#lm 2.3.3

[cliozaur]

One aspect of poverty that Hugo continuously emphasizes is the premature ageing of girls and women. This time, Cosette is described as having “the lugubrious air of an old woman.” It's truly heart-wrenching! Additionally, she bears a swollen black eye (from Mme Thénardier’s beating) when she meets Jean Valjean in the evening.

She is extremely anxious at the prospect of being sent into the darkness of the forest to fetch water: “she felt her heart leaping in her bosom like a big snowflake”—the metaphor is beautiful, but the situation is horrific. Cosette's ability to lie surfaces naturally because it's her only means of self-protection. In this, she is just like Jean Valjean. Les Misérables serves as a hymn to justified lying for those who lack other means to protect themselves, and sometimes, even survive.

[the-wraxall-illustrations]

[pureanonofficial]

LES MIS LETTERS IN ADAPTATION - Men Must Have Wine, and Horses Must Have Water, LM 2.3.3 (Les Miserables 1925)

All at once one of the pedlers who lodged in the hostelry entered, and said in a harsh voice:—

“My horse has not been watered.”

“Yes, it has,” said Madame Thénardier.

“I tell you that it has not,” retorted the pedler.

Cosette had emerged from under the table.

“Oh, yes, sir!” said she, “the horse has had a drink; he drank out of a bucket, a whole bucketful, and it was I who took the water to him, and I spoke to him.”

It was not true; Cosette lied.

[dolphin1812]

Cosette chapters are always distressing, partly because Hugo writes them well (aside from the Thénardiers). He continues with the idea that Cosette is less than an animal, with drinkers saying things like, “One must needs be a cat to go about the streets without a lantern at this hour!” Instead of a cat, we see that Cosette, a human child, is the one sent out. Additionally, when arguing with a customer over his horse, Mme Thénardier refers to it as a “beast,” but Cosette is the “other beast,” also not given the status of a person. If anything, she’s below the horse, as she’s expected to take the risk of going out into the night and carrying a bucket bigger than she is just to make sure that the horse has water (which is important to the horse’s life, of course, and it’s nice to see a horse be cared for in a novel otherwise filled with horse death, but given that it’s so dark and that it’s a cold winter night, going outside is extremely dangerous to Cosette, a young child who’s probably malnourished and doesn’t have proper clothes). Cosette’s even addressed as “Mademoiselle Dog-lack-name,” further emphasizing her ties to animals over humans and how even within the group of animals, she’s seen as the lowest of them, not worthy of even a name. She’s then called “Mam’selle Toad,” an animal that’s typically looked down on. This dehumanization is horrific, made worse by the fact that she’s so young. However, it’s also very effective in establishing sympathy for Cosette, who we otherwise don’t really see. We haven’t spent that much time with her relative to the other characters (or relative to Napoleon), but we need to care about her, and getting this view of how cruel others are to her - as well as glimpses of her thoughts, which are not at all what a child should be worrying about - makes it very easy to feel pity for her.

Cosette’s thoughts also indicate how frequent these kinds of events are. Hugo says suffering has made her like an “old woman,” and while he’s referring to her appearance and demeanor, it’s evident from what she focuses on as well. Given that she’s eight, we’d expect that she’d think about playing. Instead, her mental energy is dedicated to calculating the amount of water present in the inn. It’s true that aspects of her approach are still child-like. Her anxiety, for instance, and her lies aren’t surprising coming from a child (although they wouldn’t necessarily be shocking from an adult, either). Still, the extent to which this abuse has stolen her childhood is clear. She’s stressed the full night (in addition to being busy, as she’s working even as she worries) over something that even the adults present are barely paying attention to, thinking only about the work she’s expected to do instead of things that might make her happy. 

[everyonewasabird]

Brickclub 2.3.3 ‘Men must have wine and horses water’

I didn’t realize Cosette had a huge, swollen black eye the day she met Valjean.

