#preliminary gayeties

[thebrickinbrick]

Preliminary Gayeties, Part 1

LAIGLE DE MEAUX, as the reader knows, lived more with Joly than elsewhere. He had a lodging, as a bird has one on a branch. The two friends lived together, ate together, slept together. They had everything in common, even Musichetta, to some extent. They were, what the subordinate monks who accompany monks are called, bini. On the morning of the 5th of June, they went to Corinthe to breakfast. Joly, who was all stuffed up, had a catarrh which Laigle was beginning to share. Laigle's coat was threadbare, but Joly was well dressed.

It was about nine o'clock in the morning, when they opened the door of Corinthe.

They ascended to the first floor. Matelote and Gibelotte received them.

"Oysters, cheese, and ham," said Laigle. And they seated themselves at a table.

The wine-shop was empty; there was no one there but themselves.

Gibelotte, knowing Joly and Laigle, set a bottle of wine on the table.

While they were busy with their first oysters, a head appeared at the hatchway of the staircase, and a voice said:

"I am passing by. I smell from the street a delicious odor of Brie cheese. I enter." It was Grantaire.

Grantaire took a stool and drew up to the table.

At the sight of Grantaire, Gibelotte placed two bottes of wine on the table. That made three.

"Are you going to drink those two bottles?" Laigle inquired of Grantaire.

Grantaire replied, "All are ingenious, thou alone art ingenuous. Two bottles never yet astonished a man."

The others had begun by eating, Grantaire began by drinking. Half a bottle was rapidly gulped down.

"So you have a hole in your stomach?" began Laigle again.

“You have one in your elbow," said Grantaire. And after having emptied his glass, he added: "Ah, by the way, Laigle of the funeral oration, your coat is old.”

“I should hope so," retorted Laigle. "That's why we get on well together, my coat and I. It has acquired all my folds, it does not bind me anywhere, it is moulded on my deformities, it falls in with all my movements, I am only conscious of it because it keeps me warm. Old coats are just like old friends."

"That's true," ejaculated Joly, striking into the dialogue, "an old goat is an old abi” (ami, friend).

"Especially in the mouth of a man whose head is stuffed up," said Grantaire.

"Grantaire," demanded Laigle, "have you just come from the boulevard?"

"No."

"We have just seen the head of the procession pass, Joly and I."

"It's a marvellous sight," said Joly.

"How quiet this street is!" exclaimed Laigle. "Who would suspect that Paris was turned upside down? How plainly it is to be seen that in former days there were nothing but convents here! In this neighborhood! Du Breul and Sauval give a list of them, and so does the Abbé Lebeuf. They were all round here, they fairly swarmed, booted and barefooted, shaven, bearded, gray, black, white, Franciscans, Minims, Capuchins, Carmelites, Little Augustines, Great Augustines, old Augustines, there was no end of them."

"Don't let's talk of monks," interrupted Grantaire, "it makes one want to scratch oneself."

“Bouh! I've just swallowed a bad oyster. Now hypochondria is taking possession of me again. The oysters are spoiled, the servants are ugly. I hate the human race. I just passed through the Rue Richelieu, in front of the big public library. That pile of oyster-shells which is called a library is disgusting even to think of. What paper! What ink! What scrawling!

"And then, I met a pretty girl of my acquaintance, who is as beautiful as the spring, worthy to be called Floréal, and who is delighted, enraptured, as happy as the angels, because a wretch yesterday, a frightful banker all spotted with small-pox, deigned to take a fancy to her! Alas! woman keeps on the watch for a protector as much as for a lover; cats chase mice as well as birds. Two months ago that young woman was virtuous in an attic, she adjusted little brass rings in the eyelet-holes of corsets, what do you call it? She sewed, she had a camp bed, she dwelt beside a pot of flowers, she was contented. Now here she is a bankeress. This transformation took place last night. I met the victim this morning in high spirits. The hideous point about it is, that the jade is as pretty to-day as she was yesterday. Her financier did not show in her face. Roses have this advantage or disadvantage over women, that the traces left upon them by caterpillars are visible. Ah! there is no morality on earth. I call to witness the myrtle, the symbol of love, the laurel, the symbol of air, the olive, that ninny, the symbol of peace, the apple-tree which came nearest rangling Adam with its pips, and the fig-tree, the grandfather of petticoats. As for right, do you know what right is? The Gauls covet Clusium, Rome protects Clusium, and demands what wrong Clusium has done to them. Brennus answers: ‘The wrong that Alba did to you, the wrong that Fidenæ did to you, the wrong that the Eques, the Volsci, and the Sabines have done to you. They were your neighbors. The Clusians are ours. We understand neighborliness just as you do. You have stolen Alba, we shall take Clusium.’ Rome said: ‘You shall not take Clusium.’ Brennus took Rome. Then he cried: ‘Væ victis!’ That is what right is. Ah! what beasts of prey there are in this world! What eagles! It makes my flesh creep.”

