#lm 3.5.6

[secretmellowblog]

I love how Théodule’s only role in Les Mis is to show up at random times to be very useless and shallow and petty. King

[dolphin1812]

Poor Théodule.

I think the way his aunt frames him in this chapter (“such as one sees in books. For Marius, read Théodule.”) is hilarious. On the one hand, it's a gentle dig at this novel and, by extension, Hugo himself; he used this exact framing to introduce Courfeyrac ("for Courfeyrac, see Tholomyès), so Les Misérables is the "book" that uses this style. If this line of thinking is supposedly unrealistic because it's how one thinks in a book, then Courfeyrac is the less realistic counterpart to Marius. At the same time, the parallel between these lines reveals just how wrong Mlle Gillenormand is. Courfeyrac and Tholomyès are compared, but in reality, the main thing they share is that they're well-off law students with a thriving social life. Their characters are completely different, both to the reader and to everyone around them, just as Théodule just doesn`t work as a Marius replacement. To us, they're too different in personality (Théodule is fun, but he can't really be substituted for his almost-too-contemplative, withdrawn cousin; he's too shallow and open for that). To M Gillenormand, Théodule just doesn't matter. He only cares about Marius. Even his rant happens because he's imagining that Marius is one of the students deliberating!

A brief note on M Gillenormand's rant:

"Just see whither Jacobinism leads. I will bet anything you like, a million against a counter, that there will be no one there but returned convicts and released galley-slaves. The Republicans and the galley-slaves,—they form but one nose and one handkerchief."

His royalism as a whole is rooted in his commitment to a specific social order (a king governs without the feedback of the people, and the people are strictly divided by birth), but this particular comment is notable for its references to the galleys. Gillenormand's "nightmarish Republic" is one where everyone, including ex-convicts and those who served in the galleys, are equal participants. To him, this suggests that republicans are inherently criminal (and/or willing to work with criminals to reach their goals). To us, his "nightmare" is just Jean Valjean having rights as Valjean, not as one of his alter egos. Valjean himself is one of the less political characters (yes, he's literally governed before, but he doesn't express political allegiances), and that might be because he can't risk exposing himself by being too active. A world where his drive to make sure others don't suffer like he did has political influence actually sounds pretty great (Montrueil-sur-Mer was nice, even if still flawed). It's just Gillenormand's fear of letting anyone other than the aristocrats govern - especially the lower classes - that makes this so horrific to him.

Another joke in the rant:

"He’s a Republican, he’s a romantic. What does that mean, romantic? Do me the favor to tell me what it is. All possible follies. A year ago, they ran to Hernani. Now, I just ask you, Hernani! antitheses! abominations which are not even written in French!"

Hugo wrote Hernani. Having Gillenormand hate it so vociferously is a way of praising the work by insulting it (if Gillenormand despises something, that makes it seem better).

There's a lot of anger towards Marius in the specifics, too. One of Gillenormand's criticisms is this:

"They give themselves a scar with the address of thou as citizens, in order to get themselves called, eventually, Monsieur le Comte. Monsieur le Comte as big as my arm, assassins of September."

M le Comte isn't that far off from "M le Baron," and to Gillenormand, Bonapartists and republicans are all just different versions of the same evil, so this dig at titles in a supposedly egalitarian system may be a reference to Marius' own title.

[cliozaur]

If there were to be an alternative version of Les Misérables, I would love for it to be told from the perspective of Mlle Gillenormand - I am certain there is more to her than meets the eye, and there is great narrative potential!

I won't delve into the details of Gillenormand's rant - it's just amusing how he imagines Marius doing the complete opposite of what he was inclined to do. Perhaps he would have been pleased to learn that his grandson is staying away from politics and is not a republican. At this stage of his life, Marius certainly wouldn't participate in mass student meetings!

Gillenormand once again delves into his anxieties concerning the year 1793 and curses the nineteenth century (as a man from a previous era). Poor Théodule had to endure all this nonsense, agree with it, and receive nothing in return except being called "a fool." In this situation, the walls would have been better companions for Gillenormand.

I am so looking forward to the next book when all our dear characters will finally come together.

[obi-wann-cannoli]

M. Gillenormand would do numbers on Fox News

[everyonewasabird]

Brickclub 3.5.6 ‘The supplanter’

“Yes," thought she, "it is merely an erratum such as I see in the books; for Marius read Théodule.”

Once again, Mlle Gillenormand is being presented pretty negatively. This time, it’s about how shallowly she sees Marius or understands her father.

But, like. She’s not doing anything wrong? The story’s protests to the contrary, she seems to have realized her father is sad about Marius. So she brings in the younger relative she’s always liked better than Marius to see if that will cheer him up.

