#sorry if anything's unclear! been researching all night and I am falling asleep

[pilferingapples]

Hi!! I'm so sorry if this question comes off as stupid or uninformed, but I've always had it since I've read Les Mis... how does Bahorel manage his expenses? He comes from a peasant background and I'm guessing his parents weren't able to endow him with much wealth. Yet, he's been enrolling (though not attending) in law classes for eight years, so he must be paying for each year's tuition. I don't have the book on me, but I think I remember it saying that he had a fair bit of money to spend (or maybe I'm remembering that wrong.) But where does he get all this money from? Does he have a job? Or maybe I'm just stupid and farmers do get paid well? I don't know.

..Ok, you know what, Nonny? Not only are you not at all stupid, attempting to answer this question has rocked the very foundations of my understanding of what's going on here! Herein is a Mystery!! Indeed I cannot give you an answer, but I hope you'll journey with me as I explore some New (to me!) Questions!

So , first off, the Known Facts:

Bahorel's parents are peasants! The narration in 3.4.1 says so:

Il avait des parents paysans (he had peasant parents)

and Bahorel, in 3.4.1 , says so :

Il disait d'eux: Ce sont des paysans, et non des bourgeois; c'est pour cela qu'ils ont de l'intelligence (he said of them: They are peasants, and not bourgeois; that is why they're intelligent)

And peasants are of course kind of famously Not Very Wealthy ,but...

Il mangeait à rien faire une assez grosse pension, quelque chose comme trois mille francs.

and here the plot thickens and i enter the land of Linguistic Mystery!

Hapgood translates that line as :

He wasted a tolerably large allowance, something like three thousand francs a year, in doing nothing.

Donougher says

He consumed quite a considerable allowance, something like three thousand francs a year, doing nothing.

Rose:

He ate up a fairly large allowance, something like three thousand francs, doing nothing.

FMA:

Doing nothing he ate up a rather large allowance, something like three thousand francs.

Now I don't have my Wilbour with me, and I don't care what Denny says, but either way, the trend is clear, right? Every translator says "allowance" . Every translator says "allowance" ! And in modern English (and Rose and Donougher at the least are very definitely trying to be modern English friendly!) "allowance", in this context, would mean money from the family-- the allowance for a young adult in college. Right?

This is what I assumed! This is what everyone I know assumed !

BUT IT MIGHT BE WRONG?!?

look again at the French:

Il mangeait à rien faire une assez grosse pension, quelque chose comme trois mille francs.

The part being translated as "a large allowance" is "une assez gross pension". And that is not the French word for allowance! At least, not in the "money from home" sense.

What IS the word for "allowance" (in the money-from-parents sense)? Well, there are a lot of options. Allocation, indemnité, (those two are the words specifically used in examples about students getting money from home!) argent de poche. But pension doesn't seem to be it!

What does "pension" mean? Well, it can mean the money paid to a school or hotel for upkeep--but that would be money that was paid to the school , not something Bahorel was free to use on "nothing" (and also Paris law school was not a boarding school!); it really really doesn't work in context here, and seems to have been an unusual usage anyway.

Aside from that, and a far more common use, a pension was almost always used to mean...well, a pension ! an amount of money paid regularly by the government or a former employer, or paid out regularly from an individual's personal savings/investments.

So if I'm right about this reading of it (and I might not be!) , I think the question hidden in Bahorel's intro isn't "how can his parents afford to support him" but "how the heck is Bahorel, who is , realistically, all of 29 at most, and has been a student for 11 years, already getting a pension ??"

Most of the options seem iffy-- a job he did well enough at that they felt obligated to give him a pension at 2- years old, but didn't want to stay at?? a careful savings accumulated when he was what, 10?? --but there's certainly room for ideas there! (and yes I have indeed been having a lot of fun batting ridiculous theories around with friends today, but--)

I suspect the easiest answer on this is the one Hugo was probably thinking of-- a pension from the government for some sort of Art. That was the first source of financial stability for Hugo when he was in his 20s, after all-- a small but reliable pension for his first volume of poetry-- and he does frame Bahorel as being a very active Romantic, which sort of implies some sort of artistic output.

