I realized something interesting today.
Almost every major character in Les Mis is an archetype, an allegory for something else.
Of course, the most obvious example of this is Javert. HeĀ āisā the law, the relentless, unforgiving, unyielding law. He personifies the almost inhuman side of the law, the one which condemns people to worse fates than the crimes they committed just because a document tells them to. He is the epitome of a cop.
Then thereās Jean Valjean, whoās the archetype of lawless morality. He does his best to do whatās right, even if it means breaking the set-in-stone laws that Javert adheres his moral code to. Jean Valjean is a paragon, a man who chooses, each day since his release, to do the morally right thing, or at least he does his best to do the morally right thing.
Thenardier is the embodiment of capitalist greed and selfishness. Much the way Javert is the dark parallel to Valjeanās good side, heās more-or-less the dark parallel to Valjeanās bad side the only-living-for-survival, criminal, bitter side. Heās a con man, a swindler, and he is abusive and dishonest- everything Valjean could be but chooses not to. Heās also very much a product of the system he attempts to manipulate.
Fantine is the victim, the mother, the naĆÆve and innocent one, who is the one the world has done unfairly dirty. Forced to grow up too fast, abandoned by her lover, and forced to give up her own daughter to survive, Fantine is rightfully angry but also genuinely soft-hearted and kind. Then she dies early on, of course, fully cementing her as the foremost victim of the story, as well as the catalyst for the remaining segments of the book.
Cosette, however, is the example of peacetime, of hope, and of simple joy. Sheās a little bit naĆÆve as well, and although she grew up as one of theĀ āmiserablesā, by luck and by fate she has risen above her beginnings- perhaps the opposite of Fantine in that way, who started so high and fell so low. She is everything peaceful, good, and pure in the world.
Marius is foolish youth and young love. Heās the epitome of the awkward teen (young adult? Same thing). He is confused, grew up sheltered, and lacks strong moral convictions at first due to this. Gillenormand (who isnāt important enough to get his own segment but is the representative for conservativism) is partially the cause of this. Heās also strongly emotional- he follows his heart, not his head. Which explains how immediately and obsessively he is attracted to Cosette, because Marius, like many young folks, never does things halfway.
Enjolras represents the fight, but the positive fight. Heās basically theĀ āheroā in every childrenās book, with a one-track mind and a perceived duty to fulfill. Heās untouchable much in the way that Cosette almost is, because he also represents theĀ āgoodā in the world, but rather than the already-there good (Cosette), he embodies the fight for good, and the hard-won good.Ā
Grantaire is literally skeptical philosophy and nihilism condensed into a person. Heās the opposite of Enjolras in that Enjolras believes to the point of self-destruction and Grantaire disbelieves to the point of self-destruction. Heās in love with Enjolras because Enjolras completes him (and in their last scene together, Enjolras realizes somewhat that Grantaire completes him as well). Heās also a metaphor for the people of Paris, who sleep but eventually, someday, rise up. Heās not especially likeable, heās extraordinarily irritating, but heās there, and heās important all the same.
Gavroche is freedom. Heās also childhood, and the two are often one and the same. He does what he wants to, has free reign of the streets, and takes absolutely zero shit from anyone (you go little dude). Heās also an example of how the good in human nature prevails even through difficult and hard times- Gavroche is that little kid in everyone who just wants to run around and be free. Heās also a little snark, even to people like cops who could hurt him for it. Life lesson- be like Gavroche.
Now thereās one exception to this unstatedĀ āruleā- that each major character represents a quality- is an ideal rather than simply a person. That exception is Eponine.
Which is really interesting, in a lot of ways. Eponine is hard to pin down. Eponine is somewhat morally grey- she does hide Cosetteās letter and bully her as a child- but she is also kind in her own way, and will do anything for who she cares about. Sheās a little awkward- not Marius-level awkward, but insecure and unsure of herself. Sheās lonely in a world of strangers, but she finds a little joy in her friendships. Sheās described as ragged but beautiful, which is an interesting use of antithesis by Hugo.
Eponine is tough, hardened, and sharpened by years of abuse and life on the streets. Sheās also soft-around-the-edges and has moments of genuine, almost childlike innocence, like when sheās so happy to learn how to read. Eponineās motives are equal parts selfless and selfish, hard and soft.Ā
So as far as I can tell, Eponine is a paragon of humanity. Sheās the humanest of humans, not an ideal nor a vice, but a complex, easily-forgotten, beautiful, ugly, beloved, unloved human. Thatās what makes her so different from the others- sheās the prism amid all the colors. And then she dies too, and in time is almost forgotten, just as so many humans are.Ā
But sheās vital- her little actions, like finding Cosette, saving Mariusās life, stopping the robbery at Rue Plumet- had impacts. Though few of the characters recognized it, without Eponine, the story wouldāve ended very, very differently.
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