Little Gavroche is going to war. He doesn’t seem to care much about the groups involved or where exactly he’s going or who he’ll be fighting for or against. Not to say he’s aimless in any sense, if anyone knows the exact nature of the insurrection in progress, it’s the gamin who has been living on the streets in the throes of its conception. At this point, it’s a pretty good plan to just walk until you hit conflict, plus this is Hugo so it’s guaranteed he’ll coincidentally walk right into the plot no matter what.
I’m…absolutely crushed to hear about the Magnon boys. They vanished the very morning after we last saw them and “ten or twelve weeks has elapsed since that night.” What?? You’ve dropped the ball on this, Hugo! We only left them a couple books ago and you lost them! Why am I hearing about this so late? In the words of Gavroche: “Where the devil are my two children?”
I don’t even want the rest of this chapter…ten or twelve weeks, geez. If you need me, I’ll be busy fantasizing the miraculous happy ending that these two kiddos definitely get because nobody can tell me otherwise especially not Monsieur Victor Hugo.
Gavroche is a being of pure chaos. “Forward, men! let their impure blood water the furrows!…let us fight, egad! I have had enough of despotism.” Oh, excuse me, I must pause my rhetoric to assist this noble member of the National Guard back onto his horse, I’m considerate like that, vive la révolution!
In contrast, he stops again to thumb his nose at a group of gossipy women who are playing at talking politics. Hugo isn’t really to keen on depicting women as active political contributors; women in the insurrection are mostly seen fleeing in fear, fretting over their husbands, being confused at the very idea of armed combat, and then having conversations like this one where one woman pines for the rule of Louis XVII, the dauphin who died at 10 years old in 1795, 30 years gone by this point. It’s the same energy as that one Better Together ad that dropped during the referendum for Scottish independence in 2014 (#PatronisingBTlady). “What would you have the government do with the scapegraces who do nothing but invent ways to disturb people, when we are beginning to be a little quiet, after all the troubles we have had.”
I’m a little offended that Gavroche somehow has a clearer line on the goals of the revolution than all four of these women, “you do wrong to insult the Revolutionists, Mother Heap-in-the-corner. This pistol is in your interest.” Only because we never see any women with any sort of revolutionary sentiment or political inclination of any kind in this book. Although this woman does remind me of a woman I met while working as a campaign organizer, who followed me out of her house and down her driveway to yell at me for asking her about voting.
Gavroche continues on his way to the barricades and passes four old women who are gossiping together. They complain about how expensive meat is and how difficult it is to find anything to eat, even in the trash heaps. Gavroche tries to question them, and they are shocked to see that he has a gun.
“There’s going to be evil doings, that’s certain. The errand-boy next door has a little pointed beard, I have seen him pass every day with a young person in a pink bonnet on his arm; to-day I saw him pass, and he had a gun on his arm. Mame Bacheux says, that last week there was a revolution at—at—at—where’s the calf!—at Pontoise. And then, there you see him, that horrid scamp, with his pistol! It seems that the Célestins are full of pistols. What do you suppose the Government can do with good-for-nothings who don’t know how to do anything but contrive ways of upsetting the world, when we had just begun to get a little quiet after all the misfortunes that have happened, good Lord! to that poor queen whom I saw pass in the tumbril! And all this is going to make tobacco dearer. It’s infamous! And I shall certainly go to see him beheaded on the guillotine, the wretch!”
As Gavroche is leaving, he tells them that his pistol will win them more food. Of course, his pistol has no trigger.
A dog who is so skinny that his ribs are visible follows Gavroche.
In which Marius’s two best friends meet up. I love both Courfeyrac and Mabeuf, which makes this chapter a delight and a torment.
‘What are you kids up to?’
‘We’re overthrowing the government.’
I don’t read highschool AUs ever, but will make an exception if someone writes Mabeuf chaperoning something and includes a version of this conversation with Courfeyrac.
Gavroche keeps singing, and Wilbour actually includes a translation of the verse (which, after all, takes up half this short chapter).
