Hugo Cathedral Outcasts summary. Outcasts

In 1815, Charles-François Miriel was bishop of Digne. He was called Bienvenue the Desired for his good deeds. This unusual man, when he was young, had many love affairs. He led a secular life, but the Revolution changed everything. Mr. Miriel went to Italy, from where he had already returned as a priest. By the whims of Napoleon, the parish old priest occupied the throne of the bishop. He began his work as a shepherd by ceding the building of the bishop's palace to the local hospital, and he himself moved to a small cramped house. He distributed his large salary entirely to the local poor. Rich and poor alike knocked at his door. Some came for alms, while others brought it. This pure man was universally respected because he had the gift of forgiveness and healing.
In October, a dusty traveler entered the city of Dinh.

He was a burly, stocky man in his prime. His poor clothes and weather-beaten gloomy face made a repulsive impression. First he went to the city hall, and then he tried to get somewhere for the night. However, he was driven from everywhere, even though he was ready to pay with a full-fledged coin. The man's name is Jean Valjean. He was in hard labor for nineteen years because he had once stolen for the hungry seven children of his sister, a widowed loaf of bread. When he became embittered, he turned into a hunted wild animal. With his yellow passport, he could not find a place in this world. Finally, a woman took pity on him and advised him to turn to the bishop. Bishop Bienvenue listened to his gloomy confession and ordered him to be fed in the guest room. Jean woke up in the middle of the night. He was haunted by 6 silver cutlery, because this was the only wealth of the bishop, which was kept in the bedroom. On tiptoe, Valjean approached the bishop's bed, broke open the silver cabinet and wanted to crush the good shepherd's head with a massive candlestick, but some inexplicable force held him back. And he fled through the window.

In the morning, the gendarmes brought a fugitive with stolen silver to the bishop. The monsignor has the right to send Valjean to hard labor for life. Instead, Mr. Miriel brought out 2 silver candlesticks, which the yesterday's guest allegedly forgot. The last parting word of the bishop was to use the gift in order to become a decent person. The convict hastily left the city. In his hardened soul, painful, complex work was going on. At sunset, he took away a coin of 40 sous from the boy he met. Only when the boy began to weep bitterly and ran away did Valjean realize how vile his act had been. He sits on the ground and for the first time in 19 years begins to cry bitterly.

In 1818, the city of Montreil began to prosper, and it owes this to one person: 3 years ago, an unknown person settled here, who managed to improve the local traditional craft - the production of fake jet. D. Madeleine not only became rich himself, but also helped many others to increase their fortunes. More recently, unemployment was raging in the city - now everyone has forgotten about the need. D. Madeleine is unusually modest. He was not interested in either his order of the Legion of Honor, or the deputy chair. However, in 1820 he happened to become the mayor of the city: an ordinary old woman shamed him. She told him that it was shameful to back down when there was an opportunity to do good. And D. Madeleine turns into Mr. Madeleine. Everyone was in awe of him. He was the man who was suspicious of him - policeman Javert. He had room in his soul for only two feelings, which he took to extremes - this is hatred of rebellion and respect for authority. In his eyes, the judge could never miss, and the criminal - corrected. He himself was shameless to the point of disgust. All his life he followed - this was the meaning of Javert's life.

One day, a policeman told the mayor that he needed to go to Arras, a neighboring city. There will be a trial in the case of Jean Valjean, a former convict who, after being released, robbed a boy. Previously, Javert believed that Jean Valjean was hiding under the guise of M. Madeleine - but this turned out to be a mistake. The mayor, having released Javert, fell into deep thought himself, after which he leaves the city. In Arras, at the trial, the defendant stubbornly refused to recognize himself as Jean Valjean and claimed that his name was D. Chanmatier and there was no fault for him. The judge was ready to pass the verdict, but at that moment an unknown person stood up and announced that he was Jean Valjean. It soon turned out that the mayor, Mr. Madeleine, was the fugitive convict. Javert was triumphant, for he deftly placed the snares for the criminal.
The court pronounced the verdict: Valjean be sent for life to Toulon on the galleys. When he was on the Orion ship, he saved the life of a sailor who fell off the yardarm, and after that he threw himself from a great height into the sea. The newspapers of Toulon reported that Jean Valjean had drowned. But after some period of time, he showed up in Montfermeil. When he was mayor, he was very strict with a woman who gave birth to an illegitimate child, and repented when he remembered the merciful Bishop Miriel. Before his death, Fantine asked him to take care of Cosette. The Thenardier family embodied malice and cunning, which were combined in marriage. They all tortured the girl in their own way: they beat her, forced her to work half to death. It was all the wife's fault. The girl went barefoot and in rags in winter - her husband was guilty of this. Jean Valjean takes Cosette and moves in with her on the outskirts of Paris. He taught the baby to read and let her play to her heart's content. Soon she became his meaning of life. However, Inspector Javert did not give him rest even here. He staged a night raid and Jean Valjean miraculously escaped by jumping unnoticed into the garden through a blank wall. It turned out that there was a nunnery there. Cosette was taken to a monastery boarding school, and her stepfather became an assistant gardener.