He held out his glass to Joly, who filled it, then he drank and went on, having hardly been interrupted by this glass of wine, of which no one, not even himself, had taken any notice:—

“Brennus, who takes Rome, is an eagle; the banker who takes the grisette is an eagle. There is no more modesty in the one case than in the other. So we believe in nothing. There is but one reality: drink. Whatever your opinion may be in favor of the lean cock, like the Canton of Uri, or in favor of the fat cock, like the Canton of Glaris, it matters little, drink. You talk to me of the boulevard, of that procession, et cætera, et cætera. Come now, is there going to be another revolution? This poverty of means on the part of the good God astounds me. He has to keep greasing the groove of events every moment. There is a hitch, it won’t work. Quick, a revolution! The good God has his hands perpetually black with that cart-grease. If I were in his place, I’d be perfectly simple about it, I would not wind up my mechanism every minute, I’d lead the human race in a straightforward way, I’d weave matters mesh by mesh, without breaking the thread, I would have no provisional arrangements, I would have no extraordinary repertory. What the rest of you call progress advances by means of two motors, men and events. But, sad to say, from time to time, the exceptional becomes necessary. The ordinary troupe suffices neither for event nor for men: among men geniuses are required, among events revolutions. Great accidents are the law; the order of things cannot do without them; and, judging from the apparition of comets, one would be tempted to think that Heaven itself finds actors needed for its performance. At the moment when one expects it the least, God placards a meteor on the wall of the firmament. Some queer star turns up, underlined by an enormous tail. And that causes the death of Cæsar. Brutus deals him a blow with a knife, and God a blow with a comet. Crac, and behold an aurora borealis, behold a revolution, behold a great man; ’93 in big letters, Napoleon on guard, the comet of 1811 at the head of the poster. Ah! what a beautiful blue theatre all studded with unexpected flashes! Boum! Boum! extraordinary show! Raise your eyes, boobies. Everything is in disorder, the star as well as the drama. Good God, it is too much and not enough. These resources, gathered from exception, seem magnificence and poverty. My friends, Providence has come down to expedients. What does a revolution prove? That God is in a quandry. He effects a coup d’état because he, God, has not been able to make both ends meet. In fact, this confirms me in my conjectures as to Jehovah’s fortune; and when I see so much distress in heaven and on earth, from the bird who has not a grain of millet to myself without a hundred thousand livres of income, when I see human destiny, which is very badly worn, and even royal destiny, which is threadbare, witness the Prince de Condé hung, when I see winter, which is nothing but a rent in the zenith through which the wind blows, when I see so many rags even in the perfectly new purple of the morning on the crests of hills, when I see the drops of dew, those mock pearls, when I see the frost, that paste, when I see humanity ripped apart and events patched up, and so many spots on the sun and so many holes in the moon, when I see so much misery everywhere, I suspect that God is not rich. The appearance exists, it is true, but I feel that he is hard up. He gives a revolution as a tradesman whose money-box is empty gives a ball. God must not be judged from appearances. Beneath the gilding of heaven I perceive a poverty-stricken universe. Creation is bankrupt. That is why I am discontented. Here it is the 4th of June, it is almost night; ever since this morning I have been waiting for daylight to come; it has not come, and I bet that it won’t come all day. This is the inexactness of an ill-paid clerk. Yes, everything is badly arranged, nothing fits anything else, this old world is all warped, I take my stand on the opposition, everything goes awry; the universe is a tease. It’s like children, those who want them have none, and those who don’t want them have them. Total: I’m vexed.

[sejrart]

“Courfeyrac! Courfeyrac! Hohée!”

