The Being had, by this point, dwelt outside the De Lacey residence for no more than three or four months’ time. Though he had bent every faculty and ounce of will to the task of learning the strange science of communication, he had made frustratingly slow progress. He understood and could pronounce only a meager handful of words, and the matter of grammar was still quite a mystery to him: of the conversations exchanged between the De Laceys, he understood no more than twenty percent.
This, understandably, distressed him greatly. He longed ardently to speak the language of the cottagers, for on some level he comprehended that it would only be with eloquence that he would win their love and admiration. His form, as he had realized quite early on, was intolerably hideous: when any human beings saw him, their first instinct was always to flee or attack; and if he wished to turn their fear into good will, he would be able to do so only through a display of intelligence and understanding. If, perhaps, men knew that he was not simple and that he spoke their language, he might hope for acceptance from them.
But the process of learning was slow. The cottagers pronounced their words swiftly and precisely, with little pause between each; and although the Being had come to recognize certain small words, such as fire, milk, and bread, he understood nothing of such things as syntax and verb conjugation, which made actual communication almost impossible.
On the evening of Fantine’s walk, the Being was traveling his customary path through the forest, intending to find supper for himself and wood for the cottagers’ fire. Occupied solely as he was in his task, he did not notice Fantine’s approach until she spoke; and when her voice was raised, he balked and panicked.
His first thought was to hide his face from her. His height alone, he knew, marked him as something inhuman; but that, in and of itself, would perhaps not be enough to frighten her off, whereas his odious countenance certainly would. Throwing his withered hands up to conceal his face, the Being hunched his shoulders, turned aside from her, and shuddered convulsively in fear. She, like the De Laceys, spoke too quickly for him to comprehend: he understood the words ‘lost’ and ‘town,’ but the use of ‘monsieur’ and the formal ‘vous’ confused him. The De Laceys were all family to one another: there was no reason for them to use ‘vous’ or ‘monsieur,’ for when visitors approached the house, it was usually in German that they conversed with the cottagers. Confused, frightened, and vehemently cursing his failure to understand, the Being shook his head.
That, at least, he knew how to say; and if he were fortunate, she would leave before he had the chance to display full ignorance.
— The form which Fantine saw was indeed large, but that did not deter her from investigating. She saw him fright at the sound of her voice, and she was quick to apologize.
“ — I did not mean to frighten you, monsieur. I'm sorry.”
— Though the human-like form spoke only a single word, Fantine could still pick up a strong accent. She decided from then on to speak slower, just in case. The young woman noticed that he seemed to be hiding his face, so she walked deeper into the underbrush.
“ — Don't be afraid of me, monsieur. I won't hurt you,
I promise.”
— As Fantine finally made it next to the form, her heart skipped a beat as she caught a glimpse of his face. It was only just barely human &mash; it appeared almost dead, and the being himself was odd, and appeared sewn or stitched together and places.
— What was Fantine beholding before her eyes? Was it a demon, or a mere human? The woman decided that despite his horrific appearance, she had no reason to be afraid of him. She had seen many men with horrible disfigurements down by the docks when she has crossed, and vowed never to end up there.
— However, since she was exposed to these things regularly, the being before her had little effect on her other than the initial fright. Her motherly instincts had overcome her as she then became worried. Was he alright? Did he had a family? How long had he been out here? Instead of asking these questions, all she could ask was;
“ — What is your name?” Her voice was meek and
delicate.