Mr. Gillenormand lived at that time with his grandson, who had a different surname - the boy's name was Marius Pontmercy. Marius' mother died, and he never saw his father. Georges Pontmercy reached the rank of colonel and almost died in the battle of Waterloo. Marius learned about all this from the dying message of the pope, who for him turned into a titanic figure. The former royalist became a passionate admirer of the emperor himself and already almost hated his grandfather. Marius left home with a scandal. Now he lived very poorly, but it brought him a sense of freedom and independence. Walking in the garden of Luxembourg, Marius noticed an old man who was accompanied by a girl of fifteen. Marius passionately fell in love with a stranger, but natural shyness prevented him from getting to know her. The elder noticed Marius's close attention and therefore moved out of the apartment and stopped appearing in the garden.

The unfortunate young man thinks that he has lost his beloved forever. But one day he heard a familiar voice behind the wall. It was the apartment of the large Jondrette family. He peered through the crack and saw the same old man from the garden. He promised to bring money in the evening. Most likely, Jondrette had the opportunity to blackmail him. Marius was an interested person, so he overheard the scoundrel conspiring with a gang called the Cock Hour. In the conversation, he hears how they want to set a trap for the old man and take everything from him. Marius informed the police about this. Inspector Javert thanked him for his participation and handed him pistols just in case. The young man sees a terrible scene - the innkeeper Thenardier, hiding under the name of Jondrette, managed to track down Jean Valjean. Marius already wants to intervene, but the policemen, led by Javert, burst into the room. While the inspector dealt with the bandits, Jean Valjean jumped out the window.

In 1832, fermentation took place in Paris. Friends of Marius raved about the ideas of the revolution, but the young man was occupied with something completely different - he continued to persistently look for a girl from a garden in Luxembourg. Finally, luck smiled at him. With the help of his daughter Thenardier, he found Cosette and confessed his love to her. It turned out that Cosette had also been in love with Marius for a long time. Jean Valjean suspected nothing. What worried the former convict more was that Thenardier was watching their quarter. In June, an uprising broke out in the city. Marius could not leave his friends. Cosette wanted to send a message for him, and then Jean Valjean finally opened his eyes: his girl had already matured and found her love. Despair, along with jealousy, choked the convict, and he decided to go to the barricade, which was defended by the Republicans along with Marius. They fall into the hands of Javert in disguise - the detective was captured, and Jean Valjean again met his enemy. He had the opportunity to deal with him, but the noble convict preferred to free the policeman. At that moment, government troops were advancing: one by one, the defenders of the barricade were dying. Among them was a nice boy named Gavroche. Marius was shattered by a rifle shot in the collarbone and he was at the mercy of Jean Valjean.

The convict carried Marius on his shoulders from the battlefield. Punishers prowled everywhere, and Valjean descended into the sewer underground drains. The detective allowed Valjean to take Marius to his grandfather and go to say goodbye to Cosette. Valjean was very surprised when he realized that the policeman had let him go. For Javert, the most tragic moment came: he broke the law for the first time and released the criminal.

Marius was still between death and life for a long time. Finally, youth won. He met Cosette and their love blossomed. They received a blessing from Jean Valjean and Monsieur Gillenormand, who absolutely forgave his grandson. In February 1833, the marriage took place. Valjean confessed to Marius that he was an escaped convict. Pontmercy was horrified, because nothing should have overshadowed Cosette's happiness, because the criminal should gradually disappear from her life. At first, Cosette was a little surprised, and then got used to the rare visits of her former patron. Soon the old man completely stopped coming, and the girl forgot about him. Jean Valjean began to fade and wither away. A doctor was invited for him, but he only shrugged his shoulders - the medicines were not able to help here. Marius thinks that the convict deserved such an attitude. He already began to believe that it was he who robbed M. Madeleine and killed Javert, who saved him from bandits. Then Thenardier revealed all the secrets: Jean Valjean is neither a thief nor a murderer. besides, it was he who carried Marius from the barricade. The young man paid generously to the innkeeper. The scoundrel once did a good deed, rummaging through the pocket of the dead and wounded. And the man he saved was named Georges Pontmercy. Marius went with Cosette to Jean Valjean. They wanted to ask his forgiveness. The convict died happy - his beloved children finally took his last breath. A young couple ordered a touching epitaph for the sufferer's grave.