Where's the crime? I get that Theodule is being a bit mercenary in buttering him up and that Gillenormand has no interest in having a Marius substitute, but like.  Gillenormand sucks, Theodule is trying to get along with his elderly relatives. I don’t see a whole lot of problems on the Mlle G & Theodule side of this.

Oddly, she’s also echoing the narrator’s “For Courfeyrac, read Tholomyes,” which wasn’t a very good attempt at substitution either, though it’s clear this chapter’s subsitution is meant to be bad. Does that mean anything? I have no idea.

We see Gillenormand working himself up over his favorite conservative news source in a scene I wish was much harder to transplant to modern day. Young people are too radical, he says, they’re badly dressed, he doesn’t understand their slang, and he’s shocked by how young they look. He’s the universal conservative old man here.

He accidentally has a point for a moment, though not the one he intends:

“Republicans and galley-slaves, they fit like a nose and a handkerchief. ”

He’s predicting Valjean’s presence at the barricade--though also, I suppose, Le Cabuc's. He’s also maybe drawing attention to the Marius-Valjean parallels I’ve been talking about.

Interestingly, he’s painting Marius as a republican a chapter or so after we learn that Marius decided not to be a republican and isn’t particularly engaged in all this. Everyone to the left of the Ultras is probably a republican fool or traitor to Gillenormand, so that’s not surprising. But it creates an odd effect in that imagined!Marius has filled the role we kind of feel Marius should have filled: a politically active member of the Friends of the A B C.

It’s interesting that imagined!Marius has followed a more constructive path than actual Marius.

Gillenormand brings up every instance of hypocrisy and political climbing on the left that he can think of--and from that it’s clear he values uncompromising political opinions. He wishes Marius had landed on different ones, but Theodule’s pleasant yes-man-ing isn’t going to cut it with someone who values having an unchangeable stance.

No wonder Marius gravitated towards Mabeuf, an old man who’s the exact opposite of this one.

The way Gillenormand talks about Marius and republicans is mocking and cruel: it’s all about how stupid Marius and everything he cares about is. It’s a form of insult meant to needle Marius’s pride, and it’s probably the reason Marius’s pride is so brittle.

Theodule gamely applauds, and Gillenormand finally notices him and calls a fool, because Theodule has entirely missed the subtext.

Namely:

1) Gillenormand is arguing with a person he wishes were here. This whole rant is obviously about missing Marius.

2) Gillenormand is arguing against someone he knows holds strong political values, because he thinks highly of holding strong political values.

And less charitably, and maybe less Hugo’s intent, though I wouldn’t rule it out--

3) Gillenormand is trying to push Marius’s buttons. Part of the reason Theodule is failing here is because he’s not getting hurt. Gillenormand wants to wound, but he can’t hurt Theodule--so, from Gillenormand’s POV, wtf is the point?

[fremedon]

Brickclub 3.5.5, “Poverty A Friend of Misery” and 3.5.6, “The Substitute”

I’ve fallen behind again and I am once again going to be lazy and mostly say what Bird said about 3.5.5, with a couple of addenda:

1.) Once again, Grantaire is coming off much better than Marius--Marius he had finally come hardly to look at anything but the sky, the only thing that truth can see from the bottom of her well.” Grantaire is the toad who looks up and sees the eagle in flight. Marius is only seeing the sky--not actually truth, just what truth sees. He’s being exposed to things he could put together into some sort of truth, but he’s not doing the math.

2.) Hugo introduced the July Revolution for the first time in the last chapter, in the context of its effect on M. Mabeuf’s book sales. He mentions it again here, in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it aside. He’s eventually going to backtrack and give us a whole book-length digression as the opening to Tome IV--A Few Pages of History, the equivalent of Paris Atomized and Waterloo. But right now, we get

All passions except those of the heart subside in idle musing. Marius’s political fanaticisms were dispelled in this way. By satisfying and calming him, the 1830 Revolution had helped in this. He remained the same, without the anger. He still had the same opinions; only, they had mellowed. Strictly speaking, he no longer had opinions--he had sympathies.

While we’ve been watching Marius look at lettuces, there has been an entire revolution, and Marius didn’t bat an eye and neither did the narrator. 

I’m not sure if that’s more damning of Marius or of Louis-Philippe, but. It’s pretty bad.

I have very little to say about 3.5.6, where Aunt G tries to replace Marius with Theodule and the graft doesn’t take. Gillenormand wants a fight, and Theodule amiably gray-rocks his way through a three-page rant and refuses to give him one.

I am really appreciating Theodule’s ability to visit his elderly relatives and make pleasant conversation without getting even a little bit drawn into their shit-stirring drama. Seriously, well done Theodule.

[pilferingapples]

Les Mis 365, 3.5.6

Theodule chapters are so easy to get along with. 

