#je suis un miserable is also a line used in the legendary classic Javert T’es Amoreux

[secretmellowblog]

One thing Im sad I miss because I’m reading Les Mis in English is the repeated use of the word “misérables.” After stealing from Petit Gervais in the Hapgood translation of Les Mis, Valjean says “I am a wretch!” In the original French, he says “je suis un misérable!”

So some things get lost in translation— the fact that Valjean is using the Important Significant Title Word, the fact that “misérable” can mean wretch and miserable and a lower class outcast who does not belong within society….. there’s just nuance that gets lost.