Thoughts on Les Mis, Hope, and Optimism
I think the world might be a significantly better place if everyone read/watched/listened to some adaptation of Les Mis. I'm biased of course, because the story in all it's adaptations is incredibly powerful to me, but I do think that's true. It's been one of those weeks where cynicism seems to be all around me (particularly among people I work with) and it's one of those things that weighs on you when you hear it really often.
"Oh, the world is just a terrible place, Katie, one day you'll be a little more cynical."
No, no I don't think so. Terrible things happen in the world, that's for certain. Terrible things have happened to people I know, to me, but that's why Les Mis is so fantastic; it is full of the power of hope through suffering, full of light in the dark, full of love despite loss. The book literally means "The miserable ones" and even though yes, I cry at all the incredibly sad things that occur within it's pages, or the things that happen on the stage or the screen versions, I always walk away with tears in my eyes, a smile on my face, and joy in my heart. It's why I come back every time, despite the continual trip to the Barricade of Feelings. When I'm trying to hold onto my optimistic world view, I always think of Hugo's passage about Gavroche:
"He had no shelter, no food, no fire, no love, but he was light-hearted because he was free."
I mean, WOW. Gavroche has some kind of lot in life and yet he finds something to live for, something to smile about. Valjean spent 19 YEARS in prison and yet he takes his second chance and turns it into something extraordinary by helping as many people as possible, and he finds love in Cosette, finds happiness that has so long been denied him. "It is nothing to die," he says. "It is frightful not to live."
And Cosette, who was abused and orphaned, turns out to be a beautiful, loving young woman under the care of Valjean and through her own choices. She is light itself.
Even Fantine, who is the pretty much the saddest character in the history of EVER, dies with the hope that her daughter will be happy and cared for with Valjean, that her immense sacrifices were not in vain.
Enjolras and the Amis choose to believe in the dream of a better future, choose to fight and die for it even if the world might think they're foolish. In one of Enjolras' speeches he says:
"...harmony will be established between the soul and the star; the soul will gravitate around the truth, as the planet around the light."
Enjolras is like, the ETERNAL optimist, and he believes in the beauty of the future even is he might not get to see it.
Even Grantaire, the well-know cynic, finds SOMETHING to believe in, even if it is a person rather than a concept. Believing in Enjolras, in some sense, expresses his deep down belief in belief itself (say that five times fast).
Feuilly opens his arms to the world despite the loss of his parents and his immense, ongoing financial hardships. Combeferre is willing to put aside his immense dislike of violence for the sake of bettering the world, is willing to share Enjolras' fate for the sake of that amazing friendship.
I could go for ages, but really, I just think that this is why Les Mis resonates with so many people across the world, and why I will never, in a thousand years, tire of this story. Love, hope, fighting for a better world despite the hardships, despite the pain, indeed perhaps because of them, is perhaps the greatest purpose of being human.
But really, this fandom is full of beautiful, amazing people, and I could expect no less from fans of this phenomenal story.
*Makes baskets with copies of the brick, cast recordings, the 25th anniversary, and the film to hand out to people at random*
Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise...