Madame Thenardier punched her in the face and has since been complaining about how ugly it made her. It sure is a metaphor for how society treats the miserables (harm them, neglect them, then complain that they look harmed and neglected), but it’s also just horrible.

And now we’re back in proper story mode, sitting beside a character who desperately wants something. It’s night, and the inn is out of water. Cosette knows it, and she’s terrified she’ll have to go out into the woods and fetch some.

There's building suspense, with a false alarm as Madame Thenardier notices the lack of water but decides to do nothing. The inn doesn’t use much water--no one there drinks it, which reminds me of Marius who only ever drank water in restaurants.

The stakes rise:

Now and again one of the drinkers would look out at the street and exclaim: “It’s as black as an oven!” Or, “You’d have to be a cat to be out on the street tonight without a lantern!” And Cosette would shudder.

The “black as an oven” reminds me of fairy tales and witches being pushed into ovens. The cat reference brings up all the text’s cats. Cosette at this juncture is more of a mouse.

A man says his horse hasn’t been watered, and Cosette lies immediately. I appreciate that Hugo lets her have that small level of moral ambiguity: she doesn’t hesitate, she isn’t pushed to it by extraordinary circumstances or by any feeling except fear. It’s very straightforward--of course a kid in her situation would learn to lie a lot.

(Or be Javert. But he’s kind of his own thing.)

She’s found out immediately. The thing she fears befalls her, and there’s no way out.

There’s an interesting moment where she pauses at the open inn door:

Then she stood rooted to the spot, bucket in hand, the open door in front of her. She seemed to be waiting for someone to come to her rescue.

I can’t imagine her expecting an actual rescuer--it’s not as if anyone ever has come to her aid, though the whole town must see her situation.

In the broader scope of the novel, Hugo may be raising that idea to the adult reader: anyone there could have stepped in. Even if they couldn’t or wouldn’t do anything for her in the long run, they could have thought to themselves, “That bucket is gigantic, and the woods are freezing and dark. It’s a fifteen minute walk, and I’m an actual adult with a coat and shoes. I’ll do it tonight.” All it would really take is paying attention. But of course, nobody does.

I suspect Cosette herself is imagining a more prosaic notion of rescue: She lives under the arbitrary whims of far more powerful people, and she must be used to those whims changing. Someone new comes into the inn, and suddenly Cosette’s orders aren’t unpleasant task A, they’re unpleasant task B instead. Dragging her feet before an unusually unpleasant task is a sensible tactic that probably pays off sometimes.

But not this time.

[fremedon]

Brickclub 2.3.2, “Two Finished Portraits,” 2.3.3, “Men Must Have Wine and Horses Must Have Water,” and 2.3.4, “A Doll Makes Its Appearance”

2.3.2

The passage about Thenardier’s aggrieved grudge against the world is such a good description of such a specific and familiar type of spite.

Other than that, two things really jumped out at me about the descriptions of the Thenardiers and Cosette in this chapter:

1.) Thenardier owes 1500 francs to creditors.

In spring of 1818 when Fantine leaves Cosette--and when the inn has been there for less than three year--her money settles a debt of 110 francs that was about to come due.

HOWMST. Has he run up more than ten times that debt in five years?! What is he spending money on? They don’t even keep a servant except Cosette. (Because Thenardier sexually harasses adult--or, I imagine, teenaged--servants, so Mme. Thenardier just doesn’t hire them.)

Hugo straight up calls Cosette’s situation in the household “a paradigm of oppression,” compares the house to a spider’s web and says Cosette is like a fly being the servant of spiders.

So, a.) Spiders = fatalité, and b.) what does that make Cosette, preying on flies herself with her little lead sword?

2.) We get a lot of small images or lines that call out parallels to other characters. Thenardier is a crack shot and a poacher, like Valjean. Cosette is being crushed in a mill, also like Valjean.

For Mme. Thenardier, the first description of her unthinking acceptance of her husband’s authority, and her obedience to it, brought to mind Javert.

