“Les Miserables” (The Miserable), Victor Hugo’s monumental work of historical fiction, is an acknowledged masterpiece.
Spread over five volumes, the events that took place in France between the years 1815 to 1833 form the backdrop to this novel – the years just following the French Revolution that ended absolute rule by the French kings, and brought about profound changes in French society and governance. Napoleon had just been defeated at Waterloo, and fallen from power; and the Bourbons had regained the throne. In effect, these were the chaotic years between the First Republic and the Second Republic.
This period was important for another reason – across the channel, the Industrial Revolution had just broken out, and Luddites were attacking textile factories as they believed that the introduction of machines would cause unemployment and lower the living standards of workers. These events could not have left the French working class unaffected or unmoved. However, the Napoleonic Wars and a poor transportation network held back industrialization in France. And France remained largely a country of farmers and small businessmen.
In his preface, the author says that the three issues he had addressed in the novel are the degradation of man, the corruption of woman and the exploitation of children. The root causes for these social ills, says the author, are poverty and hunger.
The story opens with Bienvenu Myriel, who is the recently appointed Bishop (of a rural district). In a chance encounter with Napoleon, Myriel remarks that while Napoleon is a great man, he is only a good man. It is perhaps an irony of fate that his goodness is to outlast Napoleon’s greatness! His goodness comes from a higher calling; it is not subject to the ebb and tide of political fortunes. Bienvenu Myriel comes from a family that has been a victim of the Revolution – perhaps it is his personal misfortune that has rendered him sensitive to the misfortune of others. In any case, good deeds flow from his good intentions, and one of his first acts as Bishop is to vacate his palatial mansion for a hospital. And with the passage of time, he acquires the appellation of Monsieur Bienvenu – translated from French, which means someone who is always welcome. Monsieur Bienvenu keeps an open house; one and all are welcome there – the rich to donate money, and the poor to receive charity.
It is in the house of this saintly person that the convict Jean Valjean comes to seek shelter. Jean Valjean has been incarcerated for the crime of stealing a loaf of bread, and has served many long years in prison for trying to escape. Shunned by the general populace, it is only the good Bishop who is willing to give him a second chance in life.
But it is difficult to shed the habits of a lifetime, and Jean Valjean steals the Bishop’s silverware (the only luxury the Bishop allowed himself) in the dead of night. Jean Valjean is apprehended, but the Bishop pardons him by treating the theft as a gift – thereby hoping to salvage the humanity in the convict’s soul.
“Les Miserables” is an important work in more ways than one. It is an authoritative work, and along with “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, constitutes the author’s main contribution to world literature. It is a telling commentary on a bygone era, a social testimony of the times. It also brings into sharp relief the author’s sympathy for the suffering of ordinary people. Any serious student of French history and / or literature would find it well worth the effort to read the novel from cover to cover. It is not a novel to be read lightly, and it is one of those books that cannot fail to make a lasting impression on the reader.