Courfeyrac heard the shout, caught sight of Bossuet, and advanced a few paces into the Rue de la Chanvrerie, shouting: “What do you want?” which crossed a “Where are you going?”

“To make a barricade,” replied Courfeyrac.

“Well, here! This is a good place! Make it here!”

“That’s true, Aigle,” said Courfeyrac.

And at a signal from Courfeyrac, the mob flung themselves into the Rue de la Chanvrerie.

[eldritchw1tch]

Preliminary Gayeties: Preparatory Materials for Interested Parties

Greetings, all! As you may be aware, @barricadescon��� (x) is happening this weekend. Myself (x), @shitpostingfromthebarricade​ (x), and @grantairelibere (x) will be hosting one of the social night panels, and we are BEYOND excited! Below, I’ve got a bit more information for you:

As you may know, Preliminary Gayeties is one of the chapters of the Brick, in which Grantaire, Joly, and Bossuet get a bit trashed while they wait for Lamarque’s funeral to reach the riot stage. The three of us have a fairly longstanding personal tradition of reading this chapter aloud and playing a drinking game whenever we’re together, and it is to this custom that we would like to invite all of you. Now, in order to fully participate, you may need some supplies! All versions of these supplies are equally valid, and certainly it can be played with simple water and any snackie of your choice. However, we find it is MOST amusing when you have a specific bev or snack to stand in for each one specified. To that end, we provide a guide below so that as many people as possible may be prepared to participate fully in our game!

First of all, we need some bevs:

The primary drink is (usually red) wine. For substitutions, we suggest: any wine you personally prefer, a wine cooler, grape juice, grape flavored gatorade/sports drink, any kind of purple drink mix, some water with red/purple food coloring in it, Just Straight Up Water, whatever speaks to you!

In much smaller quantities, the activity also calls for beer (specifically stout), brandy, and absinthe. 

For beer, we suggest: any beer of your choice, a nonalcoholic beer, some lemonade, Just Some Bread, ginger beer, ginger ale, any kind of cola, etc.

For brandy, we suggest: brandy, whiskey, any dark liquor, Just A Shot of Maple Syrup, tea, a shot of coke or pepsi, etc.

For absinthe, we will do The Ritual, in which you put a small amount of absinthe in a cup, put a sugar cube in a strainer above it, and slowly pour water over the cube until it has dissolved. For substitutions, we suggest: any violently green energy drink, mountain dew, sugar water with green food coloring, Just Eat Some Licorice, ouzo, a straight shot of lime juice, or anything else unhinged that your little heart desires!

For snacks, we suggest you have some bread, along with…

Oysters. For substitutions, consider: smoked salmon/lox, any shellfish or seafood of your choice, some nice oyster mushrooms, oyster crackers, gummies shaped like shells idk do they sell those, frankly Swedish Fish, etc.

Brie. For substitutions, consider: any kind of cheese or faux-cheese, any kind of Bread Spread you prefer, butter, flavored butter, jam, marmalade, etc

Ham. For substitutions, consider: bacon, turkey bacon, turkey, any kind of cold cut you prefer, thinly sliced vegetables, veggie burger, etc

[inmarbleimmobility]

having a very grantaire moment rn

[pilferingapples]

It's focused on New York rather than Paris, but this video by Max Miller is still a fun look at the cultural role of oysters in dining, with a lot of info on their treatment in the 19C!

[ofpd]

we're taking such a huge break before enjolras disdains me

[koheletgirl]

Random question: Do you have a favourite scene from Les Mis?

im trying so hard not to be exrpilled about this but i dont think i can. have you heard of ofpd

[barricadescon]

BarricadesCon Panel Descriptions: Highlights of Track 1, Saturday, July 13

Reflecting on Directing Les Mis by Pieces Of Cait

Cait directed an amateur production of Les Mis at the end of last year, and would love to talk about how that went and share snippets from the show and behind the scenes. This will include talking about adapting Les Mis for the space and budget, approaches to certain scenes, dual casting lead roles, and probably raving about the lovely cast. 

2. What Horizon: Tragedies, Time Loops, and the Hopefulness of Les Amis by Percy

In this presentation, Percy will discuss the ideas of tragedy and hope with reference to Hugo’s original text and the ways in which rebellion has been changed in adaptation, as well as other works of inspiration for this staged play adaptation of Hugo’s work (namely Hadestown and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead). The presentation will detail choices made in the adaptation process, show clips from the staged reading, and touch on the different characters, setting, and overarching themes with which Percy engaged while creating the play. 