And then we get this:

“This bustling mountain of flesh moved under the little finger of the frail despot. It was, viewed from its dwarfed and grotesque side, the great universal fact: the homage of matter to spirit; for some deformities have their origin in the very depths of eternal beauty.”

Which feels like the dark mirror of the toad loving to watch the eagle soar. And like a weird prefigurement of the parallels we’re about to start getting between young Cosette and Grantaire.

(I know. Bear with me.)

2.3.3

Cosette’s first words in the book are a bold and obvious lie. When this doesn’t work, her next action is to pause in the doorway of the inn: “She seemed to be waiting for someone to come to her rescue.” Cosette has learned the habits that work for her—and I’m sure dawdling and hoping that a more pressing task often does work for her. This time, nothing intervenes immediately—but someone is, even now, coming to her rescue.

Fursona watch: Mme. Thenardier calls Cosette a dog and a toad, both very resonant images in this moment. The toad, of course, is the only (I think?) animal comparison Grantaire gets. And dogs are always significant.

2.3.4

The juxtaposition between the lit candles glowing magically around the doll and the starless sky recalls Grantaire’s “Who’s been unhooking the stars…” in “Preliminary Gaieties.” And, as @everyonewasabird points out here, Cosette’s veneration of Catherine, and her painful awareness of the gulf between them, really does call to mind Grantaire’s veneration of Enjolras.

It also calls to mind, even more strongly, Valjean’s watching the townspeople of Digne through the windows of the inn and the peasant’s hut--and watching Cosette’s wedding through the windows, after he slips out.

Cosette gets Catherine. She gets to come inside. Valjean brings her there, but can’t or won’t follow.

And I really am thinking now about the Thenardiers as upside-down mirrors of other relationships in the book. @secretmellowblog made a good case on discord for their being pre-Seine Valvert. I feel like there’s also an inversion of E/R there--opposites attracting, but making something worse than the sum of their parts; not the grotesque joining the ideal to make a sublime, but joining a more abstract grotesque to make--well. A paradigm of oppression. Fatalité incarnate.

[meta-squash]

Brick Club 2.3.3 “Men Must Have Wine And Horses Water”

Cosette “broods like an old woman”; I’m not exactly sure what that would mean for Hugo’s time, but I assume she’s absolutely exhausted all the time and is forever preoccupied with the worry of what has to get done and with the things she’s suffered.

Cosette and Fantine are both “old women” at a young age, while Mme Thenardier is only a decade older than her real age.

Cosette has a black eye here, which means what Valjean sees when he enters the scene isn’t just a tiny, sad girl, but a tiny, sad, battered girl. No wonder he’s so protective of her. Through Cosette we see the conditions prisoner-Valjean endured: beatings, forced labor, exhaustion, ridicule, hate, spite, etc. We only got a quick summary of Valjean’s prison experience back in 1.2.6, and we don’t really get it at all in 2.2.3. But here we see it in the parallel of Cosette’s misery.

Hugo draws the Thenardiers so blatantly evil. Mme Thenardier isn’t just use Cosette when she’s convenient; she wants to send Cosette out into the dark to get water to torture her and make her scared, and she’s disappointed when there’s enough water.

Cosette lies to try and keep from going outside. This whole book, especially Myriel and Valjean himself, has this sort of undercurrent of “lying is cool, especially against authority figures.” This is also a lie of desperation, and I feel like it’s similar to Myriel’s lie to the gendarmes. Myriel lied to keep Valjean out of the darkness of prison; Cosette is lying to keep out of the darkness of outside and her fear. And here’s the thing: Valjean did step momentarily into the darkness when he stole Myriel’s silver, and Myriel rescued him from it. Cosette is going to be forced to step out into the darkness to fetch water, but Valjean is going to save her from it.

The whole interaction with the peddler is an example of how callous all the adults around Cosette are. No one is looking at this tiny little girl, who is clearly hurt and tired and scared, and feeling sorry for her having to slave away. No one cares about her misery.