The summary of the novel "Les Misérables" was retold by Osipova A.S.

Please note that this is only summary literary work"Rejected". This summary omits many important points and quotations.

Victor Hugo

Outcasts

As long as, by the force of laws and mores, there will be a social curse, which, in the midst of the flourishing of civilization, artificially creates hell and aggravates fate, which depends on God, with fatal human predestination; as long as the three main problems of our age persist - the humiliation of a man because of his belonging to the proletariat class, the fall of a woman because of hunger, the withering of a child because of the darkness of ignorance; as long as social suffocation is possible in some sections of society; in other words, and from a still broader point of view, as long as need and ignorance exist on earth, books like this one will perhaps be of some use.

Hauteville-House, 1862

Part one

Book One

RIGHTEOUS

I. Bishop Miriel

In 1815, the Right Reverend Charles-Francois-Bienvenue Myriel was Bishop of Digne. He was an old man of about seventy who had occupied the episcopal see at Din since 1806. It may be useful, although this does not at all concern the essence of our story, to convey here, for greater accuracy, those rumors and rumors that went to his account upon his arrival in the diocese. What is said falsely or justly about people often occupies in their lives, and especially in their fate, the same place as their actions. His Eminence Miriel was the son of an adviser to the judicial chamber of the city of Aix, therefore, he belonged to the judicial aristocracy. It was said that his father, who predicted him to be his successor in office, married him very early, at the age of eighteen or twenty, which was a fairly common custom in parliamentary families. Despite his marriage, Charles Miriel was said to have continued to provide fodder for gossip. He was well built, despite his small stature, graceful, elegant and witty; the first part of his life was devoted to light and success with women.

The revolution has come; events alternated; the magistracy, ruined, persecuted and expelled, dispersed. Charles Miriel emigrated to Italy at the very beginning of the revolution. His wife died there from a chest disease, which she had suffered for a long time. They didn't have children. What upheaval took place then in the life of Mr. Miriel? Did the collapse of the old French society, the fall of his own family, did the tragic events of 93 years, which assumed even more menacing proportions in the eyes of emigrants who looked at them from afar, through exaggerations of fear, inspired in him the idea of ​​renunciation and withdrawal from the world? Or in the midst of the entertainments and affections that filled his life, one of the secret and all-destroying blows suddenly fell upon him, which, directly touching the heart, strikes a person who is able to calmly stand amid social upheavals that break his existence and well-being. Nobody could give an answer to that. They knew only one thing, that he had already returned from Italy as a priest.

In 1804, Miriel corrected the duties of the curate at Brignoles. He was already old and lived in deep seclusion.

In the era of the coronation, some insignificant business on his arrival, actually what - it is not known, forced him to come to Paris. Among other influential persons, he petitioned in the case of his parishioners and to Cardinal Fesch (1). One day, when the emperor came to visit his uncle, the venerable curate, who was waiting in the hall, met with his majesty. Napoleon, noticing the look of the old man on him, who was examining him with some curiosity, turned around and asked sharply:

Who is this good guy looking at me?

Your Majesty, said Miriel, you are looking at a good man, and I am looking at a great man. Each of us can benefit from this.

The Emperor that same evening asked the cardinal for the name of this curate, and some time later Miriel was surprised to learn of his appointment as Bishop of Digne.

How much truth there was in the stories concerning the first half of the life of Bishop Miriel, no one could positively say. Few people knew the Miriel family before the revolution.

Miriel had to experience the fate of any newcomer to a small city where there are many talking mouths and few thinking heads. He had to experience this even though he was a bishop and because he was a bishop. But in the end, the rumors to which his name was mixed were nothing more than rumors: noise, chatter, words, even less than words, "chimes", in the energetic expression of the southern dialect.

Be that as it may, but after nine years of his tenure as bishop of Din, all these stories, all these topics of conversation, which at first occupied a small town and small people, were completely forgotten. No one would dare to speak of them, no one would dare to mention them.

Bishop Miriel came to Digne, accompanied by an old maid, Mademoiselle Baptistine, and an old woman named Magloire, a former maid of the curé and now given the double title of maid and housekeeper of his eminence.

Mademoiselle Baptistine was a tall, pale, thin, meek person; she personified the ideal expressed by the word "venerable," since it seems necessary for a woman to be a mother in order to become "venerable." She was never beautiful; her whole life, representing a series of good deeds, left a seal of purity and clarity on her; as she grew older, she acquired what might be called the beauty of kindness. What was thinness in youth seemed airy in mature years, and something angelic shone through this transparency. More like a spirit than a virgin. She seemed to be woven from shadow with a hint of flesh in order to recognize her as a woman; a ray of light clothed in the phantom of matter; big lowered eyes, an excuse for the soul to have something to keep on earth. Madame Magloire was a little old woman, white, plump, active, always out of breath, firstly from constant movement, and secondly from asthma.