3. Cosette: A Novel — The (Fanmade) Sequel to Les Misérables by Imiserabili

This presentation is  a deep-dive into the 1995 fanfiction “Cosette” by Laura Kalpakian. It will include a short background on the author and the publication, a summary of the plot, an analysis of represented historical events in the work, character analyses and comparisons to the source material and other Les Mis adaptations, and memorable quotes.

4. Barricades as a Tactic: How Do They Work? by Lem

This session will explore the tactical and strategic uses of barricades, with an eye towards what to consider when writing both canon-era fanfiction and modern AUs. After all, the strategic goals towards which the barricades were used in canon-era urban warfare were often quite different from the strategic goals of similar-looking tactics in contemporary protest movements. Core components of the session will be a map-based analysis of July 1830, a comparison with June 1832 highlighting strategic goals and considerations canon-era characters would have, and an exploration of various parallels among contemporary protest tactics (which may or may not *look* like barricades).

5. Why is there a Roller Coaster in Les Mis? The Strange History of the Russian Mountains by Peyton Parker (Mellow)

In Les Miserables there is an actual canon scene where Fantine rides a roller coaster. How did a roller coaster end up in Paris in 1817? And why did this ride, one of the worlds first Roller Coasters, make a cameo in Les Mis? It’s “Les Mis Meets Defunctland.”

We’re going talk about the earliest origins of the Russian Mountains, the fascinating history behind how they came to France, their many connections to the political turmoil of the time period, what they felt like to ride, why they were shut down, how they fell into obscurity, and why Victor Hugo included them in Les Mis.

6. Obscure(-ish) Les Mis Adaptations To Watch by PureAnon

Les Mis has been adapted many times over the years, and this means there’s a lot of adaptations to enjoy. Because of this, a lot of adaptations are underviewed or underappreciated. This panel will discuss 1925, 1948, 1967, and 1995. These adaptations are all very different and are fascinating looks at how different countries and different time periods will adapt this story. Clips of each adaptation will be shown so the audience can get a taste of what each adaptation is like. 

7. Recovery: A Fanfic Live Read by Eli (Thecandlesticksfromlesmis)

A full cast will live read a Les Mis fanfic written specifically for the con.

8. Preliminary Gaieties by Barri Cade, Percy, and Rare

In keeping with personal tradition, Rare, Percy, and ShitpostingFromTheBarricade will bring you a second year of our dramatic reading of the “Preliminary Gayeties” chapter of the brick, following specified drinking game rules (including classics such as “brick quotes that appear commonly in fanfiction,” “pretentious classical references,” and “drink/eat when characters drink/eat”), and enjoying snacks mentioned in the chapter as they are mentioned. Everyone is invited to participate by reading, eating, and drinking along with this activity!

[shitpostingfromthebarricade]

Hey! It's coming up fast, but please consider checking out @barricadescon 2023!!! This year's virtual con will be 14-16 July and features both academic and fandom tracks!

I personally am part of two panels this year:

featuring the fabulous @thepiecesofcait and @thecandlesticksfromlesmis wherein we discuss our processes for characterizing the Amis in our respective mediums (writing, art, and film), and

with @eldritchw1tch and @grantairelibere , a social event where we read Preliminary Gayeties, eat, and drink along with the characters.

Even if these events don't speak to you, I strongly recommend checking out the con's events page to see if anything piques your interest! It's only $10, the money goes toward a good cause, and there are many scholarships available to anyone who wants to attend but can't afford to!

[gavroche-le-moineau]

Some Gaîtés Préalables / Preliminary Gayeties Hapgood translation notes!

I noticed a number of translation discrepancies in this chapter, and I'm sure there are more than these since I didn't go through the translation with a fine tooth comb.

1. “C’est un spectacle berveilleux, dit Joly.” / “It’s a marvellous sight,” said Joly.” This is the first instance that Joly's stuffed up state is shown through his speech (berveilleux instead of merveilleux), and at first I was so disappointed that Hapgood didn't mimic it in the translation but luckily later on in the chapter she does include the speech modification due to stuffy nose. I loved this so much, reminds me of Bilbo in The Hobbit when all he can say is "thag you very buch" due to his cold!