FMA translates Thenardier’s taunt as “Little Miss Nameless” and Hapgood says “Mademoiselle Dog-lack-a-name.” The Hapgood one hits harder: Cosette already eats under the table with the dog, and now she doesn’t even have a name. There’s the bit in the musical during the Waltz Of Treachery where Thenardier calls Cosette “Colette” and she corrects him and it’s played as a comedic moment. But the reality is they probably call her insults more than her own name. Again this is about the musical, but when Valjean meets her in the show, she tells him “I’m called Cosette,” like she doesn’t have a connection with her name, but later on she tells Marius “I’m Cosette,” because she has escaped that life and identifies with herself.

Cosette carrying a bucket that’s almost bigger than her, is this another parallel to Valjean’s superhuman strength? She’s able to drag this massive bucket of water, though with difficulty, the way that Valjean is able to lift the cart. But unlike Valjean, her physical strength disappears when she leaves the Thenardiers. (If she hadn’t left, would she have become brutishly strong like Mme Thenardier?)

The Thenardier’s hatred and abuse of Cosette is integrated into their lives so completely. Mme Thenardier is just mumbling about stuff that has to get done and tossing insults at Cosette into the middle of her own little internal monologue.

I imagine Cosette isn’t actually hoping for a rescuer. She seems too cynical at this point; she knows no one will come help her, that’s why she lied to the peddler in the first place. It seems more to me like an abstract wish, the same way you might wish the floor to open up when something embarrassing happens. It’s not going to happen, but you wish it anyway. Except that we have Valjean as the Benevolent Stranger who is about to arrive.

Part of Valjean’s existence that I think is tied in with the concealment of his true identity is that he is literally always in the role of Benevolent Stranger. Could any of the citizens of M-sur-M profess to knowing him or knowing much about him? No, but he did the town a ton of good. And he will go on being the Benevolent Stranger, to Cosette, to the convent, to the poor as Fauchelevent, to the barricade, to Marius. This is something he succeeds in that Myriel does not: Myriel’s benevolence (and his ability to be so) is attached to his name. Valjean’s is not.

[gpllife]

GPL Plugins Themes downloads updated at ♥ GPL.life ♥

GPL.life Promoting a new or updated Wordpress Premium GPL Plugin or Premium Wordpress GPL Themes https://gpl.life/gpl-club-updates-2017-03-31

GPL Club Updates 2017-03-31

Your GPL Club Plugins Updated

Greetings GPL Club Members,

MANY updates over this last week. Please remember to take backups before upgrading any plugins or themes. Many of these updates are for the upcoming WooCommerce 3.0. And within their changelogs they will detail any new requirements for that update. Backup! Please see the listing below.

Did you Join our Google email feed? A must do if you want to be notified about new updates and added premium GPLplugins and extensions. Go Here to Subscribe to our Updates via FeedBurner. Quick and Easy sign-up.

Active Members, 1st login to your account area to find your direct premium WordPress download links. Link: ‘Click-2-Goto My Account Login Page’ area.

Your WordPress Premium Themes Plugins Downloads:

♥ Our Discounted Bundles – Saves You More Money! ♥

Advanced Custom Fields ACF and Addons Bundled – Updated 2017-03-31 Gravity Forms and Developers Addons Package 2017-03-31 Soflyy WP All Import Export Pro Bundled Plugin And Add-Ons Updated 2017-03-31 WooCommerce (49) Payment Methods 2017-03-31 WooCommerce (13) Shipping Methods 2017-03-31 WooThemes Sensi Plugin and Extensions Updated 2017-03-31 YITH WooCommerce Pro (87) Plugin Bundle 2017-03-31

ACF ► Advanced Custom Fields Developer Plugins

Advanced Custom Fields ACF Pro – Version 5.5.11

WooThemes ► Sensei WordPress Theme and Extensions

WooThemes Sensei LMS Learning Management a WordPress Premium Plugin – Version 1.9.13

