#madame thénardier

[meet-the-thenardiers]

"The one where I created a very CURSED Les Misérables AU"

So, I was in my usual routine of doing nothing, and then decided to do the following request to an AI chat:

AND THIS MY FRIENDS, THIS WAS THE RESULT ☠️

1. Kendrick Lamar as Jean Valjean

2. Nas as Javert

3. Nick Minaj as Fantine

4. Rapsody as Éponine

5. Chance The Rapper as Marius Pontmercy

6. Doja Cat as Cosette

7. Lil'Wayne as Thénardier

8. Cardi B as Madame Thénardier

9. Lil Nas X as Gavroche

(This last one caught me COMPLETELY off guard)

And I really wish I had saved that chat page now, because additionally, the AI ​​made second suggestions for some roles, they were: J. Cole as Jean Valjean / Kendrick Lamar as Javert / 21 Savage as Thénardier and also...

AUBREY "DRAKE" GRAHAM AS MARIUS PONTMERCY ☠️

[meet-the-thenardiers]

[dolphin1812]

Cosette is finally free!

The characterization in this chapter is honestly incredible. Unlike her husband, Mme Thénardier has some scruples; while they may be twisted (preferring to marry Louis XVIII over doing something truly awful sounds like a fair comparison until it’s revealed that she means having Cosette around), and while she may still be horrible, she’s not as sneaky as her husband and thus feels uncomfortable with some of his demands because she doesn’t see them the same way he does. She finds it challenging to demand such a large sum from Valjean, for instance, because of his dress. She’s noticed the discrepancy between his appearance and his money as well, but she still fears that he won’t be able to pay. This isn’t really a moral position - she’s still awful - but she does feel awkward because part of her worries that this is too much for him to pay and she doesn’t know what she’ll do if it is. Her husband has picked up on all of this, too, but he also has suspicions about why he’d have to pay.

Thénardier likely suspects Valjean is a criminal. His reasoning on why he can’t be Cosette’s relative is in the text, but his other thoughts are mostly revealed through his questions and attitude. We know Thénardier has associated with convicts before, as he wasn’t afraid to be seen with Boulatruelle when trying to get information out of him. He may have picked up on the similarities between their demeanors: constant caution, subservience to authority beyond what’s expected, a lack of confidence, social isolation, and so on. The gap between this man’s appearance and the amount of money he has is also suspicious, and it may lead him to believe that he looks like this because he didn’t acquire the money through ‘legitimate’ means. This suspicion gives him confidence. A man running from the law can’t be picky about money (we’ve seen this with Valjean accepting lower wages without much of a fight, but overcharging would have worked the same way; complaints would draw legal attention that current criminals and ex-convicts would want to avoid). Therefore, while his wife is nervous about asking for that much money, he knows that this man can’t complain too strongly about the price. When discussing Cosette, he maintains a friendly tone so as not to arouse suspicion, but he does ask Valjean for identifying information, including for a passport (and as we know from Digne, passports were a tricky business). Valjean’s refusal to provide any of those likely solidified his hunch that he’s running from the law.

With Valjean, we see him move from his state of constant anxiety to a form of confidence. When he asks Mme Thénardier about Cosette, his voice trembles; he’s afraid of making any demands, like we’ve seen in all the chapters since he escaped prison again (and in the preceding chapters as well, honestly). Once he’s dealing with M Thénardier, however, his voice is firm. He definitely speaks less and chooses his words and actions carefully. Valjean may have the strength of an action hero, but he’s not just going to burst out of the inn carrying Cosette because he knows that’ll attract too much attention. He knows he has to negotiate with Thénardier in the most discreet way possible. Still, he stands up for himself, refusing to offer him any identification because none of it is necessary. In doing so, he also reveals an understanding of what Cosette’s been through - he’s keeping her abusers from finding her - and implicitly accuses Thénardier of abuse by insisting that she’ll never see him again and referring to him as something that “binds her foot” (he says “thread,” but the image resembles a prison chain). He doesn’t flinch when asked, either, demonstrating that he’s more confident here than before. It’s always been easier for Valjean to demand better treatment for others than for himself, and this is a continuation of that. He likely wouldn’t have stood up for himself at all if this weren’t a way of helping Cosette. Still, this does raise the possibility of some healing for him through Cosette, which is always nice to see.

Cosette is also so cute, I love how she immediately gains a lot of courage from Valjean’s presence (no longer fearing her abusers) and is so happy to leave. The image of her looking up at him in awe from time to time as they walk is so adorable.

[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. 

[its-kapi-wara]

I can't really explain this...but I'm conviced that Kaitlyn Dever (The Last of Us) and Katie Douglas (The Girl Who Escaped) would've been great actresses to play the roles of Éponine and Azelma Thénardier respectively!