2. “Il fait un coup d’état, parce qu’il y a solution de continuité entre le présent et l’avenir, et parce que, lui Dieu, il n’a pas pu joindre les deux bouts.” “He effects a coup d’état because he, God, has not been able to make both ends meet.” The bolded line in French is skipped in the English translation here and I have no idea why, I really like this line. My attempt at a full translation of this sentence would be: "He stages a coup, because there is a gap between the present and future, and because he, God, hasn't been able to make the two ends meet."

3. “...et à voir tant de malaise en haut et en bas, tant de mesquinerie et de pingrerie et de ladrerie et de détresse au ciel et sur la terre...” “...and when I see so much distress in heaven and on earth...” This part of the very next sentence gets greatly simplified in the Hapgood translation. The French reads something like: "...and to see so much malaise on high and down low, so much pettiness and stinginess and rapacity and distress in heaven and on earth..."

4. “Voyez, c’est le cinq juin...” / “Here it is the 4th of June...” It's June 5th! Not June 4th? ONCE AGAIN Hapgood with the mistranslated numbers???? Can anyone explain this I'm so confused. Why would you change some number by one or two?? It's happened throughout the book with ages, hours, dates...

5. “L’enfant, choisissant sans hésiter parmi les trois, quoiqu’il n’en connût évidemment aucun, s’adressa à Laigle de Meaux.” “The child unhesitatingly making his choice among the three, addressed himself to Laigle de Meaux.” A fairly inconsequential omission here but the English once again skips the bold part of the sentence, reading in full: "The child, choosing among the three without hesitating, though evidently not knowing any of them, addressed himself to Laigle de Meaux."

There may be more but these are only the ones I noticed! What a great chapter, though, as I know we're all aware!

[thebrickinbrick]

Preliminary Gayeties, Part 5

Bossuet, though very drunk, preserved his equanimity.

He was seated on the sill of the open window, wetting his back in the falling rain, and gazing at his two friends.

All at once, he heard a tumult behind him, hurried footsteps, cries of “To arms!” He turned round and saw in the Rue Saint-Denis, at the end of the Rue de la Chanvrerie, Enjolras passing, gun in hand, and Gavroche with his pistol, Feuilly with his sword, Courfeyrac with his sword, and Jean Prouvaire with his blunderbuss, Combeferre with his gun, Bahorel with his gun, and the whole armed and stormy rabble which was following them.

The Rue de la Chanvrerie was not more than a gunshot long. Bossuet improvised a speaking-trumpet from his two hands placed around his mouth, and shouted:—

“Courfeyrac! Courfeyrac! Hohée!”

Courfeyrac heard the shout, caught sight of Bossuet, and advanced a few paces into the Rue de la Chanvrerie, shouting: “What do you want?” which crossed a “Where are you going?”

“To make a barricade,” replied Courfeyrac.

“Well, here! This is a good place! Make it here!”

“That’s true, Aigle,” said Courfeyrac.

And at a signal from Courfeyrac, the mob flung themselves into the Rue de la Chanvrerie.

[glowingvenus]

What are your favorite romantic tropes to write?

hm! well, when it comes to tropes, i would say that they are best considered tools for analyzing a story and comparing/contrasting it with other stories after it has been written. deliberately leaning into specific tropes while writing tends to produce results that are formulaic and dull, in my opinion, so i usually try to avoid it. if the story or the characters happen to fall in line with certain tropes, then it's only because that's what happened to feel true.

that said, there are some tropes that can be fun as prompts. i like characters discovering aspects of their sexuality through each other, whether it's their orientation or their relationship to their own body, etc. I like characters coming out to one another 🏳️‍🌈 very much into stories that tangle with the realities of being LGBT!

I often like enemies/rivals to lovers - especially when it's two characters who WOULD be enemies but due to circumstances they have to work together. I also like sex before love/friends with benefits to lovers. I like threesomes/non-jealous sexual sharing. I like when characters have to raise a kid together. I like arranged marriages (shout out to @preliminary-gayeties' amazing Gay Arranged Marriage AUs series ❤️), lavender marriages, or just characters being happily married and growing old together hehe

[akallabeth-joie]

Les Mis 4.12.2

It's Preliminary Gayeties day.