Soflyy ► WP All Import Database Premium Plugins

WP All Export Pro 1.4.5

Rocket Genius ► Gravity Forms Plugin + Developer Addons

Gravity Forms (The Core Plugin) – Version 2.2.1 Gravity Forms Authorize.Net Add-On – Version 2.3.3 Gravity Forms AWeber Add-On – Version 2.4.1 Gravity Forms Campaign Monitor Add-On – Version 3.4.3 Gravity Forms Campfire – Version 1.1.3 Gravity Forms Capsule CRM – Version 1.1.4 Gravity Forms FreshBooks Add-On – Version 2.4.0 Gravity Forms Highrise – Version 1.1.3 Gravity Forms Polls Add-On – Version 3.1.1 Gravity Forms Quiz Add-On – Version 3.1.3 Gravity Forms Slack Add-On – Version 1.6.1

WooThemes ► WooCommerce Premium Extensions

WooCommerce Admin Custom Order Fields – Version 1.8.0 WooCommerce Authorize.net AIM Gateway – Version 3.11.0 WooCommerce Authorize.net CIM Gateway – Version 2.6.0 WooCommerce Authorize.net Reporting – Version 1.6.0 WooCommerce Beanstream 1.11.0 WooCommerce Bulk Variation Forms – Version 1.5.1 WooCommerce Cart Notices – Version 1.7.0 WooCommerce Checkout Add-Ons – Version 1.10.0 WooCommerce Constant Contact Integration – Version 1.8.0 WooCommerce Cost of Goods – Version 2.3.0 WooCommerce Customer Order Coupon CSV Import Suite – Version 3.3.0 WooCommerce Customer Order CSV Export – Version 4.2.0 WooCommerce Customer Order XML Export Suite – Version 2.1.0 WooCommerce Dwolla Gateway – Version 1.7.0 WooCommerce Dynamic Pricing – Version 3.0.0 WooCommerce Elavon Converge VM Payment Gateway – Version 2.1.0 WooCommerce First Data Gateway – Version 4.2.0 WooCommerce FreshBooks – Version 3.10.0 WooCommerce Google Analytics Pro 1.2.0 WooCommerce Google Product Feed – Version 7.0.6 WooCommerce Gravity Forms Product Add-Ons – Version 3.1.5 WooCommerce Intuit QBMS Gateway – Version 2.0.0 WooCommerce Kissmetrics 1.9.0 WooCommerce Klarna 2.3.2 WooCommerce Local Pickup Plus – Version 1.14.0 WooCommerce Measurement Price Calculator – Version 3.11.0 WooCommerce Memberships – Version 1.8.0 WooCommerce Minimum Advertised Price – Version 1.8.0 WooCommerce Mixpanel – Version 1.10.0 WooCommerce Mollie 2.11.0 WooCommerce Moneris Gateway – Version 2.7.0 WooCommerce Nested Category Layout – Version 1.10.0 WooCommerce Newsletter Subscription – Version 2.3.6 WooCommerce Ogone 1.9.0 WooCommerce Order Status Control – Version 1.8.0 WooCommerce Order Status Manager – Version 1.7.0 WooCommerce Paytrail 2.2.0 WooCommerce PDF Invoices – Version 3.4.2 WooCommerce PDF Product Vouchers – Version 3.0.0 WooCommerce Pin Payments 1.7.3 WooCommerce Postcode Address Validation – Version 2.1.0 WooCommerce Print Invoice Packing List PIP – Version 3.2.0 WooCommerce Product Documents – Version 1.7.0 WooCommerce Product Retailers – Version 1.9.0 WooCommerce Product Reviews Pro – Version 1.7.0 WooCommerce Sage USA 1.1.0 WooCommerce Sequential Order Numbers Pro – Version 1.11.0 WooCommerce Shipwire Integration – Version 2.2.0 WooCommerce Skrill 1.7.0 WooCommerce Social Login – Version 2.1.0 WooCommerce Stamps.com Export XML Suite 2.6.0 WooCommerce Tab Manager – Version 1.8.0 WooCommerce Twilio SMS Notifications – Version 1.9.0 WooCommerce URL Coupons – Version 2.5.0 WooCommerce USA Epay 1.8.0 WooCommerce WePay 1.6.0

