Les Miserables by Victor Hugo: Part III - Marius

"Paris has her especial child and the woods have their especial bird. The bird is the sparrow, and the child is the street-urchin."

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo: Part III Marius is the weakest part of the novel so far. In fact, if you're intimidated by the length of the novel, I think you could skip this section altogether.

Almost 500 pages into the novel's 1200, Mr. Hugo is still introducing characters, still setting up the plot. Unfortunately, Marius, the main character of Part III, is a complete bore; I began to lose patience with him very soon. The son of a decorated and then forgotten veteran of Napoleon's army, Marius is raised by his wealthy, aristocratic maternal grandfather who refuses to allow any mention of his son-in-law in his house. Marius grows up believing his father, who is still alive, is a scoundrel and that those who fought alongside Napoleon were traitors to the king. After his father dies, Marius learns the truth, that he was a hero and that he gave Marius up so he could benefit from his grandfather's money and position. Of course, Marius denounces his grandfather and begins to live the life of a poor student and then a poor clerk.

Marius' circle of friends, classmates largely, are much more political than the circle of college students in Part One of the novel. They spend each evening discussing the politics of the day and what should be done to restore the revolutionary ideals of France. Marius gradually drifts away from this group as he becomes obsessed with a beautiful girl he sees on daily walks in the Luxembourg Gardens with her elderly father. He does not speak to her in Part III, though he follows her for over 100 pages, but the two eventually begin to exchange glances, which the father notices. I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but you can probably guess who the "father and daughter" are already.

There is a plot twist involving Threnadier, the unpleasant innkeeper from Parts I and II, and eventually Inspector Javert reappears, but while these sort of twists were entertaining reading in the first two parts, in Part III they are expected, almost telegraphed long before they arrive. I really just wanted to get on with the story. I know the street battle section and the chase through the Paris sewers lie in wait in parts IV and V and this did not make reading Part III any easier.

So, I know this is considered sacrilege among some, but you may want to consider just skipping over Part III altogether. You won't be missing much.

While looking for pictures to post with this entry I found several examples of Victor Hugo's artwork. Eugene Delecroix, the painter and one of Mr. Hugo's contemporaries, had high praise for Mr. Hugo's artwork. Delecroix regretted that Hugo never spent time developing this talent. I've included two of his pen and ink pieces here for your consideration. I think they are a bit surreal, myself, but I like them.