How Victor Hugo Employs the Tropes of Fairy Tales and Religion in Les Misérables

Essay on Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables
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Essay on Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables
The French historical novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, is widely considered by many to be among the greatest novels of the 19th century. It revolves around the themes of injustice, love, and heroism by following the lives and relations between several main characters, especially Jean Valjean, an escaped convict who is determined to turn over a new leaf from his criminal past. Other community members spurn his efforts at integrating into society and becoming a respectable person until he meets a kindly priest, Monseigneur Bienvenu, who gives him a chance at redemption. This essay will focus on the two characters as it demonstrates how Hugo employs the tropes of fairy tales and religion to illustrate the redemptive nature of compassion and love.
Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread, sets out to turn his life around, but no one will accept him because he is an ex-convict. This hardens him and makes him hateful of society. He is so accustomed to being a social pariah that he greets the compassionate Monseigneur Bienvenu with suspicion and scorn. However, it turns out that the bishop is well-meaning and even treats Valjean with love and respect, something the latter has never received since his release. The bishop befriends him, feeds him, and even offers the ex-convict a soft bed. Valjean, uncertain and doubtful of these gestures of friendship, decides to steal some of the bishop’s silver cutlery and chalice before lea...