YITH YIThemes ► Premium WooCommerce Plugins

YITH WooCommerce Account Funds Premium 1.0.16 YITH WooCommerce Barcodes and QR Codes Premium 1.0.11 YITH WooCommerce Booking Premium 1.0.9 YITH WooCommerce EU Energy Label Premium 1.1.0 YITH WooCommerce Gift Cards Premium 1.6.0 YITH WooCommerce Multi Vendor Premium 1.13.1 YITH WooCommerce PDF Invoice and Shipping List Premium 1.4.9 YITH WooCommerce Recovered Abandoned Cart Premium 1.1.0 YITH Woocommerce Request A Quote Premium 1.7.2 YITH WooCommerce Review for Discounts Premium 1.1.5 YITH WooCommerce Zoom Magnifier Premium 1.2.21

► Past GPL Update Newsletters ► See our Frequently Asked Questions ► Gain access to ALL Premium WordPress Downloads – Compare Prices Here

Active Members Login to Fetch Your Downloads

Not Yet Active? Have A Look At Your Download Options

[marketnewsandtrends-blog]

Global E-learning Software Market 2018 – Industry Trend, Research, Insights and Forecast 2025

10-dec-2018 In 2017, the global E-learning Software market size was million US$ and it is expected to reach million US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of during 2018-2025. This report focuses on the global E-learning Software status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players. The study objectives are to present the E-learning Software development in United States, Europe and China. The key players covered in this study • IBM • SAP • Net Dimensions • Citrix • Upside learning • Litmos • iSpring Solutions • Versal • Docebo • Absorb • Traineaze • Mindflash Technologies • SkyPrep • Accord LMS • Adobe • Configio Market segment by Type, the product can be split into • Mobile Content Authoring • E-books • Portable LMS • Mobile and Video-based Courseware • Interactive Assessments • Content Development • M-Enablement Request a Sample Copy of This Report: https://www.radiantinsights.com/research/global-e-learning-software-market-size-status-and-forecast-2018-2025/request-sample Market segment by Application, split into • BFSI • Healthcare • Government • Professional Services • Telecom and IT • Other Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report covers • United States • Europe • China • Japan • Southeast Asia • India • Central & South America The study objectives of this report are: • To analyze global E-learning Software status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players. • To present the E-learning Software development in United States, Europe and China. • To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their development plan and strategies. • To define, describe and forecast the market by product type, market and key regions. In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of E-learning Software are as follows: • History Year: 2013-2017 • Base Year: 2017 • Estimated Year: 2018 • Forecast Year 2018 to Table of Contents 1 Report Overview 1.1 Study Scope 1.2 Key Market Segments 1.3 Players Covered 1.4 Market Analysis by Type 1.4.1 Global E-learning Software Market Size Growth Rate by Type (2013-2025) 1.4.2 Mobile Content Authoring 1.4.3 E-books 1.4.4 Portable LMS 1.4.5 Mobile and Video-based Courseware 1.4.6 Interactive Assessments 1.4.7 Content Development 1.4.8 M-Enablement 1.5 Market by Application 1.5.1 Global E-learning Software Market Share by Application (2013-2025) 1.5.2 BFSI 1.5.3 Healthcare 1.5.4 Government 1.5.5 Professional Services 1.5.6 Telecom and IT 1.5.7 Other 1.6 Study Objectives 1.7 Years Considered 2 Global Growth Trends 2.1 E-learning Software Market Size 2.2 E-learning Software Growth Trends by Regions 2.2.1 E-learning Software Market Size by Regions (2013-2025) 2.2.2 E-learning Software Market Share by Regions (2013-2018) 2.3 Industry Trends 2.3.1 Market Top Trends 2.3.2 Market Drivers 2.3.3 Market Opportunities Browse Full Research Report With TOC: https://www.radiantinsights.com/research/global-e-learning-software-market-size-status-and-forecast-2018-2025 3 Market Share by Key Players 3.1 E-learning Software Market Size by Manufacturers 3.1.1 Global E-learning Software Revenue by Manufacturers (2013-2018) 3.1.2 Global E-learning Software Revenue Market Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018) 3.1.3 Global E-learning Software Market Concentration Ratio (CR5 and HHI) 3.2 E-learning Software Key Players Head office and Area Served 3.3 Key Players E-learning Software Product/Solution/Service 3.4 Date of Enter into E-learning Software Market 3.5 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion Plans For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.