(...if that's right, it means Bahorel is fighting passionately to overthrow the government that's paying him a regular stipend. He can't be bought out!XD)

Anyway! I was going to get into theories on how Bahorel's parents could be supporting him, but now I think..honestly...they may not be?? Thank you for this question , you've caused me to reassess a very well-known passage! (sources used: Linguee, Wordreference, the 19C word enteries from this collection of dictionary entries over the decades!)

[willowdidnothingwrong]

answer ALL THE QUESTIONS

sharanya there are a hundred!! but ok

1: is there a boy/girl in your life?

No!

2: think of the last person who hurt you; do you forgive them?

I’m really fortunate that no one has really hurt me since, I guess, high school! And I definitely forgive high school shenanigans because wow, I thought my friends and I were mature then but this was not true!

3: what do you think of when you hear the word “meow?”

nyan, nyan, nyan! nihao nyan~~~~~

4: what’s something you really want right now?

a really awesome nerd dance party!

5: are you afraid of falling in love?

No!

6: do you like the beach?

I used to love the beach, or any water, a lot! But I had some weird ear injury, and now it’s hard for me to swim much without getting ear problems. So I still really like the beach, but it makes me feel a bit wistful.

7: have you ever slept on a couch with someone else?

Yep.

8: what’s the background on your cell?

An aesthetic shot of Bay-Enterprise train station, in my hometown of Edmonton!

9: name the last four beds you were sat on?

My summer housing bed, a hotel bed in hartford, my bed at home, my bed at school last year.

10: do you like your phone?

Yes. It cannot successfully type ‘t’ or ‘u’, but this adds to the charm! also I’ve gotten really creative at using words which don’t have those letters so that’s cool

11: honestly, are things going the way you planned?

I didn’t plan, I guess!

12: who was the last person whose phone number you added to your contacts?

I think… a model united nations conference help staffer’s number?

13: would you rather have a poodle or a rottweiler?

why have either when you could have MY DOG. Which I can. (And you can’t.)

14: which hurts the most, physical or emotional pain?

Emotional pain lasts longer, I guess?

15: would you rather visit a zoo or an art museum?

Art museums, because zoos are nice but they also make me sad when animals aren’t well cared for or don’t have enough space! It would be so sad to live your life on display. That said a lot of zoos care for their animals in an amazing way – unfortunately too often, it seems like this isn’t the case though :/

16: are you tired?

No!

17: how long have you known your 1st phone contact?

As in, my first one to ever be added? I guess my parents, so my whole life. As in, the person I’ve texted the most over my entire lifetime? Since high school. As in, the person I talk to most over the phone now? Also since high school.

18: are they a relative?

For the first of my three alternatives.

19: would you ever consider getting back together with any of your exes?

No! They’re all great people but our relationships ended for good reasons. I hang out with all of them though.

20: when did you last talk to the last person you shared a kiss with?

Wednesday?

21: if you knew you had the right person, would you marry them today?

No, well yes, depending on what ‘knowing’ means! If a 100% infallible oracle told me that this was the right decision, I guess! But if it’s just the ‘knowing’ of the moment, no! It’s good to have a time-distributed sample of ‘knowing’.

22: would you kiss the last person you kissed again?

No!

23: how many bracelets do you have on your wrists right now?

zeeero

24: is there a certain quote you live by?

“Je pense, donc je suis.”

25: what’s on your mind?

my head. But also my physics research, and thoughts about people! Mainly about how lucky I am to have acquired Amazing Summer Friends, which reminds me to tell them about why they’re great. **does so **

26: do you have any tattoos?

No.

27: what is your favorite color?

Red!