My heart is breaking already. Like barricade day all over again.

Laigle really likes his history info dumps. I count at least 3--including every time we get him quasi-monologuing on page. First it was about historic legal terms when we met the group; here he's talking about the neighborhood's bygone cloisters; we'll also get some more on June 6 during Laigle & Combeferre's Fun Facts About Artillery interlude.

[If I ever wrote modern AUs, that conversation would become a science-and-history podcast run by the two of them.]

Hugo describes Navet as "executing a prolonged scrape of his foot behind him, which is the most respectful of all possible salutes, he took his departure." I've always taken this as some gamin gesture, but it struck me this time that he's maybe meant to be limping. That delivering the message despite physical difficulty is this "most respectful of salutes." Thoughts?

Also, I feel like somewhere we have a list of all the French puns in this chapter.

[inmarbleimmobility]

so much is happening. e/R beat bagginshield, the stop oil protest, the les miserables tag is trending, it's preliminary gayeties day,

[pilferingapples]

do u think grantaire is kind? like based off of the brick? bc there is a difference in wanting progresss and loving your friends and being a kind person (not NICE but like. kind.)

Oh, interesting question! I...think he wants to be kind? So first off I don't think he's nice at all, lol. He's rude as hell. But of course, people can be kind without being nice-- Ursus in L'homme qui rit is a good Hugolian example, being a foulmouthed guy who'll insult anyone while also giving them the food from his own dish and the clothes off his back. And people can of course be very nice while being deeply unkind, as witness: too many examples to even start listing.

As for Grantaire in this regard, I think there's an important indicator of his general engagement with others in Preliminary Gayeties, when we see Legle, Joly and Grantaire talking with Navet (the only gamin we ever see Grantaire talking with!): "This. A tall blonde fellow on the boulevard said to me: `Do you know Mother Hucheloup?' I said: `Yes, Rue Chanvrerie, the old man's widow;' he said to me: `Go there. There you will find M. Bossuet. Tell him from me: "A B C".' It's a joke that they're playing on you, isn't it. He gave me ten sous."

"Joly, lend me ten sous," said Laigle; and, turning to Grantaire: "Grantaire, lend me ten sous."

This made twenty sous, which Laigle handed to the lad.

"Thank you, sir," said the urchin.

"What is your name?" inquired Laigle.

"Navet, Gavroche's friend."

"Stay with us," said Laigle.

"Breakfast with us," said Grantaire,

(italics bc Tumblr won't let me indent in asks, why)

There's a pattern here: Legle prompts kindness , and Grantaire follows his lead. I know certain people would sneer at that--of course Legle makes a lot of suggestions that use Other People's Money,how dare he!-- but (a) I hope none of those people are following this blog and (b)his friends are all people who want to help, and are united around that desire!. Legle is good at seeing how to help, even when he's not the one who can do it-- and we know already he will and does act when he does have the needed resources.

And Grantaire is Legle's friend. They don't just Hang Out By Association; Grantaire is probably closer to Legle than to anyone else in the group. He specifically came to join Legle and Joly on what they all know might be their Last Morning. He stays with them over going to Enjolras, his fixation and Reason For Everything, and his emotional reasons for staying are many, to be sure, but they all add up to that huge fact.

Grantaire repeatedly makes comments acknowledging that the world is unfair, and wishing it was better. He repeatedly argues that he is powerless, but also wishes he wasn't. He wants a better world; he wants to be part of making a better world; what he doesn't believe in, what he's taking care to not believe in, is the possibility of either of those things happening. That disconnect between Want and Can is core to his whole character.

But he's attached himself to people who believe in a better world; and to people who point out ways he can help. And he follows up on their suggestions as much as he can manage (see: he doesn't blink at backing up Legle's direct call for material aid , but cannot deliver on his promise to drum up support at the Barriere du Maine , a much more complicated role that he really doesn't understand.)

He wants there to be kindness in the world, and he wants to be part of making it happen. He is closest to people who help him see where and how he can be kind, since he struggles to figure it out on his own. He does not always see it, even then, or follow up well or even at all. But he wants to.

Does that mean he is? I dunno. Probably? Maybe?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no?

I turn it back to you, Nonny; what do you think?

[ofpd]

preliminary gayeties is such an incredibly good chapter title it's crazy