L’Alouette
Being a total bird nerd, I had to do a little dive into this somewhat bird-themed chapter of Les Mis.
What is an “alouette”? Many have heard this bird’s name through the children’s song “Alouette, gentille alouette” which is popular even in non-French speaking countries. An “alouette” is a “lark”, the common name for the avian family Alaudidae (which contains 100 species).
What type of lark is Hugo referring to in 1.4.3? It is almost certainly the Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis) or “Alouette des champs” in French.
[Image ID: A small brown and white bird (Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis)) on a wooden fence post.] [Credit: Natural England/Allan Drewitt, 2015. https://flic.kr/p/vDvojm]
This species has been referenced in literature throughout history, likely due to its proximity to humans and its distinctive song. The Eurasian Skylark lives in open habitats such as fields and pastures and has an incredibly long song which it sings persistently while in flight.
So why did the townspeople choose to call Cosette an alouette? The text tells us that Cosette is a:
“...trembling, frightened, and shivering little creature, no bigger than a bird, who was awake every morning before any one else in the house or the village, and was always in the street or the fields before daybreak.” (Hapgood translation)
The Eurasian Skylark is a relatively small bird around the size of a sparrow (17.5-19.0 cm). They forage on the ground where their plumage can make them nearly invisible. They are also said to be the first bird to sing in the morning. I couldn’t find any scientific evidence that this is true, besides learning that their “ground song” (sung by both males and females from the ground) is mostly sung in the morning. However, I did find some cultural allusions to this idea.
“Au chant de l’alouette” (literally translated as “at the singing of the lark”) means “very early in the morning” or “at the crack of dawn” [wiktionnaire]. (Though I don’t know anything about the usage of this phrase, i.e. how much it’s used or when it’s from.) From wikipedia: “Ethnomusicologist Conrad LaForte points out that, in song, the lark (l'alouette) is the bird of the morning, and that it is the first bird to sing in the morning, hence waking up lovers and causing them to part, and waking up others as well, something that is not always appreciated.”
My guess is that since the skylark is a small, drab bird that is often found flittering on the ground and is generally considered to be the first bird to sing in the morning, Cosette was dubbed “l’alouette” by the neighbors.
[Image ID: A color drawing of a small brown and white bird (Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis)) on a background of yellowed paper.] [Plate XCIV Skylark Alauda arvensis. Coloured illustrations of British birds, and their eggs. London: G.W. Nickisson,1842-1850. biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40246756]
