#lm 4.8.2

[pilferingapples]

Strange to say, in the sort of symphony which Marius had lived since he had been in the habit of seeing Cosette, the past, even the most recent past, had become so confused and distant to him, that what Cosette told him satisfied him completely. It did not even occur to him to tell her about the nocturnal adventure in the hovel, about Thénardier, about the burn, and about the strange attitude and singular flight of her father. Marius had momentarily forgotten all this; in the evening he did not even know that there had been a morning, what he had done, where he had breakfasted, nor who had spoken to him

"Hmmm gotta make sure that some Crucial Information stays hidden from some characters, for the part. ....Good thing the character with the info is such a complete noodle he's just gonna forget he knows it, then!!!"

[cliozaur]

One more mention of cholera! I really miss the cholera digression in the Brick. Was it so hard to write one more digression? Marius and Cosette did not notice it, so we also should not notice it. Though it was such a big thing and claimed around 19,000 lives in six months. How preoccupied one should be not to notice it! And Hugo was obviously not interested. None of those several dozen inhabitants of Paris who operate in Les Mis died of it (Lamarque doesn’t count, he is not a character here) – it’s a miracle! I really want to know how Jean Valjean reacted to the news about the cholera epidemic. Did he stay home more than usually? Did he not worry about it at all? (In the next chapter, we'll find out that it did not affect his habit of going out to walk in the evening.)

Cosette and Marius continue learning new things about each other, and they find further similarities and differences in their life stories. Marius is trying to brag about his baron title, and Cosette reaction is just adorable: “this had produced no effect on Cosette. She did not know the meaning of the word. Marius was Marius.”

This chapter is not as easy-going as the previous one. “Loving almost takes the place of thinking,” alerts Hugo. It’s about Marius, who tries to brush aside memories about the Gorbeau house adventure, though he subconsciously understands that this is important, and they should have discussed it with Cosette. Instead, he suppresses this memory, preferring to remain in “a rosy cloud.” This will hit them quite painfully.

Cholera-related cartoon from 1832:

[dolphin1812]

They missed the cholera epidemic (1832 saw a terrifying pandemic of cholera across Europe, the first time the disease reached many cities there; it killed thousands in Paris). I understand that they’re in love, but how?

But they share their backgrounds! They can bond over their relationships with their parents!

Still, that they don’t talk about Gorbeau (because they also forgot) isn’t a good sign. It’s not an intentional oversight – Hugo says they’re just too absorbed in each other – but Marius has been left with a lot of confusion around Cosette’s father, and Cosette has no context at all for what happened. 

The language here is beautiful and very Romantic, with claims on how love is inherently illogical and must be a form of passion. I personally don’t have a lot to say on it specifically – I’m not much for lower-case-r romance – but it seems like Hugo used his poetic background?

[pureanonofficial]

LES MIS LETTERS IN ADAPTATION - The Bewilderment of Perfect Happiness, LM 4.8.2 (Shoujo Cosette)

They were two, and they adored each other, and beyond that there was nothing. Nothing else existed. It is probable that this vanishing of hell in our rear is inherent to the arrival of paradise. Have we beheld demons? Are there any? Have we trembled? Have we suffered? We no longer know. A rosy cloud hangs over it.

[everyonewasabird]

Brickclub 4.8.2 ‘The stupefaction of complete happiness’

It’s always kind of funny to me how we breeze right over the cholera epidemic. Cholera killed almost 20,000 people in Paris during the 6-month period we’re currently in! There was mass panic! People were being torn apart by mobs in the streets for allegedly poisoning the water supply!

But we don’t see it because it’s not relevant to Marius’s journey.

(Of course, it is though. It’s a lot of what provokes the June Rebellion.)

Last chapter we saw love as charming and sweet and delightful. This chapter Hugo paints a picture of how this intoxication has taken up the whole of their lives and attention, to the detriment of everything else. He thinks it’s right that love should do that, but also: they are mortals living in a world where there are other people and where events happen, and they’re forgetting that at their peril. Hugo pokes fun at Marius, who’s entirely forgotten the Gorbeau incident even happened. And the book hasn’t forgotten, even if they have, that other people are suffering.

They were two, they adored each other, there was nothing but that. Everything else was not. It is probable that this oblivion of the hell behind us is a part of arrival at paradise. Have we seen demons? are there any? have we trembled? have we suffered? We know nothing now about that. A rosy cloud rests upon it all.

This chapter is closer to Marius’s point of view than Cosette’s, and that makes sense. Hugo doesn’t say explicitly but I think it’s pretty clear: it’s not just the intoxication of love we’re seeing. This blinding, glowing cloud he’s in is the same fog of profound depression he was in before, only there’s currently a sunbeam on it. He’s ignoring the world out of love--but he was ignoring the world before out of depression. Now he’s trying to pretend the rest of his life is just a nightmare he’s woken up from.

There was no point in between these two states where he was able to take stock of practicalities or gain any ability to cope constructively. He’s kind of just fleeing blindly from a bad-feeling fog to a good-feeling fog and hoping the latter is permanent. And that’s not a great way of acquiring the resources to deal with difficulty, as we’ll see.

[pilferingapples]

LesMis365

A wild post appears! 4.8.1-4.8.3

-Augh, romance. AAAUGH. Y’all know me, you can all guess how super much this section is not my favorite. 