And, if I may add, they would be perfect alongside Olivia Colman from the BBC adaptation (2018-2019). I really liked her as Mme. Thénardier (to be honest, I liked a lot of things about that adaptation, and while it wasn't "perfect", it was a good adaptation).

[dolphin1812]

Hugo’s descriptions of Mme Thénardier were sickeningly sexist and honestly just made me feel revolted by him, so I’m going to pass over that section for the most part. The only thing I do like about that section, though, is what it contributes to the end. There’s something particularly terrifying about being trapped between two diametrically opposed but still cruel people - Mme Thénardier and her immediate bursts of anger and M. Thénardier’s schemes and neglect - and I think highlighting this definitely increases the reader’s sympathy and pity for Cosette. Perhaps she would have clothes if she only had to deal with Mme Thénardier, or perhaps she would get a break from physical and verbal cruelty if she only had to tolerate M. Thénardier, but instead, she’s caught between them both. 

With regard to M. Thénardier, I’ve written before about how Hugo slips into classism in his descriptions of him (in the last chapter on Waterloo), and this instance is no exception. His comments on his lack of education being visible through his speech, for instance, are quite uncomfortable to read. At the same time, there’s more humor in this description of him, and some of it works in spite of Hugo’s prejudices. His use of contrasts, for example, is pretty funny (I can’t tell if him bring a man with a “sickly air and who was wonderfully healthy” or being “polite” “ even to the beggar to whom he refused half a farthing” is the better of these instances of dark humor, but either way, they effectively convey his contradictory nature and juxtapose his duplicitousness with his obviously intimidating wife). Similarly, while Hugo’s notes on his “pretensions” to literature can again be interpreted through the lens of class, it can also be seen as just what he says: pretentiousness. Moreover, his hypocrisy is clear even just from whom he cites. His “singular” use of Saint Augustine, despite everything about his obsession with wealth and his own standing contradicting his writings, is funny not only because of the contrast between Augustine and the Enlightenment thinkers he otherwise references, but because of the idea of a man as corrupt as Thénardier constantly (claiming to be) quoting a saint. (And of course, Hugo includes puns like filousophe that are probably also funny, but as I don’t know that much French, they’re probably best explained elsewhere).

We also get a brief follow-up to the Waterloo digression. Having read about Thénardier’s “rescue,” we know just how much he’s exaggerating in this story. We can also suspect that Hugo’s suspicion that he would have flourished elsewhere may be a product of his travels (seeing, for instance, the difference in traffic between rural and urban inns; and perhaps also coming to bear a grudge against an innkeeper or innkeepers as a whole). 

The relationship between the Thénardiers is also interesting in its use of political metaphors. Hugo’s description of Mme Thénardier’s obedience is revolting in its sexism and dehumanization of her, but why use “parliamentary language” and call M. Thénardier a “despot” with an “empire?” Not only do these terms underscore his control over the household, they link him to a corrupt form of political rule. It’s easy, then, to see parallels between the neglect going on in his household and the abuses perpetrated by a similarly tyrannical social order in France as a whole.

[rated-r-for-grantaire]

Hades and Persephone from Hadestown are Monsieur and Madame Thénardier from Les Mis but in a different font

[tr0ubl3d-tr4n53nd3r]

"Praying to the Lord on Sundays, and wishing for the gifts he's got"

Ha lol looser you became miis in Tomadachi life.

Now they're Monsieur and Madame Thénardier of Les Miis

Idk if they're gonna believe in me or Mary Sue Pleasant, but I'm assuming they'll believe in TroubledTransenderism. Mainly because if they're a pleasant then they have to wear a blue cone which will remove their wedding wigs.

[oldbooksandnewmusic]

The worse couple ever 💕💕💕

[symphony-in-a]

Requested by @angelofmusic1296

[rpmaniac]

Master and Mistress of the House

The Thénardiers

[la-pheacienne]

Me going through Les Miserables fandom for 15 minutes on Tumblr and Goodreads:

@phytine @rhaenyragendereuphoria thank you for that truly unparalleled experience

[ask-lemaire]

Hi I have a field of nettles and I don’t know what to do with them, any advice?

talk to them the more you talk the more they grow

[peoplesing]

on this fine sunday i would just like to say that éponine has a below average singing voice and the only person who knows this is gavroche when she sings him lullabies

[ask-lemaire]

How does it feel to be the protagonist? No anime esque coloured hair yet but the arc is coming for you. I feel it. You cannot escape plot.

I really don’t know how to answer this question citizen 

[ask-lemaire]

send me asks