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Deep Analysis of Les Misérables: Fantine's Virtue (Pt.1: Pages 114-144) (Patreon)

Published:
2021-10-05 08:00:05
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

Today we're meeting Fantine.

And we're also wrangling with Hugo's conceptualisation of women.

In this video, we're discussing Jung's ideas of the anima and animus, the history of women in literature (from Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Spenser through to Austen, Dostoyevsky, and Hugo), the grisette vs the virtuous woman, other titans of French Literature like Proust and Maupassant, History and the Individual, and much more.

Video Timestamps:

  • 0:00 Victor Hugo the lyricist 
  • 3:00 Hugo's influence on Tolstoy
  • 5:30 male writers and female characters
  • 6:20 Hardy, Austen, Tolstoy 
  • 9:00 how does Hugo write women?
  • 10:30 Jung on anima/animus integration 
  • 11:30 the four levels of feminine development
  • 15:00 the four levels of masculine development
  • 16:20 the history of women in literature
  • 17:20 Chaucer's Wife of Bath
  • 18:30 Spenser's Faerie Queene
  • 21:20 Shakespeare's 130th sonnet
  • 23:00 Romeo and Juliet
  • 24:30 Austen on woman's constancy
  • 27:00 Dostoyevsky's Sonya
  • 28:00 Fantine's virtue 
  • 31:13 Hugo vs Maupassant 
  • 36:00 Proust, Swann, Odette, Botticelli 
  • 38:00 Tholomyès' view of women
  • 41:00 grisette vs virtuous woman
  • 47:00 Hugo and the trifles of History
  • 51:00 the individual and society 
  • 53:00 questions for you to consider

Our next video will take us up to the end of Part One: Fantine, in which we'll meet the Thénardiers, Javert, Cosette, and more.

Questions to Consider:

1) What do you make of Hugo's conceptualisation of women?

2) Do you find Jung's ideas of anima/animus integration to be a helpful way to read characters?

3) What does Tolstoy mean when he says Hugo's Les Misérables is an attempt to return to lyricism?

Happy reading, everybody!

Files

Previews only

Deep Analysis of Les Misérables: Fantine's Virtue (Pt.1: Pages 114-194)

0:00 Victor Hugo the lyricist 3:00 Hugo's influence on Tolstoy 5:30 male writers and female characters 6:20 Hardy, Austen, Tolstoy 9:00 how does Hugo write women? 10:30 Jung on anima/animus integration 11:30 the four levels of feminine development 15:00 the four levels of masculine development 16:20 the history of women in literature 17:20 Chaucer's Wife of Bath 18:30 Spenser's Faerie Queene 21:20 Shakespeare's 130th sonnet 23:00 Romeo and Juliet 24:30 Austen on woman's constancy 27:00 Dostoyevsky's Sonya 28:00 Fantine's virtue 31:13 Hugo vs Maupassant 36:00 Proust, Swann, Odette, Botticelli 38:00 Tholomyès' view of women 41:00 grisette vs virtuous woman 47:00 Hugo and the trifles of History 51:00 the individual and society 53:00 questions for you to consider

Comments

Cai Vail

I’m reading through Les Mis now and enjoying these lectures immensely, though I do miss the lively conversation and wish I’d caught it the first time around. In agreement with a few others’ comments above that while I don’t feel that Hugo writes women, or characters in general, with convincing realism, I don’t mind. Actually, it’s quite an enjoyable respite from more immersive works. I can see why the characters and story of Les Mis leant themselves so well to a theatrical production. I’m reading Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress and some Greek myths with my student currently, and can see the foundation of a morality play with archetypal characters exemplifying essential human vices and virtues in Les Mis. Unlike Bunyan, Hugo’s writing is an absolute feast, heavy on the dessert. As a woman, I don’t find fault with Hugo’s simplification of women, and can just as easily place myself in Jean’s shoes or Bienvenue’s as Fantine’s, because they’re all archetypes that we each have the potential of embodying. If I want to read about a virtuous woman that feels like a real human being, I can reread Middlemarch. Reading Hugo is just a different, but no less immersive, experience. I did not expect to love this book so much; I’m no longer intimidated by the sheer size of the thing, I’m thankful. Every page is such a treat, and I get over a thousand more to enjoy! I had initially planned to read this over the course of a year, but there’s no way I’ll be able to hold myself back.

Jonathon Glover

It’s been interesting watching Hugo shift from different elements of society. From the Church, to the prison, and now to wider society. I think there is a place for both morally complex, realistic characters and archetypes that allow writers, particularly ones so vested in history like Hugo, to explore ideas. I will say that I enjoyed the chapters involving Bienvenue and JV more, so his idealism of women did impact a little on my engagement. But overall, it has been a very interesting beginning to a novel of massive scope. The lecture provide a wonderful check mark as I plough through the novel. They are so rich in analysis and drawing in the world of Hugo, and some literary theory to provide context.