Donougher really does some of her best translation work with it though! Her approach cuts through some of the sap and what occasionally feels like pretension in this section.

And I really like how she translates Bahorel’s line here (whooo Bahorel gets a line!) “Inside every seminarian there’s a firecracker.”  Which--

--Which,actually Bahorel might be showing a better understanding of Marius there than I’d have guessed.  Marius IS  Hidden Explosives, that’s really his basic nature. I. Damn. Yeah. Okay, wow. Hugo WARNED us. Bahorel Figures Shit Out.  Mine and my own various translations’ fault for me not getting that before. 

pfft poor Courfeyrac though, worrying about his wayward roomie. Also, slightly cracking up at the claim that Probably Jean “ONLY FLAMES WILL SETTLE THIS DEBATE I HAVE ALREADY WON” Courfeyrac is not prone to any uncommon passions.  The unfunny side to all this is of course that Marius’ friends are assuming--non-maliciously, but based on being people who exist in the world and have a modicum of social understanding--that Marius is having an affair. Which is to say, they’re assuming Sex Is Happening. They aren’t being judgey, beyond thinking he’s a drama llama about it all (he is) because they are not actually horrible people. But Horrible People would ALSO assume that’s what going on. All Marius and Cosette’s chastity wouldn’t matter one bit in the eyes of a Madame Victurnien type who noticed their hours. Marius and Cosette are running a more dangerous path than they seem to know, though really only Cosette would suffer for it, as we’ve seen before. 

4.8.4, 4.8.5

AUGH EPONINE.  @robertawickham  mentioned that later, when Javert sees Eponine at the barricade, he mentions that he thinks he knows that girl; it hadn’t struck me before how much that’s being set up here. Eponine tells the Patron-Minette not to rob the house, there’s a cab,  a dog; when they refuse to go, she tells them SHE’S the cab.  The daughter of the wolf, choosing to be a dog, turning on her packmates. She has much more reason and much more focus in her turnabout than Javert ever does, but  it’s still definitely what she’s doing. 

Also, I’d forgotten that Montparnasse volunteers to be the one to do Eponine violence if she makes trouble, when the gang is holding its little meeting. Eponine has no friends here, none at all. She has nothing, not even any expectation of survival, here or later. She’s already marked herself dead. 

Warning for talk of suicidal ideation  and Marius being super discomforting to this reader under the cut. 

4.8.6, 4.8.7

Why do we never remember Cosette has a birthmark on her neck? She does, and Marius is creepy possessive of it.  Marius’ whole creepy possessive THING here is...ew. This is definitely part of the book where I feel like I’d like a character better just watching him and not having Hugo share his inner thoughts. Marius has “total possession” of Cosette, she “belongs to him”. Ew. Ew and ew and ew.  Like, this isn’t even just Period Standard sexism, Hugo has some Specifically Hugo Ew happening here.  Of course it also has Marius stand for HOURS with his head smacked into a tree. ACTION HERO PONTMERCYYYY!

Also it strikes me here that  Courfeyrac would probably pay for Marius to go to England Probably the whole darn crew would. They’re all a bunch of Romantics at heart, go hit up your friends for a loan,Marius! It’s not like they’re going to need money much longer I mean whoops.   But of course that doesn’t occur to him. He can’t do something rude and imposing and vulgar like ask for money! He is gonna be independent and kill himself! LIKE AN ADULT.  

I kid, but I am whistling past the graveyard here; what all this says about Marius’ emotional state is horrifying. I mean, Marius and Cosette have several options here, with various levels of likelihood of success: 

- Talk directly to Valjean. Understandably not a favorite choice, but he loves Cosette and wants her to be happy; he would very likely listen.  - Talk to Marius’ friends, who are, seriously and for real , Marius, ACTUALLY GOOD FRIENDS. They’d help if they can! If all the problem is money, they can help!  If the problem is lack of clear thinking because Marius is freaking All The Way Out, they can also help! LET YOUR FRIENDS HELP, MARIUS. 

- Talk to Gillenormand, who...exists. NGL I understand the reluctance there. Gillenormand is super awful. 

And Marius pulls an Olympic longjump over ALL THESE OPTIONS to land on “DEATH”. COSETTE OR DEATH. And he tells her that.   Cosette is sixteen and her sweetheart is telling her if she leaves him he’ll kill himself. Cosette, baby. Let me hold you and give you tea and talk to you about emotional manipulation. 

(Not that I think Marius is doing this consciously. But controlling behavior is controlling behavior, he doesn’t have  to be stroking a white cat on his villainous skull throne for this to be a big danger sign for both of them. Kids. KIDS. YOU TWO NEED AN ADULT.) There’s a bit in this chapter I think deserves more attention: Cosette’s lament that Marius, and men, in general, can come and go as they please. She, of course, can’t. The respectability that lets her be Marius’ potential wife also makes her effectively a prisoner in her home. Her dismay about it here shows that this isn’t something she’s just blithely accepting; she knows it, and she feels it limiting her. But it’s a real and pressing social fact in her life, and she apparently kiiiinda hates it. 

4.8.7 

Surprise! Gillenormand’s awful.   KIDS 

YOU TWO NEED A BETTER ADULT.

For an audio track of my commentary on this chapter, record a cat yowling at strange dogs, and then play it back.