[pilferingapples]

Les Mis 365 2.3.3-2.3.5 retroblogging

Okay, gonna try to get through this! Under the cut for SO MUCH ABUSE MENTION.

2.3.3

- Mme. T  blacks Cosette's eye and then complains about how ugly it looks, and wow, that's...that's one of those things I wish I could say was OTT or pushing the point but that is EXACTLY how abuse works, on a private and an institutional scale; dehumanize the victim and then blame them for the problems they've had forced on them. Fantine's a Fallen Woman and Valjean is a Dangerous Man and a fraud and Cosette sure is ugly with that bruise.

- Oh gad, I'd forgotten/blacked out that Cosette is "Miss Nameless Dog" .   I remember Eponine's speech later, of course, but I'd forgotten the children-of-a-dog thing with the Thenardiers starts HERE.

- (and names are such a big deal in LM,  SUCH a big deal- who names who and how, all words are Words of Power but names especially'; so long as the Thenardiers have naming rights to Cosette, they control her world, they can tell her who she is, they can tell EVERYONE who she is, and this is what they choose to  call her: not even a name, only an animal)

-and here's the pedlar to prove Mme. T's  power, backing her up completely, looking at the starving beaten  EIGHT YEAR OLD CHILD and insulting her and demanding she work harder and EVERYTHING IS HORRIBLE WHY

2.3.4

-And in case anyone questioned that EVERYTHING is horrible, THE SCHOOLMASTER IS AT THE INN. The one Thenardier is friendly with, the one from the Boulatrelle chapter, The guy who, again, is IN CHARGE OF TEACHING CHILDREN. Is at the inn. For ALL OF THE ABOVE. He's not just sort of aware Thenardier has an extra kid at home, he sees exactly how she's being treated.

And his main thought is that the shop stalls SURE ARE PRETTY with all their Christmas lighting.

And what's REALLY messed up about this is that he might be a very excellent schoolmaster in many ways. He might be very kind and mild to his students, or even protective, even loving, as Mme T is to her own daughters. But he's not seeing Cosette as a child, he's drawing that line for who he's going to care about, and he's unavoidably also going to bring that to his students one way or the other, and WHY IS THIS TOWN LIKE THIS.

2.3.5

- And here Cosette is the werewolf child, the Uncanny creature-- at least according to a woman who actually stops, who's concerned for a child-- until she realizes that child is Cosette, who doesn't Count. This, THIS is what the Bishop was talking about when he said " Prejudices are the real robbers". THIS is what prejudice takes, it robs people of sympathy and humanity in the eyes of others, and whatever the reason that's never a good thing and it's ESPECIALLY INCREDIBLY NOT OKAY WHEN IT'S A KID, but this whole horrible town seems set on making Cosette  their scapegoat. And again, I wish I could find this unrealistic.

-Cosette is an atom against the immensity of the forest. Her fear here is so realistic, so incredibly appropriate for her age.

-and Hugo is such a  city boy, and it's sort of hilarious. OH NO TREES! I can sympathize with Cosette being scared of the dark without needing to be convinced of the SCARY EVILS OF THE FOREST IN ALL ITS TREENESS, Hugo.

-Cosette is officially eight! Okay, that goes in the timeline.