Upon arrival, Bishop Miriel was installed in the episcopal palace with all the honors prescribed by imperial decrees, assigning a place to the bishop immediately after the chief of staff. The mayor and the chairman of the council made their first visits to him, and he, for his part, went on his first visit to the general and the prefect.

When the arrangement in the new place was completed, the city began to wait for the bishop to prove himself in practice.

II. Bishop Miriel transforms into His Grace Bienvenue

The Bishop's Palace at Din adjoins the hospital. The Bishop's Palace was a vast stone building built at the end of the last century by the Right Reverend Henri Puget, Doctor of Theology of the Faculty of Paris, and Abbé Simor, former Bishop of Digne, in 1712. The palace was truly the home of a nobleman. Everything in it was on a grand scale: the premises of the bishop, the reception rooms, the main courtyard with galleries under high arches, in the old Florentine taste, and gardens with magnificent trees. In the dining room, a long and majestic gallery overlooking the garden, His Grace Henri Puget gave a ceremonial dinner on June 29, 1714 to their Eminences: Charles Brular de Genlis, Prince Archbishop of Ambrune; Antoine Megrini, Capuchin, Bishop of Grasse; Philippe of Vendôme, abbot of the Order of Malta in France; the Abbé Saint-Honoré at Lerain; François de Berton Grillon, Bishop-Baron of Vienna; Caesar de Sabran de Forcalquier, Sovereign Bishop of Glandev, and Jean Soanin, Presbyter of the Oratory, Court Royal Preacher, Sovereign Bishop of Senez. Portraits of these seven archpastors adorned the walls of the chambers, and the memorable date July 29, 1714 was inscribed in gold letters on a white marble board. The hospital was located in a small low one-story house with a small garden. Three days after his arrival, the bishop visited the hospital. After the visit, he invited the director to his place.

"The writing of this book went from the inside out. The idea gave birth to the characters, the characters produced the drama."

"This book from beginning to end. In general and in detail represents the movement from evil to good, from unjust to just, from false to true, from darkness to light, from greed to conscientiousness, from decay to life, from bestiality to feeling debt, from hell to heaven, from nothingness to God"

- from the first preface to the novel.

Victor Marie Hugo

Year of creation
1862

In the photo - the manuscript and drawings by V. Hugo

He wrote this book for about 30 years with interruptions.

The idea of ​​a novel from the life of the lower classes, victims of social injustice, arose from the writer at the beginning of his creative path.

Having learned in 1823 that his friend Gaspard de Pope would be passing through Toulon, he asked him to collect information about the life of convicts.

Hugo's interest in penal servitude was probably aroused by the story of a fugitive convict who made a lot of noise,

who became a colonel and arrested in 1820 in Paris.

In 1828, the former prefect Miollis told Hugo about his brother, Monseigneur Miollis, Bishop of Digne,

who in 1806 hosted the freed convict Pierre Morin.

Spiritually reborn under the influence of the bishop, Morin became a military orderly and then died at Waterloo.

In 1829, Hugo placed in the XXIII chapter of "The Last Day of the Condemned to Death" the story of a convict,

who has served time and who, from his first steps at liberty, faces the prejudice and hostility of those around him;

in many ways it was already reminiscent of the story of Jean Valjean.

By the beginning of 1830, Hugo began to imagine the outlines of the future novel and sketched out the beginning of the preface to it: "

To those who would ask whether this story really happened, as they say, we would answer,

that it doesn't matter. If by chance this book contains a lesson or advice,

if the events it speaks of, or the feelings it evokes, are not devoid of meaning, then it has achieved its goal ...

The important thing is not that the story be true, but that it be true..."

In 1832, Hugo intended to begin direct work on the "history",

for in March of this year he entered into an agreement with the publishers Goslin and Randuel for the publication of a novel,

whose name was not indicated, although there is no doubt that it was about the future romance "Poverty" ("Les Miseres"),

the first version of "Les Misérables" ("Les Miserables").

The theater distracted the writer from the novel, but the idea of ​​the book continued to mature in his soul, enriched with new impressions,

which life gave him, and Hugo's ever-increasing interest in social issues

(we can also find the contours of the future novel in the story of 1834 "Claude Gay", the hero of which has a lot in common with Jean Valjean,

and in poems of the 30s and 40s associated with the ideas of social compassion).

Finally, the resounding success of Eugene Sue's (1842-1843) Parisian Mysteries turned Hugo's thoughts to a novel about the life of the people,

although, of course, entering into a clear rivalry with Xu, Hugo was thinking not about a glib feuilleton novel, but about a social epic.

