOWS BETTER THAN THIS, THE BOOKS WERE FULL OF TWISTS AND TURNS (but that’s kinda okay with me because the relationships between characters in CC really made the whole story worth it).

Alright enough :’D I’m not actually upset, just exaggerating haha Because overall, I liked the play. I wanna see it again. And I wanna analyze it more, too. I’m so excited I finally got to watch it. It’s far from flawless, but I’m still happy with it overall and want to approach it positively! Sure, I’ll rant when it’s ranting time, but I do love it (:

[kingedmundsroyalmurder]

Brickclub: 3.1.10

God, I have so many weird feelings about Hugo’s love affair with his city in this chapter. It feels so weirdly colonialist to dismiss the entire world as being contained within Paris. But on the other hand, so many of his references are to the classical world, and there’s totally a Thing there about how modernity can meet and even surpass the classics. Paris, messy and noisy and crowded as it is, is still just as good as Rome or Athens, and can be just as great.

I think this is one of those times where hindsight does not treat Hugo and his era well. I know all the bad consequences of this kind of weird essentialism and elitism and positioning of a European city as being the Pinnacle of Human Achievement, but Hugo didn’t, necessarily. This feels like something you have to just let him have, like some of his weirdness about virginity or motherhood. Period-typical Victor Hugo, basically.

Theoretically, the actual point of this chapter is that universal education is the key to salvation, which is not a point I think any of us will dispute. This is certainly not the first time Hugo’s positioned education as the light that pierces through darkness, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. He’s unusually blatant about it here, even for him, but it’s not a new theme.

And we have to have the whole mini digression about how Paris is everything, so that we accept that the gamins are representative of all children everywhere. We focus on the gamins of Paris, but we mean all children, anywhere in the world. And Hugo has to then justify what is, honestly, kind of an arrogant statement, by explaining why, actually, they are appropriate symbols because Paris Contains Multitudes.

[akallabeth-joie]

Brickclub 5.5.4

Hugo does That Thing again, where he states that he won't do something and then does it. Add the weird motherhood-versus-maidenhood conflict (courtesy of Gillenormand's speechifying, and Hugo's & Gillenormand's treatment of Mademoiselle G), and it's like we're back in 5.1.10.

Which is just the beginning of why--despite the many positive developments, to wit, Cosette and Marius are reunited & engaged & have their families' support--I sort of hate this chapter.

*The whole 'carrying a book' thing reminded me of Father Mabeuf, which made me sad. It also (mostly) served to characterize Mademoiselle Gillenormand as superficial and not particularly learned, though I could see it as intending to set up a quick Chekhov's MacGuffin before the big 'Cosette's rich' reveal.

*Bringing up Courfeyrac (for the last time) made me sad, too. Also, how did Gillenormand know about him? Marius didn't meet Courf until after he broke with his grandfather, and didn't mention him on the one occassion in which they spoke after that. Aunt G had figured out Marius lived with Courfeyrac, but Gillenormand told her not to speak of Marius to him.

*Gillenormand's pontificating is still annoying. 

*I didn't like how Cosette's lines are all in a single paragraph of fairly short sentences. Pacing-wise, it felt dissmissive and infantilizing. Her lines all relate to Marius's injuries and her feelings/responses about that, but they're just sort set next to eachother, like she's unable to develop or correlate the things she wants to say. While this can convey excitement, also it reads to me as childish. And with no cues for pacing, nor input from her conversational partner, it also feels like she's taking at him, which dredges up a few hundred years of stereoptypes that 'women talk to much while having nothing worth saying'. And then we get her rebukes for Marius putting himself in danger and how much this harmed her, which is absolutely a big deal and something they need to discuss. However, the juxtaposion of 'you very nearly died, and needed invasive medical treatment'  with 'I worried about you, and also got a callus' also contributes to Cosette coming across as a child who doesn't or can't differentiate between different levels of seriousness (though, again, I could see this being an attempt at playfulness). Put together the tone and contents, and we've got a cutesy version of another long-standing female stereotype: The Scold. Interesting how Cosette-the-Ingenue never got this characterization, but Cosette-the-Fiancee suddenly turns into a childish (and therefore cute rather than annoying) stereotype of Wives-Be-Like-That. But then, 'women are foolish and unsuited to serious thought' is another very old steretype, and one that was contributing (in a more flowery form) to the contemporary Cult of Domesticity.

Honestly, I could use an undead Marquis de Condorcet showing up right about now and punching Hugo in the face.

[Pronoun watch: Gillenormand uses vous with JVJ, tu with Mademoiselle G, Marius, and initially Cosette (she gets a 'vous' when referred to as the future Baronness Pontmercy). Cosette uses 'vous' to Marius (with one 'tu' slipped in), prior to Gillenormand's encouragement that they speak familiarly.] 

[kingedmundsroyalmurder]

Brickclub: 1.5.11

“It is said that slavery has disappeared from European civilization. This is false. It still exists, but only women suffer this oppression now, and its name is prostitution." You know Hugo, your earlier chapters on the unfairness of prison labor would beg to differ on this point. I mean, I get what you’re saying and all, but from the vantage point of the 21st century the oppression of men and the oppression of women are both pretty much equally bad and should be minimized as much as possible.

But Hugo was not writing in the 21st century, he was writing in the 19th century, and they had different standards back then. And that matters, when it comes to this kind of thing. @pilferingapples has a good post about motherhood and gender roles at the time here, including the theory that women were actually more angel than human and that that’s why people should treat them well. Which is very, um, yeah, but it also helps clarify the level of unequal treatment that 19th century activist-types were up against. If the only way to get your society to treat half its members like people was to argue that that half was literally angels, then it’s a pretty clear sign that there’s some serious obstacles to be overcome. And so it makes sense that he would here be laying it on so very thick. He is trying to make his particular audience understand what a travesty it is that Fantine was forced into this position and, by extension, what a travesty it is that so many real, not at all fictional women were forced into the same circumstances.

There’s also some interesting things going on with the interplay of ‘wretchedness’ and ‘society.’ Society buys the slave from wretchedness, i.e. a woman is forced into prostitution. But it’s society that caused that wretchedness to begin with. And it’s weird to me that he doesn’t acknowledge that more explicitly. Fantine isn’t cold and hungry and isolated because of some fairy’s curse, or random twist of fate. She wasn’t born that way, she wasn’t always that way. She is wretched (miserables, as I’m sure you all figured the wording would be) because society has made her that way. Her situation is entirely the fault of society, who a)deemed her actions to be transgressions and b)condemned her for them. And Hugo is telling society that it should feel bad for exploiting her misery, but coming up short of pointing out that society is the sole cause of that misery.

And we see that more figuratively as she is being drowned by the rain and the ocean. The rain, which once baptized her, is now drowning her and, unlike the drowning man of 1.2.8, she doesn’t even try to fight it. Hugo calls it “a resignation that resembles indifference as death resembles sleep." Her resignation is not temporary. She is not going to suddenly start caring again. She, at this point, is so beaten down that she’s just done and she doesn’t care anymore. Let the rain that is society drown her; there’s nothing now that can make things worse.