#monsieur thénardier

[mangoescananimate]

got to go see les mis in may and holy Fuck. anyway uhm. matt crowle's thénardier has just kinda been dancing around in my head since then. have a little doodle of him i dunnno

[can-of-w0rmz]

When you’re reading Les Misérables and you get to the Thénardiers at the Gorbeau House and suddenly 600 pages in this book it goes from Victor Hugo’s wacky fun times in France to a true crime case:

[meet-the-thenardiers]

Disney X Les Misérables

1. Jean Valjean - I imagine two characters "playing" him. In his younger years (before he was arrested, and sent to the galleys) I imagine him as Aladdin. And when he is older, I imagine him as Cassim.

I don't know how many people will remember this character (or this movie) but he is Aladdin's father and first appears in Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996)

2. Fantine - I know that many people relate the character of Cinderella to Cosette (which is fair), but her appearance in the Disney films really reminds me of the Fantine, and how she described in the books:

"She was called Fantine because she had never been known by any other name [...] She had gold and pearls for her dowry; but the gold was on her head and the pearls in her mouth."

3. Euphrasie "Cosette" Fauchelevent - Okay, for Cosette I imagined these three characters for each "stage" of her life. The first two images are of Penny from The Rescuers (1977), and would represent her around the time she was rescued by Jean Valjean. The third is Princess Eilonwy from Black Cauldron (1985), who would represent Cosette at 12-14 years old, when she left the Petit-Picpus convent. And lastly, Princess Aurora would be her at 16-17 years old.

Also, I just noticed that while in the novel her hair is described to get darker over the years, here it seems like it has gotten lighter.

4. M. Thénardier - Dr. Facilier as Monsieur Thénardier, that's it! I could list a few reasons why I think these two fit together perfectly, but I think the decisive one for me is Facilier's expression in the masked ball scene (that would be the second image). It reminds me of the part of the novel where M. Thénardier sees Marius and Cosette's wedding procession during the Mardi Gras.

5. Bishop Myriel - The Archdeacon from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). Yeah, I don't think there's much to explain about this one. Besides the two (in a way) being part of a work by Victor Hugo, their personalities and appearances fit together very well.

I also thought of Friar Tuck from Robin Hood, and more specifically, the anthropomorphic version of him that appears in the 1973 film.

6. Fauchelevent - For Fauchelevent I imagine Amos Slade from the movie The Fox and the Hound (1981). I remember that I didn't like this character when I was a kid, not necessarily because he was a hunter, but because of his "obsession" with capturing Tod. But looking back today, I believe it was because we were seeing the movie from the poor animals' point of view (I mean, his dog was hurt too).

But like Fauchelevent, I believe he is not necessarily a "bad guy" – perhaps a lonely, grumpy old man.

7. Monsieur Gillenormand and Mademoiselle Gillenormand - For Monsieur Luc-Esprit Gillenormand, I imagine his appearance to be similar to that of Georges Hautecourt from Aristocats (1970). And although the lawyer seems to be much more lively, pleasant and fun than M. Gillenormand, I really imagined his appearance to be something like that.

And for Mlle. Gillenormand, I picture Aunt Sarah from Lady and the Tramp (1955). Although I don't think Marius's aunt is as old as Aunt Sarah appears to be, so I picture her hair starting to turn gray, not completely white.

8. Toussaint - Last but not least: Nanny from 101 Dalmatians (1961) as Toussaint, the maid of Jean Valjean and Cosette. Let me tell you, to this day I find Nanny to be the most adorable female Disney character, the way she loves and cares for the Dalmatian puppies is just so cute, even in the live-action version.

[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.

[kapitanbank]

[meet-me-at-box5]

Thenardier while stealing some shinies: And fuck you in particular, good sir!

[vampire-mina]

modern au thenardier would go to open mic nights and tell jokes abt how much he hates his wife

[berubara-4-ham]

I'm going to see Les Miserables this Sunday! 🇫🇷

Here's my lazy sketch and coloring of fancast Geoffrey Rush as Monsieur Thénardier.

