Musicals have always been an important part of me. They have all moved me to tears, kept me at the edge of my seat, made me shiver with excitement, and jump with joy to some extent. However, no musical has given me the same feeling as "Les Misérables".
This musical will always be one of my personal favorites. I remember the first time I saw the musical, both on the silver screen and on stage. I was blown away by the powerful musical scores, the heartrending lyrics, the complex characters, and the many deep themes discussed. For all of these reasons, Les Misérables is one of my top five favorite musicals. Although there were certain aspects of the live show versus the newest movie that added to them, both of these viewings had such an impact on me.
These similar experiences with both the live version and the movie version, although different, gave me the idea for this article. I wanted to explore how Victor Hugo's original 1,400-word novel, published 150 years ago in 1862, could have such a huge effect on audiences today, and how its remediation has maintained or added to the original brilliance of the novel.
Love and Redemption; Themes to Last through the Decades
These two themes are woven throughout the novel. The mercy of the priest when Jean Valjean steals from him is the beginning of his redemption with himself and God. After the merciful priest inspires Jean Valjean with the notion of God's redemption, the protagonist's odyssey essentially amounts to a series of redemptive acts.
For example, Valjean single-handedly raises Cosette after the death of her mother, Fantine; spares the life of his nemesis, Javert; and rescues young Marius from the barricades, (Askar). Perhaps the most stirring of all is the culmination of Valjean's redemption with those he loves on his death bed. He sings to Fantine who gave him the care of her daughter. He believes that Cosette saved him, so he sings to her as well. He sings, "to love another person is to see the face of God." Through this line, he is expressing that all the love he has given and received has saved him from the bad things he did in the past and the hardships he went through.
One reason Les Misérables has been so popular and continues to be powerful to people is because of these two themes. Love and Redemption are two concepts that we as humans are always striving for, whether it's a romantic relationship, a family relationship, or a platonic relationship, or redemption in the eyes of God, our family, or even ourselves.
Valjean's redemption is in the eyes of God and himself. We all strive to find fulfillment and acceptance in our lives. Marva Barnett, editor of the anthology "Victor Hugo and the Things that Matter" and a French professor at the University of Virginia, is quoted in Askar's article as saying, "Anyone can lead a better life, feel more love, move toward God, as does Valjean. We can work our own transfigurations if we truly work at them. Even if we feel as downtrodden as Valjean, we have hope." When I read this quote, I thought it was a perfect summary of the themes of the story; love, redemption, and hope in the midst of crisis. This quote focuses on how all these elements impacted Valjean in a positive way, which is exactly what he realizes at the end of the novel.