On November 17, 1845, Hugo began to write the novel of which he had dreamed so much and which he called "Jean Trejan";

two years later, the title changes to "Poverty", and at this time Hugo is so engrossed in work,

that he decides to dine only at nine o'clock for two months, "in order to lengthen his working day."

The events of the 1848 revolution interrupted this hard work, and Hugo returned to it again in August 1851.

This was followed by a new break caused by the coup on 2 December. Hugo is finishing the last part in Brussels.

The first edition of the novel was thus ready by 1852.

It consisted of four parts and contained a much smaller number of episodes and author's digressions,

than the final text. When, in 1860, Hugo decided to revise the book definitively titled Les Misérables in 1854,

he gave full freedom to the lyrical beginning of his prose.

Appeared in it and offshoots from the main storyline.

In 1861, during a trip to Belgium, Hugo created a description of the battle of Waterloo in two weeks;

at the same time, new chapters are included in the novel, depicting the secret republican society "Friends of the ABC",

an ideal image of the "priest of the revolution" Enjolras is created.

Some new shades appeared in the characterization of Marius, which reflected individual features

young Victor Hugo. The first edition of the book, which appeared in early 1862, sold out like lightning:

in two days the entire circulation - seven thousand copies - was sold out.

A new, second edition was immediately required, which came out two weeks later.

Hugo's poems from the time the book was written:

You have nothing to fight? Okay! Hammer
Pick up or scrap!
There the pavement stone is split,
A hole cut through the wall.
And with a cry of rage and a cry
Hope, in great friendship, -
For France, for our Paris! -
In the last frenzied struggle,
Washing away contempt,
You will establish your own order.

(.Translated by P. Antokolsky)

Prototypes

Jean Valjean- one of the prototypes of the hero was the convict Pierre Morin, who in 1801 was sentenced to five years of hard labor

for a stolen piece of bread. Only one man, the Bishop of Digne Monseigneur de Miollis,

took a consistent part in his fate after his release, first giving shelter,

In addition to Morin, researchers also name among the prototypes J.V. famous François Vidocq,

chief of the criminal police of Paris, in the past a convict.

It was with Vidocq that the cases of J.V. old Fauchelevent from under an overturned wagon.

Gavroche- Joseph Bar. He lived and fought half a century before the hero Hugo climbed the barricade, in those great days

when the French went into battle for freedom, equality and fraternity, they stormed the Bastille,

waged war with all aristocratic Europe, fought with their own counter-revolution.

The fate of the thirteen-year-old drummer Joseph Bar has not much in common with Gavroche.

But the writer often does not need to exactly match the facts of the life of a real prototype and his hero.

It was important for Hugo to draw a heroic character, to create a living literary character.

Joseph Bara was in this sense a magnificent "sitter", from whom it was very convenient to write the image of a young hero.

His feat could not but excite, could not but inspire the artist.

And it is no coincidence that so many songs were composed and so many poems were written about this little brave man,

No wonder it was depicted in their works by artists and sculptors.

Poets T. Rousseau, M.-J. Chenier, O. Barbier dedicated poems to him, the artist Jean-Jose Veerts, the sculptors David D "Angers,

Albert Lefebvre created monuments to him, and even Louis David, the world's first great painter who became a revolutionary,

of the three paintings dedicated to the figures of the French Revolution, the "martyrs of freedom" - Lepeletier and Marat, he dedicated one to Joseph Bara.

Joseph Bara- a small citizen of the French Republic, bravely fought in the ranks of the patriots.

In mid-October, the so-called Catholic and royal army of the Vendeans was surrounded at Cholet.

There were fierce battles, the rebel troops stubbornly resisted.

The more hopeless their situation was, the more fiercely they fought, using cunning and deceit.

During a skirmish in the forest, Joseph Bara was surrounded by a detachment of rebels.

Twenty rifle muzzles were directed at the young drummer. Twenty Vendeans were waiting for the order of their leader.

The boy could be saved at the cost of shame. One had only to shout, as the enemies demanded, three words: "Long live the king!"

The young hero answered with an exclamation: "Long live the Republic!" Twenty bullets pierced his body.

A few hours later, revolutionary troops broke into Cholet, the last stronghold of the rebels.

After the victory at the walls of Cholet, the commissars reported to the Convention that many brave men had distinguished themselves in battle.

Drummer Joseph Bara was first on the list of the brave.

By that time, another young hero had become famous in Paris - Agricole Viala.

He was almost the same age as Joseph Bara. And he was a little soldier too -

volunteered for a small detachment of the national guard in his hometown of Avignon.

In the summer of ninety-three, the detachment took part in battles with counter-revolutionaries.