28: next time you will kiss someone on the lips?

When it happens, I guess!

29: who are you texting?

sharanya it’s you!

30: think to the last person you kissed, have you ever kissed them on a couch?

Yes.

31: have you ever had the feeling something bad was going to happen and you were right?

Roughly as often as chance predicts.

32: do you have a friend of the opposite sex you can talk to?

Honestly… almost all my friends are nonmale? I have like, one, maybeee two male friends I can talk to about serious stuff? But I am in the process of acquiring a new male friend and I’m Really Excited about this!

33: do you think anyone has feelings for you?

Maybe? Unclear!

34: has anyone ever told you you have pretty eyes?

On occasion.

35: say the last person you kissed was kissing someone right in front of you?

I would be surprised! But good for them!

36: were you single on valentines day?

Yep!

37: are you friends with the last person you kissed?

Yes!

38: what do your friends call you?

By my first name. or sometimes nerd

39: has anyone upset you in the last week?

I guess, but the perturbation led to me reaching a higher energy state!

40: have you ever cried over a text?

Six years ago.

41: where’s your last bruise located?

I don’t think I’ve had a bruise for years honestly.

42: what is it from?

Hence I forget.

43: last time you wanted to be away from somewhere really bad?

Hmm, probably not for three years, when I accidentally wandered into an unfamiliar and possibly sketchy part of Edmonton at midnight through a long and curious chain of events!

44: who was the last person you were on the phone with?

My mom!

45: do you have a favourite pair of shoes?

I love converse more than my own sole. (hahaha.) But they break pretty frequently, so whatever pair of converse I’ve had for longest that hasn’t broken!

46: do you wear hats if your having a bad hair day?

No, I only wear one hat and only when I’m feeling cool enough for it because damn it’s way cooler than I am.

47: would you ever go bald if it was the style?

i really like hair for dramatic dance moves;;;;;

48: do you make supper for your family?

Sometimes when I’m home, but honestly my mom does way more of the cooking work even then! The balance is slowly shifting in my favour as I learn better to make things my mom likes and get less lazy!

49: does your bedroom have a door?

Yes.

50: top 3 web-pages?

mspaintadventures,metafilter, wikipedia!

51: do you know anyone who hates shopping?

Most of my extended family!

52: does anything on your body hurt?

No!

53: are goodbyes hard for you?

Hmm. Usually they’re really easy, but when I’m hanging out with really cool people I’m always so awkward about it because they’re like ‘Bye’! and I’m like “bye…” but I’m really thinking “WAIT BUT YOURE SO COOL WHY NOT JUST KEEP HANGING OUT”

54: what was the last beverage you spilled on yourself?

Green tea!

55: how is your hair?

Wet post-shower!

56: what do you usually do first in the morning?

grumble, pull my blanket up, attempt to get into a comfortable sleeping position, decide I oughtn’t sleep, turn on my phone, log on to metafilter

57: do you think two people can last forever?

Yes!!! Of course!

58: think back to january 2007, were you single?

I was 10.

59: green or purple grapes?

I’ve never given it thought, I just eat them!

60: when’s the next time you will give someone a big hug?

this reminds me that I have not given a big hug for a long time! so whenever I have the chance!

61: do you wish you were somewhere else right now?

I wish cambridge ma were magically transported into canadaland because canada’s great! But Cambridge is nice and I’m happy to be here as it is.

62: when will be the next time you text someone?

Hmm, likely the next five minutes.

63: where will you be 5 hours from now?

Sleeping!

64: what were you doing at 8 this morning.

Reading differential geometry;;;

65: this time last year, can you remember who you liked?

My then-girlfriend!

66: is there one person in your life that can always make you smile?

Tons of people! My friends K and X and S. B., for a start!

67: did you kiss or hug anyone today?

Non non mon ami

68: what was your last thought before you went to bed last night?

