on fantine’s timeline & french history.
12 september, 1796: a little girl is born in montreuil-sur-mer, france.
seven years earlier on the same day, political theorist jean-paul marat would begin writing his radical newspaper “l’ami du peuple.” the paper made him an unofficial link to the radical jacobin club, and is often cited by historians as encouraging and spreading the violence that would become the legacy of the french revolution.
in april of that year, napoleon bonaparte has his first victory as major general at the battle of montenotte. earlier, in march, he married joséphine de beauharnais.
1799: the same little girl is now three years old, having been abandoned on the streets. she is able to survive thanks to the kindness of two old women who take pity on her, feeding her with what little food they have.
the coup of 18 brumaire marks the end of the french revolution, with the overthrow of the directory and the establishment of the consulate as the government of france. napoleon rises to power as the first consul of france, alongside emmanuel-joseph sieyès and charles-maurice de tallyrand.
1801: a passerby sees a little girl running through the streets of montreuil-sur-mer. seeing that she has no name, he calls her “fantine,” derived from the french word “enfantine.” the name ends up sticking, as she begins to call herself “fantine” from that day onward.
on 15 july of that year, napoleon — now the first consul of france — reaches an agreement with papal authorities with the concordat of 1801, restoring the catholic church as the state religion of france and restoring most of its civil authority prior to the revolution.
1804: the little girl, now known as “little fantine,” continues to wander the streets of montreuil-sur-mer. she earns little money by helping townsfolk with errands around town, which she keeps in a little pocket that she has sewn onto her dress.
on 2 december, napoleon is crowned emperor of the french, infamously placing the crown on his own head, rather than allowing for the pope to crown him.
1806: after striking up a cordial friendship with the farmer luc laurent, fantine goes to work on his farm outside of town, where she would live for the next five years.
the french republican calendar is abolished one year prior in 1805.
on 6 august 1806, the holy roman empire is de facto dissolved by emperor francis ii abdicating his title and releasing all states from their duties to the empire. he would later go on to become the founder and first leader of the austrian empire.
1811: fantine leaves the farm and montreuil-sur-mer to seek her fortune in paris, where she begins rooming with dahlia and is introduced to favourite and zéphine.
napoleon ii is born to emperor napoleon and his second wife, marie louise of austria. nothing really happens this year, but cracks are beginning to appear in napoleon’s france.
1812: fantine meets félix tholomyès, a law student in paris, in the luxembourg gardens.
the french invasion of russia, lasting from 24 june to 14 december, is one of the most brutal defeats that napoleon’s army faces, with 400,000 – 484,000 french casualties. many of napoleon’s men ended up freezing to death or deserting.
1814: fantine becomes romantically involved with tholomyès, completing the double quartette along with favourite and blachevelle, dahlia and listolier, and zéphine and famueil.
louis xviii of house bourbon, the younger brother of the executed louis xvi, is restored to the french throne following the abdication and exile of napoleon to elba.
14 july, 1815: fantine’s daughter, euphrasie, is born on the 26th anniversary of the storming of the bastille and the 25th anniversary of the fête de la fédération. fantine begins calling her “cosette,” derived from the word “chosette,” and the name ends up sticking.
earlier that year, napoleon returns to france and is recrowned emperor of the french; louis xviii flees. he attempts to return to his former glory, but he is defeated at waterloo on 18 june and is permanently exiled to the island of st. helena.
1817: félix tholomyès abandons fantine and cosette at bombarda’s in the latin quarter of paris.
again, not much really happens this year.
1818: fantine leaves paris in order to search for work in her hometown of montreuil-sur-mer. on the way, she leaves cosette in the care of innkeepers luc and joséphine thénardier in montfermeil. once she returns home, she is employed at monsieur madeleine’s factory.
once again... not much really happens.
1819: fantine is dismissed from the factory after her illegitimate daughter, cosette, is discovered and must find work elsewhere, although no one is willing to employ her. her elderly neighbor, marguerite, takes pity on her, and teaches her how to survive on limited resources. fantine begins to sew shirts for soldiers in order to make money.
in may, the serre laws are enacted and enforced, which dictate the freedom of the press for much of the 19th century. géricault’s “the raft of the medusa” is first displayed at the 1819 paris salon.
1820: the thénardiers begin demanding more money from fantine, and as a result, she sells her hair in order to buy cosette a skirt to stay warm for the winter. the skirt is given to their eldest daughter, éponine, instead. around this time, fantine begins developing tuberculosis.
the duc du berry, nephew of the king, is assasinated in february. the prime minister, élie, duc decazes is held responsible by ultra royalists and resigns from his position.
later that year, decazes introduces the “double vote” law, which allows for an additional 172 seats to add to the preexisting 258 legislators, which would be selected by the wealthiest 25% of voters in each district.
1821: with her debts raising and becoming increasingly more difficult to pay, fantine sells her teeth in order to pay for medicine to cure cosette’s supposed military fever. cosette is not sick, and the money is being used to pamper the thénardier’s own daughters, éponine and azelma, instead.
napoleon dies in exile on st. helena on 5 may at age 52.
1822: fantine is forced to turn to prostitution after the thénardiers raise her debt to an unprecedented amount. in december, she is assaulted by a dandy named bamatabois, and is arrested by inspector javert following a scuffle between her and bamatabois. she is spared jailtime by the mayor, madeleine, who takes pity on her, and she is taken to his infirmary to recover. madeleine promises to reunite fantine with cosette.
in october of that year, the congress of verona — russia, austria, and prussion — approves french intervention (invasion) in spain.
24 february, 1823: fantine dies due to shock and from complications from her tuberculosis. she learns that madeleine — or, rather, jean valjean — had lied about going to fetch cosette, and instead went to arras to testify in the trial of champmathieu. she dies without being reunited with cosette.
the french invasion of spain is successful, with the restoration of spain’s absolute monarchy in the form of ferdinand viii. french occupation would remain until 1828.
in 1824, louis xviii dies on 16 september, and his brother, charles x, succeeds him as king before being overthrown during the july revolution of 1830.
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