The royalists, who had revolted in the south, marched on Avignon. They were blocked by the waters of the Durance River and a detachment of brave men.

The forces were too unequal to doubt the outcome of the battle.

There is only one way to prevent the rebels from moving forward: cut the rope from the pontoon,

on which the enemies intended to cross the river. But even adults could not dare to do this -

the royalist battalions were within gunshot.

Suddenly, everyone saw how a boy in the form of a national guard, grabbing an ax, rushed to the shore.

The soldiers froze. Agricole Viala ran to the water and struck the rope with all his might with his axe.

A hail of bullets rained down on him. Ignoring the volleys from the opposite side,

he continued to furiously cut the rope. The death blow knocked him to the ground. "I'm dying for freedom!" -

were the last words of Agricola Vial. The enemy still crossed the Durance.

The boy was still alive. With malice they pounced on the daredevil, sprawled on the sand near the water.

Several bayonets pierced the body of the child, then he was thrown into the waves of the river.

Prototype Cosettes was Jeanne Lanvin, internationally renowned Parisian designer

A kind of "continuation" of the novel "Les Misérables", was written by journalist Francois Ceresa (Francois Ceresa) -

"Cosette, or the Time of Illusions"("Cosette ou le Temps des Illusions").

The publication of this novel even caused a lawsuit between Victor Hugo's great-great-grandson, Pierre Hugo and Francois Serez.

Screen adaptations

1. Les Misérables, film, 1935, USA, dir. R. Boleslavsky, in the title role - Frederic March.
2. "The Life of Jean Valjean", film, 1952, USA, dir. L. Milestone.
3. Les Misérables, film, 1958, France-Italy, dir. J. P. Le Chanois, starring Jean Gabin.
4. "Les Misérables", film, 1978, USA. starring Richard Jordan.
5. "Les Misérables", film, 1982, France, dir. R. Hossein, starring Lino Ventura.
6. "Les Misérables", film, 1998, USA, dir. B. August. Starring Liam Neeson.
7. Les Misérables, film, 2000, France, starring Gerard Depardieu.
8. "Cosette", cartoon, USSR, 1977
9. "Les Misérables: Cosette", animated series Japan, 2007
10. "Les Misérables", film, 2012, UK, starring Hugh Jackman.

What is the secret of the great and unfading French novel, which Andre Maurois called "one of the great creations of the human mind", and Theophile Gauthier - "the product of the elements."

After all, the critics, who have been scolding the Les Misérables for over a century and a half, are formally right:

the structure of a grandiose epic cannot be recognized as impeccable and logically consistent;

there are too many lengths, philosophical and non-philosophical reasoning, unjustified deviations

from the general plot line. And yet Les Misérables were read, continue to be read

burning with hatred against social injustice and the vile guise of oppressors.

Why is that? It's easy to guess!

Because Hugo put a part of his own heart into his great creation -

its beating is transmitted to everyone who clings to this source of fiery feelings!

In a foreign land, during the period of emigration from the Bonapartist republic, during the heyday of his creative powers, Victor Hugo created the greatest late-romantic canvas - Les Misérables. By this, the writer summed up a significant part of his author's path. This work and in the modern world is his most famous creation.

Intention

Even in his youth, the writer had an idea for a novel that described the life of the lower class, the injustice and prejudice of society. Hugo asked one of his friends to collect information about the life and life of convicts. Most likely, interest in the convicts was awakened because of the story of a runaway convict who became a colonel, who was later arrested in the capital of France.

The city prefect told Hugo about a relative of the bishop who welcomed a freed convict to his house. Reborn under the influence of a clergyman, he, in turn, became a military orderly, who later died at Waterloo. In the twenty-third chapter of the novel Les Miserables, Victor Hugo placed the story of a convict who, from his first days at liberty, faced cruelty, prejudice and hostility of those around him. In many ways, this story resembled the story of the protagonist of the work. And so, when the author had already imagined the outlines of the novel and wrote a preface to it, he was distracted by the theater. But all the same, the idea of ​​the book did not leave Hugo and continued to mature in his head, enriched with new impressions and great interest in social issues and problems. In some works of that time, you can find the outlines of the future novel Les Misérables.

The history of writing the historical novel

The writer is so passionate about his work that he even tries to “lengthen” his working day by rescheduling lunch for the evening. But such hard work was interrupted first by the events of the revolution, and then by the coup. As a result, the writing of the book "Les Misérables" Victor Hugo finishes already in a foreign land, in the capital of Belgium.

Editions of the work

In comparison with the final text, the first edition contained much fewer author's digressions and episodes. It consisted of four parts.

Fifteen years after starting work on the book, finally titled Les Misérables, Hugo decided to revise the novel and give full freedom to his lyrical prose. Due to such author's digressions, the work has increased in volume. Also there are branches from the main plot line.