“Zeta functions…. or hater functions”

(my brain’s dumb thoughts inevitably involve math. im sorry.)

69: have you ever tried your hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end?

Not really! Not that everything has been Successful, but a lot of it has and when things haven’t, it’s let me move onto other things which it turns out are hella cool and I really like so **happy shrug**

70: how many windows are open on your computer?

Seven!

71: how many fingers do you have?

ten

72: what is your ringtone?

The default one… but I’ve never turned on my volume ringer, like, ever?

73: how old will you be in 5 months?

21

74: where is your mum right now?

In Edmonton, Alberta! I’ll see her in three days and I’m excited!

75: why aren’t you with the person you were first in love with or almost in love?

We lived 9 timezones apart with limited internet access, then turned out to have very different attachment styles! But we’re still like. almost best friends! And it turns out this is a much better dynamic for us!

76: have you held hands with somebody in the past three days?

Non non!

77: are you friends with the people you were friends with two years ago?

Yes! Almost all of them, though since I’ve moved countries sometimes not in the frequency I would like. Like I really wish I could talk to my friends B.D. and T.J. more! But they’re both in California time.

78: do you remember who you had a crush on in year 7?

A., who was one of my best friends but in retrospect I was definitely gay for;;;; (A. is most definitely Very Straight.)

79: is there anyone you know with the name mike?

Yes! My cousin! He’s a great guy and has two AMAZING AND CUTE KIDS who I really wish I could spend more time with!

80: have you ever fallen asleep in someones arms?

Yes!

81: how many people have you liked in the past three months?

Definitely one, maybe two?

82: has anyone seen you in your underwear in the last 3 days?

No!

83: will you talk to the person you like tonight?

No current crushes!

84: you’re drunk and yelling at hot guys/girls out of your car window, you’re with?

Yelling at people from car windows is not ok and very objectifying! I am not doing this and if my friends are they’re getting a stern talking to!

85: if your bf/gf was into drugs would you care?

Yes, it’s probably not a for sure dealbreaker but it is almost certainly a dealbreaker.

86: what was the most eventful thing that happened last time you went to see a movie?

THE MOVIE HAD AMAZING BABY SPIDERMAN and I got to get really excited with a friend about cute. baby. spiderman. who i love deeply.

87: who was your last received call from?

My mom! Honestly I only call my mom.

88: if someone gave you $1,000 to burn a butterfly over a candle, would you?

…no.

89: what is something you wish you had more of?

…knowledge of algebraic geometry? Ok, on a personal level, I wish I was better at talking to friends about personal issues?  I used to be really good at this, but over the past few years I just have been really fortunate and I haven’t really had many personal issues at all! So I’ve become used to dealing with them myself, and I haven’t been very good at this at all.

90: have you ever trusted someone too much?

People have betrayed my trust, yes. But I’m happy I trusted them because even if it didn’t work out, the alternative of being suspicious seems too dark!

91: do you sleep with your window open?

Yes! the outdoors is nice and i want it in me!

92: do you get along with girls?

Yes! most of my friends are women!

93: are you keeping a secret from someone who needs to know the truth?

No!

94: does sex mean love?

They’re definitely distinct concepts! That said, I would find it pretty impossible personally to consider sex without love!  Definitely that isn’t true for other people and that’s cool!

95: you’re locked in a room with the last person you kissed, is that a problem?

No! Except neither of us are good at breaking locks oops

96: have you ever kissed anyone with a lip ring?

No!

97: did you sleep alone this week?

Yes!

98: everybody has somebody that makes them happy, do you?

So many people in my life! My mom, my dog, my friends are all so awesome! I’m super happy and fortunate.

99: do you believe in love at first sight?

It can probably happen! But people are deeper than their appearance, and I think most successful love probably does not rely on first sight!

100: who was the last person that you pinky promise?

Probably a drunk dutch girl in hong kong who wanted me to pinky promise swear that we’d hang out more?