I’ve mentioned it before, but there would not be more contrast between the reception of the two Conventionists in Les Mes (the real one in Digny c.1815 and the perceived in Paris in 1832). Hugo also has both characters promptly die on page.
Courfeyrac uses ‘vous’ toward M. Mabeuf (who uses the plural).
In which Gavroche sings, four poor old women gossip, and Hugo works in a few doggonegun puns.
There’s a lot to unpack here, but I mostly just want to give Gavroche an ice cream. He’s singing and throwing together slogans and jokes like a Grantaire powered by merriment rather than cynicism. I bet that’s how Bahorel sounds when he’s in his element. And it’s heartbreaking.
The old women uses ‘vous’ amongst themselves; Gavroche starts using the plural ‘vous’ towards them, but is exchanging ‘tu’s with Mme. Patagon by the end. I mean, I wouldn’t put it past someone in this book to use ‘vous’ while calling someone a bastard, but that’s not how it actually goes down. Gavroche also uses ‘tu’ towards his gun, despite their minutes-long acquaintance, I presume because of great esteem on his part.
I hope someone has the wherewithal to unpack the four old women (the four corners of old age, etc), because I do not, and there looks to be some interesting content here.
As far as Gavroche goes... he felt really young in this chapter? Our Gavroche is wise beyond his years and precocious, but here, for the first time, he actually felt like a kid to me. Maybe it's the random slogans, or the way he stopped to help someone* and then picked up the gun again, but compared to the serious/starving/whimsical-but-streetwise Gavroche of past chapters, this one gave me the impression of a kid playing at rebellion. [Gamins are supposed to laugh at what is serious, right? It's been a while since that chapter.]
*Need to ask a horse person for clarification, but did the narrative actually just say that Gavroche helped the lancier up and assisted in lifting the horse? Is Gav secretly JVJ?
Brick!club 12/24/13 -12/27/13 Les Miserables 4.11.1-4.11.3
The Atom Fraternizes With The Hurricane
Okay, everyone remembers Parvulus, right? How the gamin were introduced as being "Paris Atomized"? So that's the atom; not just Gavroche, but all the people in this march, really, the tiny particles that make up this enormous organism of a city involving themselves with a massive force, the hurricane of the revolt. I like the term "Fraternizes" because it implies, as small as these people are in their way, they are making their CHOICE, here-- maybe especially because they're small, and could slip out of the force of the whirlwind that way. The city is caught in the grips of this force; the individual might escape. This is vital, again, to what I mentioned in the last post--this is not an escapade struck up by a handful of leaders or activists, this is a course of action CHOSEN by hundreds, thousands, of individuals, each for their own reasons. We saw two very different points of departure for Marius and Mabeuf; now we have Gavroche, with different reasons than either of them.
Not to shortchange Gavroche chapters with a single post here, because he is one of my favorite characters, but I think these chapters go best in a chunk, and I AM STILL BEHIND AND THAT IS NOT OKAY. And I'm not sure what I'll have to say about these chapters besides "Gavroche is awesome" because, SERIOUSLY. GAVROCHE.
Also, oh dear, I fear I am becoming Opinionated. Incoherent outrage along with fangirling under the cut!
4.11.1- Some Insights Into the Origin of Gavroche's Poetry
Okay, I seriously never see it addressed that Gavroche was a printer's monkey. I wonder if he's at all literate, as Eponine is? Hugo seems to be making a sort of friendly joke about Gavroche being a "gamin of letters", what with his carrying messages and all, but he's so observant I think it's possible he has basic literacy? At any rate, he's definitely keeping himself educated in his own way. If the actual theater is a valid route to enlightenment, and I feel it has been presented as such,street theater surely is too.
