#but I really hate his approach to mlle gillenormand

[dolphin1812]

Hugo’s treatment of Mlle Gillenormand is so frustrating, especially since he has so many other characters who aren’t in romantic and/or sexual relationships (starting with Jean Valjean!) that he approaches with sympathy. Mlle Gillenormand is reduced to a “prude,” with the comments about this seeming to be attempts at humor that fall flat because they’re mean-spirited. I especially hated the implication that this “prudery” made her “melancholy” because her life never “began” without a relationship. And it could easily have been so much better! Her father treats her exceptionally poorly (he treats her like a child), so that would be a great explanation for her “melancholy.” The way he isolates his household would inhibit her ability to form relationships of any kind, depriving her of support relating to her circumstances (being an unmarried woman and having wished to marry, but never getting the chance; this is in addition to her father’s harshness). 

Mlle Gillenormand’s depiction is part of a larger issue with Hugo’s representations of women. Although her sister is portrayed positively, it seems that she’s “good” because of her “ideal” romance, thus defining both her and her sister through their relationships with men. Hugo also parallels Mlle Gillenormand with Baptistine:

“ She kept house for her father. M. Gillenormand had his daughter near him, as we have seen that Monseigneur Bienvenu had his sister with him. These households comprised of an old man and an old spinster are not rare, and always have the touching aspect of two weaknesses leaning on each other for support.”

While this seems like a nice image, Baptistine wasn’t allowed independence from her brother in the narrative, with her concerns, along with Magloire’s (her brother’s safety while traveling, their safety if the doors are never locked, etc), dismissed by both Myriel and Hugo. And Myriel was kind to everyone, including his sister, so this kind of life with M Gillenormand must be so much worse. 

The child at the end of the chapter gives us a brief glimpse of what a more sensitive portrayal of Mlle Gillenormand could touch on. Like Cosette before, he’s “always trembling and mute,” his grandfather’s abuse making him fearful and withdrawn. Mlle Gillenormand would have shared this experience, having lived with him all her life. Although the signs of abuse are recognizable from Cosette, the dynamics are distinct because of the “idolization” in it. Cosette feared the Thénardiers, but she didn’t look up to them, either; she knew that the way they treated her was wrong, but was resigned to it because she saw no alternative. In return, the Thénardiers either ignored or despised her. Gillenormand “idolizes” his grandchild, which suggests some fondness, but not familial love that would recognize that his grandchild is a person.