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Deep Analysis of Les Misérables: Bienvenu's Candlesticks (Pt.1: Pages 1-70) (Patreon)

Published:
2021-09-22 11:30:39
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

Let's dive into Les Misérables together and meet Bishop Charles-François-Bienvenu Myriel and Victor Hugo himself. 

The opening to this novel is a personal favourite of mine, and Bienvenu is one of the most aspirational characters in literary history. 

In this video, we'll start to become acquainted with the French History surrounding the story, learn to embrace the Hugoic Digression with a great passage on the guillotine, unpick the symbolism of the candlesticks, and think about salvation, society, virtue, and much more.

Video Timestamps:

  • 0:00 the epigraph to Les Misérables
  • 2:00 Hauteville House
  • 3:00 the historical background to the novel
  • 4:45 meeting Monseigneur Bienvenu
  • 6:00 the history of complex characters in literature
  • 9:00 reading great works as mirrors
  • 11:00 the first page of Les Misérables
  • 11:40 the Hugoic Digression
  • 15:00 how Hugo invests himself in his characters
  • 18:00 Hugo’s anti-Napoleonic poetry
  • 20:00 Bienvenu’s utopia
  • 24:00 Aristotle’s Ethics and unlocking generosity
  • 27:00 suffering, salvation, meaning
  • 29:00 the symbolism of the candlesticks
  • 33:00 the guillotine
  • 36:00 Bienvenu and the revolutionary
  • 40:45 Martin Luther King Jr and the language of the unheard
  • 46:00 Les Misérables as garden
  • 47:00 Bienvenu’s marginalia
  • 1:00:00 the close to this first section

Specific tasks to deepen your reading journey

1) Follow in the footsteps of Bienvenu and embrace marginalia. Start marking and collecting your favourite passages, sentences, phrases, character descriptions, or even whole chapters. Then share them with us here.

2) Think about why you're particularly drawn to these passages. These great books are mirrors that reveal something essential about ourselves in a moment in time. What do your favourite parts say about you and the way you see the world?

Happy reading, everybody!

Files

Previews only

Deep Analysis of Les Misérables: Bienvenu's Candlesticks (Pt.1: Pages 1-70)

0:00 the epigraph to Les Misérables 2:00 Hauteville House 3:00 the historical background to the novel 4:45 meeting Monseigneur Bienvenu 6:00 the history of complex characters in literature 9:00 reading great works as mirrors 11:00 the first page of Les Misérables 11:40 the Hugoic Digression 15:00 how Hugo invests himself in his characters 18:00 Hugo’s anti-Napoleonic poetry 20:00 Bienvenu’s utopia 24:00 Aristotle’s Ethics and unlocking generosity 27:00 suffering, salvation, meaning 29:00 the symbolism of the candlesticks 33:00 the guillotine 36:00 Bienvenu and the revolutionary 40:45 Martin Luther King Jr and the language of the unheard 46:00 Les Misérables as garden 47:00 Bienvenu’s marginalia 1:00:00 the close to this first section

Comments

Bob Wheeler

Just jumping into the comments (it's late April of 2023) to say that despite the fact I've missed out on discussion, I appreciate the video and everything else here.

Jonathon Glover

‘The real sinner is those that cause the darkness’ I love this idea. It is something that I think about often. The idea of personal responsibility and social culpability. We need to hold our institutions to higher standards. However, we also need to take personal responsibility. Too often, too many, focus on one over the other. Also, this reminds me of how Tolstoy often starts his novels with a secondary character before getting to the protagonists. Is this a common ploy in 19th century literature?