Okay, I mentioned earlier Marius and Mabeuf's varied reasons for going off to the fray, and Gavroche is moving on his own motive too, but they all three have one common point-- they've lost, or think they've lost, the ability or the necessity of caring for another. Mabeuf's sold his last sellable possession and his housekeeper may soon be dead; Marius has no idea where Cosette even is; and Gavroche has lost his brothers (his Actual Brothers, as we're reminded here). This certainly hasn't put him in the mindset of despair the two adults share, but it frees him of responsibility to anything but his own impulse. If he had children to look after, would he be so quick to charge into the heart of the fight? Or even to rob? I really doubt it .He'd be trying to find them a good place to watch the festivities, maybe; or even a minor errand to run for the revolt, since his heart IS in it-- but he has nothing to risk now except his own life. And for Gavroche, like for Eponine, his life is a thing already sold, sacrificed for him long before he had a chance to an opinion. All that's his is an option on the manner of his death, and of course he's fearless about how he spends that particular wealth.
A couple more little details that caught me on this chapter
It's an APPLE turnover he wants as his last wish, because Everything is Apples when it's not birds- but he won't take it illicitly, like he does the broken gun. Deprive him of the essential, give him the useless; he's honest on his own behalf (the gamin a la Hugo hates being called a thief) but willing to rob to help his cause. Little revolutionary to the core, already.
But the loss of the essential still leaves a hole. To satisfy the emotional hunger caused by his very physical hunger, he tears down posters in the street-- an act of vandalism separate from sheer theft. The connection between physical need and social violence seems pretty clear, and I'd feel silly mentioning it and I'd feel annoyed with HUGO for being so blatant about it-- MAKE PEOPLE HUNGRY AND THEY WILL NOT CARE FOR YOUR ART AND PROPERTY, he's pretty well shouting-- except that PEOPLE KEEP MISSING THIS POINT, I have seen SO MUCH commentary about riots and revolutions and the revolt in Les Mis in particular wondering gosh WHY do people want to do this, don't they know it's rude plus dangerous? And yes, YES IT IS, but so is starving in the street. How can a poster compare to that?
Lives already spent. all over the place, spent by and for people they'll never know, and the only question left to the people those lives should have belogned to is if they'll make societies' bargain on their souls too-- a soul for a bit of bread-- or spend that part of them on something else. And why the heck bargain for respectability with good behavior when it can't even buy back survival?
...okay, so I have a lot of opinions about that act.
4.11.2 -Gavroche on the March
"Let their impure blood water the furrows" shouts Gavroche, and helps up a lancer. Oh, GAVROCHE.
I won't go on about too much about the women (gossips?!? REALLY, Hugo? Women talking about their own personal business and the RIOT IN THE ACTUAL STREET AT THE ACTUAL MOMENT?) because, well, HUGO AND WOMEN, there's only so many times I can toss this poor paperback at the wall.
But, again, Gavroche is thinking in terms of food- the revolution would put more things to eat in the ragpicker's basket; the dog (the DOG!) is starving. Gavroche is absolutely on the side of liberty and freedom , equality and brotherhood, he's a natural idealist, but part of that freedom is NECESSARILY physical- the freedom not to starve, to act without fear of social and physical abandonment for the slightest slip; freedom from need is ALSO freedom, the surety of a place in the community is ALSO part of equality and brotherhood. Gavroche doesn't represent the needs of the moment in contrast to the high ideals of the revolution, but how they are necessarily the SAME THING.
...amazingly, apples are not mentioned in this chapter.
4.11.3
And again: People Not Drawing the Connection between need and violence. Although this time it's a character within the book, that awful barber. What has anybody done to him, that gamin he asks, his own cruelty to other children clearly not even a memory worth considering. The women ask why people are fighting while there's hunger, missing the thought that it might be BECAUSE there's hunger ; the barber only sees the violence against him and ignores his own cruelty outwards to the world. He drives children out to freeze, not even worth remembering; someone BREAKS HIS WINDOW, it's a travesty.
Again, I can hardly handle how much this is mirroring one of the arguments against revolt in 4.10.1. What's the cost of an insurrection? What's the cost of NOT having an insurrection? How many children dying in the streets equal a day's riot? How many lives tossed into prisons equal the worth of a broken window? Why are a bunch of students getting involved in a revolt? HOW ARE THESE EVEN QUESTIONS, and why does the violence only count when it's the starving tossing the stones?
Ugh, I am bad at this level of Angry. Next chapter: Someone is much much better at it than me!