Gillenormand continues to be super horrible. He ignores everyone around him to focus on berating Marius while Marius is gone, and yeah it would be pathetic and sympathetic MAYBE if this wasn’t also the way he talked to Marius while Marius was THERE, and growing up, and everything. The generic period racism is just the candle on the stinky Gillenormand rant, this chapter.  That said, I do really enjoy seeing him hopping around all uselessly frustrated, Whoo, Gillenormand is Upset and I am very pleased! Also, Gillenormand hates Hernani and all that Romantic trash. I grin.  He apparently thinks Marius is among the crowd of bearded, ill-dressed Romantics and I cackle. He apparently thinks the Romantic crew don’t get out with girls any, and I cackle even harder, because HAHAHAHAHA no. Gillenormand: Wrong about Romanticism, Wrong about Everything. 

Theodule is totally mercenary in his approach to Gillenormand and I am 1000 percent okay with that!  Gillenormand disapproves of Theodule, which is definitely a good mark in my book. Gillenormand also doesn’t recognize Theodule, despite that Theodule’s  apparently been visiting his aunt pretty regularly for...ever?!? Regularly enough that she knows him by sight and all. But then Gillenormand also ignores his daughter when she’s telling him her plans, even though she’s obviously excited.  So while I think I’m *supposed* to be joining Gillenormand in dismissing Theodule here, nah, I’m on the nephew’s side. In  a slightly different genre, Gillenormand would be the rich guy who got killed for an inheritance and a detective would have a hard time figuring out whodunnit because the deceased gave everyone SO MUCH MOTIVE.  So yeah, you go annoy the heck out of him, Theodule. 

[secretmellowblog]

It’s really interesting how in Les mis, the conservative royalist rants against protestors sound a lot like conservative rants you hear today?

After Gillenormand reads his conservative newspaper (the Fox News of the 19th century) describing an upcoming protest by young students, he goes on this whole furious rant about how “they’re idiot young people who clearly are to stupid to understand what they’re doing! They don’t respect law and order of the national guard. The world is going to collapse now because of these idiot kids who don’t respect law and tradition! And the young men these days aren’t REAL men any more, they’ve become weak and feminized!”

Also, I don’t know why my left wing grandson doesn’t speak to me anymore!”

“That pack of brats! they convene on the Place du Panthéon! by my life! urchins who were with their nurses but yesterday! If one were to squeeze their noses, milk would burst out. And they deliberate to-morrow, at midday. What are we coming to? What are we coming to? It is clear that we are making for the abyss. (…) And all this awkward batch of brats has political opinions, if you please. Political opinions should be strictly forbidden. They fabricate systems, they recast society, they demolish the monarchy, they fling all laws to the earth, they put the attic in the cellar’s place and my porter in the place of the King, they turn Europe topsy-turvy, they reconstruct the world, and all their love affairs consist in staring slily at the ankles of the laundresses as these women climb into their carts.(…) The end of the world is come! This is plainly the end of this miserable terraqueous globe!”

[secretmellowblog]

Another super fun detail in this chapter of Les Mis! While Gillenormand is going on his deranged conservative rant against the youth, he says:

He’s a Republican, he’s a romantic. What does that mean, romantic? Do me the favor to tell me what it is. All possible follies. A year ago, they ran to Hernani. Now, I just ask you, Hernani! antitheses! abominations which are not even written in French!

Hernani is a play written by Victor Hugo in 1830! It caused controversy for being a Romanticist play, hyper emotional and grotesque and rebellious, rather than a traditional conservative classicist play. It became a target of conservative criticism.

It’s more well known for the wild controversy surrounding it than the actual content of the play. According to the (likely exaggerated) accounts of people who were there, conservatives planned to pack the theater just so they could boo and jeer—but Hugo’s friends and the romantics packed the theater too in an effort to stop them, and altercations ensued. This little event is called “the Battle of Hernani.”

According to the Library of Congress:

On the opening night of the play, an altercation famously took place between the defenders of Hugo, led by the dramatist and critic Théophile Gautier, and those in favor of classicism. The event, which became known as the "battle of Hernani," was characterized by whistles, fist fights, multiple interruptions of the play, and street protests. The clashes lasted several days and marked the triumph of romantic drama…

While accounts of this event were often pretty exaggerated because people back then, like now, loved to spin wild tales about how They Totally Owned the Conservatives With Facts And Logic (Real Not Clickbait), the narrative the romantics built around liking/disliking Hernani was a huge thing at the time! Expressing approval or disapproval of the play was made into a very loaded political Thing.

So basically Hugo is indicating Gillenormand is a stodgy conservative with no brain cells by having him hate Hernani. At the same time, he’s also mocking his critics again…..like “lol people who hate Hernani? You liTERALLY sound like this”

It’s a move so petty you kinda gotta respect him for it