Victor Hugo

[Jaakko Keskinen]

I didn't find any topic specifically about Victor Hugo and his works, so here you go. Hugo's Notre Dame of Paris was what really drew me into reading classical literature masterpieces. I loved Les Miserables equally much, maybe even more so. His work amount is enormous, haven't read much of his poetry or plays yet.

My favorite character of those that Hugo created is most likely Javert, from Les Miserables. One of the reasons I dislike the musicals of this great book (except the music) is their simplifying of Javert, perhaps the most complex character Hugo ever created. In musical, it seems like Javert has an obsession with capturing Valjean. In the book this is not the case. He never goes out of his way to hunt Valjean and after losing trail of Valjean he starts chasing other criminals. To him Valjean is only one criminal among many, Javert is only doing his job, nothing more (can't believe I unwittingly quoted the musical). I also somewhat disagree with an opinion that it was Valjean's mercy which drove Javert to suicide. In my humble opinion, what really makes Javert go over the edge is not so much the fact that Valjean spared his life as Javert's own reaction to it: he lets Valjean go. This inconsistency in his previous, inflexible personality makes him doubt his entire career and, in essence, also himself. Has he himself begun to change? It is much more complex than simple "criminal can't be a good guy, does not compute, suicide". While Javert is inflexible, he is also fair and honest. He seems to have a resolve to capture criminals alive, considering he didn't even flinch when Thenardier was about to shoot him. He also has immense courage, which granted is usually required from every policeman, but Javert really stands out. Charles Dickens, interestingly, came very close to a way Hugo described Javert's personality in novel Dombey and son:

"It would do us no harm to remember oftener than we do, that vices are sometimes only virtues carried to excess! " (Dombey and son)

"[Javert] was a compound of two sentiments, simple and good in themselves, but he made them almost evil by his exaggeration of them (Les Miserables)

About Notre Dame... It is interesting how that very loose Disney adaptation, which, while excellent when standing alone, didn't really do justice to a book. Disney made Frollo considerably less compassionate, ignoring Frollo's genuine resolve to save Quasimodo, deleted Frollo's brother Jehan, simplified things, inverted Phoebus and Quasimodo who were much more of a-holes in the book (while still in some way pitiable), and didn't really follow the plot. Frollo in the book is an excellent Byronic hero, complex human being who does evil things but never loses his compassion towards Jehan and even while committing evil it is made clear how much he suffers and is a tragic tale of how a compassionate human being can descend into madness. Jehan was one of the last links still keeping Frollo as comparably sane person and sure enough, when Quasimodo kills Jehan and Esmeralda rejects him for the final time, he really loses it. Yet Disney adaptation stands well as a pragmatic adaptation of the book, like movies of Stanley Kubrick: Often very different to original book yet still achieving so much. Disney's Frollo has still certain "sympathy for the devil"-moments though, despite character being much more of a monster. and this makes him still a great character, even though it doesn't quite achieve the greatness of the original character that Hugo created. My favorite adaptation of this novel is probably 1939 version. Interesting how they made Jehan the bad guy here. I still think of him as Claude every time I watch the movie though, the actor, Cedric Hardwicke, is amazing and really captures tragic character of Frollo, brought down by his inner weaknesses. The 1939 movie has still certain differences when compared to a book (and that's usually good: too accurate adaptation that brings nothing new is often boring) such as happier ending.

From Hugo's lesser known works I have particular admiration towards The History of a Crime. I especially love this scene where nameless police officer tries to arrest certain Mr. Cournet. Cournet tries everything from bribery to threatening, nothing can change the mind of this nameless wonder. As a result, Cournet murders him. While it is very alarming Hugo expects our sympathy to be more towards Cournet, there is this certain kind of acknowledgement towards virtues of that honest "antagonist".

Any Hugo fans here?

[Jo498]

Les Miserables impressed me a lot when I was a teenager. I read it the first time when I was about 12 and another time probably before 18 but not in the ca. 25 years since then. For some reason I never got around to read the "Hunchback" although it's been sitting on my shelves for years.

[Florestan]

Aside from THND and LM, two other Hugo novels I greatly enjoyed are Toilers of the Sea and Ninety-Three.

[Jaakko Keskinen]

Toilers of the Sea and Ninety-Three.

Those two I'm planning to read at some point.

[ZauberdrachenNr.7]

I also somewhat disagree with an opinion that it was Valjean's mercy which drove Javert to suicide. In my humble opinion, what really makes Javert go over the edge is not so much the fact that Valjean spared his life as Javert's own reaction to it: he lets Valjean go. This inconsistency in his previous, inflexible personality makes him doubt his entire career and, in essence, also himself. Has he himself begun to change? It is much more complex than simple "criminal can't be a good guy, does not compute, suicide". While Javert is inflexible, he is also fair and honest. He seems to have a resolve to capture criminals alive, considering he didn't even flinch when Thenardier was about to shoot him...

I don't see Javert's suicide as 'complex' - it does show how fragile his "Knight in Shining Armor," "Protector of the LAW," "My Way or the Highway" sense of self is.  When the world turns out to be, in fact, more complex, more shades of gray than he can compute and that, instead of doing good in this world, he may actually be responsible for damage in it, he pushes the self-destruct button (a logically consistent act, in its way, as he is in a sense "policing himself"). 

I'm less interested in Hugo's novels than in his poetry - esp. when used in mélodies.  For the 'national poet of France,' they aren't used as much in art songs as one might think they would and I've always wondered if maybe some of that might be attributable to the same sense of embarrassment Baudelaire felt about him.  Asked to name France's greatest poet, he is said to have replied: "Victor Hugo, unfortunately."  But there are some really good ones by Fauré, among a few others, just not as many as you might think would use his lyrics...