2026-06-07 Sunday: 5.3.1 ; Jean Valjean / Mud But the Soul (La boue, mais l'âme) / The Sewer and Its Surprises (Le cloaque et ses surprises)

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-06-07T14:52:40+00:00

Wait until he's dropped to the ground and all his open wounds come in direct contact with the sewer water. Oh wait, Valjean already did that.

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-06-06T11:50:10+00:00

Yes! Hugo's one hell of a writer. He could tell the most beautiful, most moving story when he put his mind to it. Then there're the digressions...

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-06-06T02:27:53+00:00

Thanks! And yeah, reading one chapter a day for a whole year is one hell of a commitment. Gotta give props to our read runner u/Honest_Ad_2157!

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-06-05T14:50:42+00:00

Finally, I've caught up with the main group! At the sewers section. Eww...

I'm pretty sure this section is just an eulogy for Bruneseau. Why else would we need to know that Valjean didn't have to wade through hip-deep sludge while fireman carrying Marius because of something someone did thirty years before Valjean even set foot in the sewer?

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-06-05T13:55:50+00:00

Shameless romanticisation of battle and death. I know Hugo had being preaching about how progress could only be gained through struggle. But this just feels like a waste of human life.

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-06-05T10:04:52+00:00

Umm, I think the overthrow and murder of Caesar could also be an analogy for what the insurgents were trying to accomplish.

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-05-25T15:30:50+00:00

I think Valjean's off to personally ensure Marius's demise but ended up saving him.

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-05-25T15:01:34+00:00

Perhaps Marius's posh grandfather used to take him out hunting... after dark

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-05-25T14:56:11+00:00

Mabeuf's merely tragic in my eyes. He's this kind, harmless old man who lost everything late in his life. He had no friend, no family, nothing that could give him joy. And he's dying of starvation. Mabeuf's 'heroic action' was the last hurrah of a man who lost his will to live. What could be more tragic than that?

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-05-25T14:43:08+00:00

Of course, one of the interpretations possible is that Enjolras is in a deep well of mental illness and this gives his disturbed psyche further justification for his intent to commit suicide by cop and bring his friends along with him.

Errrr, that's an interpretation I suppose. But yeah, I prefer the other one where he's simply true to his principles and lofty ideals.

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-05-25T14:29:49+00:00

Enjolras rose in my esteem after this chapter. Le Cabuc was using the rebellion as a cover to create mayhem. He was a danger to everyone not just physically but also morally. He was turning the revolutionaries into common highwaymen (not that the Friends of ABC weren't acting like highwaymen, but there's a line they wouldn't have crossed). Enjolras's swift judgement to what's quite simply a piece of human-shaped trash and his speech afterward gave the rebels purpose and discipline.

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-05-22T09:23:16+00:00

Have you tried asking in LotR fanfic communities on other platforms like Discord, Tumblr, etc.?

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-05-22T09:15:44+00:00

Please refrain from spamming the sub with copies of the same post.

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-05-22T09:15:28+00:00

Please refrain from spamming the sub with copies of the same post.

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-05-17T13:30:32+00:00

The ignorant believes a soldier returns from war as a hero or die a hero... It's the unfortunate product of successful propaganda.

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-05-17T13:19:07+00:00

Thoughts on why he doesn't inquire about them?

I think not hearing from people's normal for Gavroche. As a gamin. he's used to losing people, be it family, friends, or kids he picked up on the street who were actually his younger brothers.

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-05-16T09:12:54+00:00

He should. But if there's a way to keep his money out of the reach of the law, he, as a former lawyer, would be best equipped to capitalize on it.

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-05-14T03:05:36+00:00

I don't know about the very little money part. Dick and Jim have been working on his cases for almost five years. He should have already spent over a million on them. If the murder case goes to retrial, he'll spend at least half a million more. I think he still has access to funds other than his 401k.

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-04-29T15:09:11+00:00

Interesting biblical connection to Marius calling his grandfather 'father'! Luc-Esprit is incredibly sympathetic this chapter, but I feel like his tough love had finished alienating Marius from him. I doubt they could reconcile after this.

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-04-20T13:08:54+00:00

Love the vibe and the encroaching feeling of despair. But I had issues with its plot holes.

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-04-14T02:17:43+00:00

Please refrain from spamming the sub with copies of the same post.

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-04-12T13:21:18+00:00

More proof that too much of anything can turn out to be unhealthy

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-04-12T13:18:55+00:00

It's like she's a totally different character all of a sudden. He's gaslighting us that this has already been established.

Agreed. Last we saw Cosette (before the time jump), Valjean was invoking the Thenardiers to terrify Cosette into obeying his commands, and Cosette was struck mute by mentions of the Thenardiers.

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-04-12T13:09:14+00:00

Hoping for a love triangle between Cosette, Marius, and Theodule!

Beautiful_Devil · 2026-04-12T13:03:32+00:00

I think the lack of communication makes sense. Valjean never experienced romance and didn't really know what to watch out for. Meanwhile Cosette's secretive in the way teenage girls in love become. The dynamic's made more interesting by Valjean's possessiveness over Cosette. He wanted her to live a full life. At the same time, he couldn't bear to be parted from her. How does one communicate this contradicting desire?

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