3.1.9
We are really just going full on with the foreshadowing in this chapter as well:
‘He plays in the gutter and rises to the occasion of the rioting. His boldness persists in the face of gunfire.’
If this didn’t make me emotional about Gavroche already. We also have this:
‘The child of the dung heap is also the child of idealism.’
He never loses that idealism despite all the harsh circumstances and that is what elevates the gamin. But Hugo has to make the reference because everything is slowly coming to Gavroche, to the actual revolutions and to Les Amis. Because the gamin encapsulate/embody Parisians and Paris.
Speaking of which, the Beaumarchais reference is used in Enjolras’ introduction as well- to denote an androgynous cherub. The gamin himself is such a pointed reference to Bahorel and his activities.
This chapter is mostly about figuring out the references and allusions. Beaumarchais is known for his Figaro plays, which also include some critique of the king Louis XVI and Poquelin is Moliere- the famous playwright, who is known for his farces such as The Malade Imaginaire.
There is a bit of the gamin in them. The gamin can play jokes and farces but also at a moment’s notice become a revolutionary. I continue to enjoy the gamin’s very specific association with theatre and art. It does hurt that he cannot afford to eat healthy and take care of his teeth but is endowed with a beautiful spirit/innocence that shines from within.
There are lots of references to revolutionary figures in this chapter as well. Bara, the drummer was a revolutionary and also a gamin. Camille Desmoulin is said to belong to the suburbs of Paris, the young Theban is an allusion to Hercules who was known to be a strong man – Championnet was also a French general who commanded a miracle, according to Donougher’s footnotes. They are all associations made with the gamin of Paris who transforms into a giant from an urchin because he has their spirit in him.
I wonder if the gamin being transformed from an urchin to a giant is a religious reference. At any rate, the religious and the revolutionary references overlap in this chapter. The gamin will hop into Paradise- the religious references also point to the gamin being victorious: he shouts the word that is associated with the triumph of victory in the Scripture. The gamin’s association with religion and revolution does remind me of Les Amis and the religious sacredness of the revolution.
(Sidenote: He’s still associated heavily with the theatre and plays- to go back to the previous chapter, the caricatures and arts he draws, even though they have very little influence in actually changing the government, they still represent the fact that there is in art some element of protest, which the gamin use. Even if the protest is little, it is still effective to some extent. So, more foreshadowing, as others have already pointed out).