While in Brussels, the writer created chapters in the novel in two weeks that described the secret republican society with the created ideal image of the priest of the revolution, as well as the battle of Waterloo.

As for the final edition of the book, it can be said that the author's democratic views had deepened significantly by that time.

The Idea of ​​the Novel and the Truth of Principles

Victor Hugo's novel "Les Miserables" is historical, since it is precisely such a scale, according to the author, that is necessary to raise questions of human existence.

The main idea of ​​the plan is moral progress as the main component of social transformations. This is what permeates the entire mature work of the writer.

We watch how main character Victor Hugo ("Les Misérables") morally improved. That is why the author called his work "the epic of the soul."

Social problems and the romantic idea of ​​the struggle between good and evil move into an ethical plane. According to the writer, there are two justices in life: one is the highest humanity based on the laws of the Christian religion (bishop), and the other is determined by the laws of jurisprudence (inspector).

But, despite this, the novel that Victor Hugo wrote (“Les Misérables”), no matter how many volumes it contains (the work consists of three volumes), is fanned with a halo of a romantic struggle between good and evil, mercy and life-giving love. This is what is at the core of the whole novel.

The novel "Les Miserables". Historical meaning

The historical significance of this work is that here the writer takes under protection the persecuted and oppressed people and the outcast, suffering person, and also denounces the hypocrisy, cruelty, lies and heartlessness of the bourgeois world.

That is why it is impossible to remain indifferent when reading one of the best works written by Victor Hugo - Les Misérables. Reviews about him were also left by the great Russian classics. In particular, Tolstoy, who is a great domestic humanist, called this book the best French novel. And Dostoevsky re-read the work, taking advantage of a two-day arrest for violating the conditions of censorship.

The images of the heroes of the book are an integral part of the world cultural heritage. Interest in them has not subsided so far. It is impossible to remain indifferent to the problems that Victor Marie Hugo raised in his book. Les Misérables is still going through more and more publications and film adaptations, the last of which was released about three years ago. Famous Hollywood actors took part in the film-musical.

The novel "Les Miserables" is one of the most famous works of the titan of French literature, Victor Hugo. Archetypal images of Jean Valjean, Inspector Javert, Cosette, Fantine, Gavroche have become integral parts of the world cultural heritage.

Despite the fact that Les Misérables was published a century and a half ago, in 1862, interest in the work does not subside. The novel successfully survives regular publications and generates new works of art. In particular, thirteen adaptations were made based on the novel. One of the first screen versions delighted the public in 1913. It was a four-episode silent film produced in France. It was created by the then popular director Albert Capellani.

The last film version of the cult work was released in 2012. The musical was directed by Tom Hooper. Hollywood stars Hugh Jackman (Jean Valjean), Russell Crowe (Inspector Javert), Anne Hathaway (Fantine), Amanda Seyfried (Cosette) and others took part in the project.

Let's remember the plot of this great epic about people who were once rejected by life and forever bound by fate.

Mercy Healing: Bishop Miriel

France. 1815. Former convict Jean Valjean is released after nineteen years in prison. Exactly this many years ago, he stole a loaf of bread for his widowed sister Jeanne and her seven children. Valjean was sentenced to four years of hard labor, and for repeated attempts to escape, twelve more years of imprisonment were added.

He spent almost two decades in the company of notorious criminals, and changed his name to number 24601. Now Valjean is free, but the so-called “yellow passport”, which is issued to all former convicts, is preventing him from starting a new life. He is driven from everywhere, despised everywhere. He is an outcast. Valjean has only one way out - to enter the dark path of crime, which is the only one open to him.

Fate brings Valjean to the town of Digne. After vain attempts to get at least somewhere for the night, he comes to the house of the local bishop Miriel. Surprisingly, the dignitary treats the suspicious stranger very cordially, treats him to dinner and orders the traveler to be placed in one of the guest rooms. The habits of the underworld take over, and despite the hospitality of the owner, Valjean cannot resist the theft of silver candlesticks. First, he wants to kill the bishop himself, but at the last moment, an unknown force stops the attacker and he flees the scene of the crime.

The next day, a man in beggarly clothes with stolen silver candlesticks is apprehended and brought before Miriel. Now Valjean regrets that he showed weakness and did not kill the main witness - now the priest will give evidence that will send him to hard labor until the end of his days. What was Valjean's surprise when Miriel brought out two more candlesticks, telling the guards that his guest had forgotten them in a hurry, who, by an absurd accident, was arrested.

Start over again

When Valjean and Miriel are alone, the bishop calls on the man to start a new life. May this start-up capital in the form of candlesticks help him become a man again.