Because I saw someone fancast him as that role, I was like "yes, I would love to see him in au where he plays that role." I've seen some clips in the musical called "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and listening an audio of Geoffrey Rush singing. I was surprised that he has good singing voice and I remembered I learned that he's a musical fan like me! And then I also learned that he was rumored to be considering of that role before Sacha Baron Coren was casted in Les Miserables 2012 movie. WE'RE SO ROBBED TO SEE HIM AS MONSIEUR THÉNARDIER.

[rated-r-for-grantaire]

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

[jadetuin]

On June 6, 1832, the moon was barely past the first quarter. Musical Thérnardier sings, in the concluding line of Dog Eats Dog, "the harvest moon shines down." Even if it was close to the autumnal equinox (it was fucking June), he'd be wrong. He was dramatically staring up at a waxing gibbous.

[barbossas-wench]

Geoffrey Rush never been casted as Monsieur Thénardier for the Les Miserables 2012 movie is my villain origin story

[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

[combeferres-mothematics]

I headcanon that Monsieur Thénardier’s first name is Henri 

[leftoverspagehhti]

Normal people: "Les Mis is so sad. I cried while watching/reading it."

Me who's completely desensitised after reading the book and going to see the musical and analysing the plot like 1836272717 times and who has not shed a tear once within that list of things: "uh yeah."

[dolphin1812]

Boulatruelle is one of the ways Valjean could have ended up if he hadn’t met the bishop. Like Valjean then, he’s “too respectful“ to everyone around him, “trembling and smiling” around soldiers; as we can assume he was in prison as well, these behaviors are likely part of the same trauma response we saw in Valjean when he reached Digne. He was exceedingly polite to everyone regardless of how scornful they were towards him, and to this day, he is very respectful of law enforcement even as he’s terrified of them, as we saw with his attitude towards Javert when he came to arrest him by Fantine’s bedside. As an ex-convict, he also struggles to find work, further encouraging this meekness and isolating him from society and a chance at recovery. His alcoholism is likely a way to cope with his past trauma and his current suffering. Moreover, as we saw with Valjean, it’s pretty easy for this constant desperation and stress to fuel further “crimes” (Boulatruelle’s robbery is less blatant, since he’s seeking to take something buried in the ground rather than in someone’s house, but it is another parallel to Valjean).

Of course, there are still differences between them. With Valjean, we saw moments of anger and frustration that simply aren’t visible in Boulatruelle. It could be that we’re not seeing them now because we’re spending less time with him, but it could also be that, after all of these years, that anger has been drained out of him. Rather than the “violent criminal” alternative Valjean viewed for himself when he robbed Petit Gervais, Boulatruelle represents a life of hopelessness and aimlessness that comes from being denied opportunities to seek a better life after being thoroughly rejected by society.

It’s also interesting to see how vulnerable Boulatruelle is because of this? Valjean was offered kindness first by the marquise, then by the bishop, both of whom were genuine in their compassion. Boulatruelle is met by Thénardier and Montfermeil`s schoolmaster. We know Thénardier is horrible already, but watching the way these two casually joke about torturing him for information is especially revolting. Their “hospitality” doesn’t compare to the bishop’s, as it just consists of trying to get him drunk, but given how people avoid him, it may have felt like kindness to him even though there intentions are actually awful. After being scorned for so long, it may be difficult for him to tell when people are manipulating him because he never expects any form of kindness or decency; he might not reach the point of contemplating their intentions if he’s shocked to receive company at all. Valjean, for instance, hadn’t been able to comprehend the bishop’s hospitality, even trying to prove why he didn’t deserve it. If Boulatruelle is like him - and everything we know so far indicates that he is - then he’s very vulnerable to Thénardier not because of his alcoholism (drink might have loosened his tongue, but he barely speaks even when intoxicated), but because his ability to judge people has been skewed by abuse.

[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.