Valjean, who until now has seen only evil, betrayal, injustice, greed, at first cannot understand such a disinterested manifestation of mercy. According to an old habit, he catches the boy on the street and takes his money. Coming out of his stupor, Valjean suddenly realizes that he was given a chance, which falls to a rare stumbler. He will use the gift of the bishop for good and begin a new life.

Frenemies: Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert

Three years later. Town of Montreil. Previously, this place was practically no different from those miserable French cities in which poverty and unemployment reign. But one day a wealthy philanthropist appeared in the city, who built a factory for the production of artificial jet. Montreil changed before our eyes, its inhabitants began to work and glorify their benefactor Uncle Madeleine, that was the name of the mysterious philanthropist. Despite his wealth, he was fair. Kindness and modesty, so the residents unanimously elected him mayor of Montreil.

Only one person disliked Madeleine - Inspector Javert. Fanatically devoted to his work, Javert strictly followed the letter of the law. He did not recognize halftones - only black and white. Once a stumbled person can no longer be justified in the eyes of the inspector. The law is immutable and indestructible.

The bloodhound has long been searching for the former convict Jean Valjean, who robbed a boy on the street three years ago. Cunning Javert forces Madeleine to publicly admit that he is the same Jean Valjean. The former mayor is immediately cited for life imprisonment in the Toulon galleys. Risking his life, Valjean escapes from the ship that was transporting the prisoners. The risk was worth it, because he still had one unfulfilled promise.

Lost Life: The Story of Fantine

A beautiful girl named Fantine worked at the Montreal factory. Inexperienced and trusting, she innocently fell in love with Felix Tolomen. The poor thing did not even suspect that a handsome rake from a rich family would never marry a commoner. Soon Fantine gave birth to an illegitimate daughter, she named her charming baby Cosette. The girl was forced to give the baby to the innkeepers Thenardier to raise, the mother sent all the money she earned to her daughter, not even suspecting that the baby did not get anything.

When the factory found out about Fantine's illegitimate child, she was immediately fired. A woman finds herself on the street without a livelihood and a roof over her head. Worried about the well-being of her daughter, Fantine decides on desperate deeds - she sells her luxurious hair and snow-white teeth, and then becomes a prostitute.

All this time, Valjean - the owner of the very factory where Fantine worked - is in the dark about the fate of his ward. He meets Fantine much later, when she dies of tuberculosis - withered, broken, fallen. Valjean curses himself for his fatal negligence. He will no longer be able to help Fantine - her life is hopelessly ruined - however, it is still possible to arrange the happiness of little Cosette. Valjean swears to the dying Fantine that he will not abandon her daughter. This was the promise for which Jean Valjean survived and escaped from the ship of convicts.

Beam of light in the realm of darkness: the story of Cosette

The fugitive convict Jean Valjean is unable to adopt Cosette. He steals the girl from the vile Thenardiers and goes on the run with her. Fortunately, Valjean managed to save a considerable fortune from the time when he was the owner of the factory. Money decides a lot, and Valjean starts a new life again. He arranges Cosette in a monastery boarding school and is called her father. So the quiet begins family life two outcasts who accidentally found each other.

Years have passed. Little Cosette has turned into a beautiful girl. And soon, along with tender daughter love, a new unknown feeling for a young man named Marius Pontmercy is born in Cosette's heart. Once meeting during a walk in the garden, Cosette and Marius could no longer forget each other. However, on the way to joint happiness, the lovers had to overcome many obstacles - a revolutionary uprising, Valjean's paternal jealousy, the persecution of Inspector Javert, who even years later did not forget about his sworn enemy Jean Valjean.

This time, fate is favorable to the heroes - Marius miraculously survives during an armed confrontation in Paris, Valjean realizes that his daughter has grown up and has the right to personal happiness, and Javert releases Valjean when he was in his arms. The convinced fanatic could not survive the collapse of his ideals, his harmonious system cracked, and the law turned out to be not as fair as he thought. Javert commits suicide by throwing himself off a bridge.

We invite you to get acquainted with the French writer, whose work has gained many admirers and through which the rich inner world of the playwright opens up to us.

Victor Hugo's next famous work is " ", a historical novel about an unusual man whose appearance frightened everyone, but his true beauty was hidden deep inside.

Jean Valjean lives out his last days in mournful loneliness. He was slandered in the eyes of Marius, called a convict, a bandit, a criminal. In order not to hurt Cosette, Valjean leaves her life. By a fatal accident, the old Thenardier, who ruined Cosette's childhood, reveals the truth. Cosette and Marius rush to Valjean to ask for forgiveness and find him dying. Bursting into tears, the daughter begs her father to forgive her. There is nothing to forgive - Valjean is happy. He dies with a calm heart and a smile on his lips.