History Fridge / LesMiserables

** "... And if you fall, as Lucifer fell, the flames, the sword!" Those are methods of execution. When Javert realizes that he is not right in his beliefs, he executes himself. And the ending of "Stars": also foreshadows his death: "Lord, let me find him, that I may see him safe behind bars. I will never rest, 'till then, this I swear, this I swear by the stars!" Here, Javert realizes that he [[MortonsFork can either arrest Jean Valjean, thereby making a morally reprehensible choice by sentencing a good man to prison and thus damning himself, or let Jean Valjean go, thereby making a morally reprehensible choice by breaking divine law (as he sees it) and thus damning himself.]] Once he finally understands that he will be doing evil either way, [[BreakTheBeliever and that all the beliefs he has held so close to his heart were wrong,]] he is unable to resolve the conflict and is only able to find peace by killing himself. However, given that suicide is considered a mortal sin, he's ''still'' made the wrong choice, thus damming himself, and as such is never able to find rest, ("I will never rest, 'till then, this I swear, this I swear by the stars!"... Remember that line?) not even in death. [[FridgeHorror Compounding this, he is the only dead character not seen in the final reprise of "Do You Hear The People Sing?", implied to be set in Heaven, meaning he is either in Purgatory or Hell.]]

* In the musical, Valjean tells Fantine he's seen her face before. Its possible she reminds him of the sister her lost.
** Not likely as he sees her earlier during the argument in his factory. He has literally seen her face before.

** "... And if you fall, as Lucifer fell, the flames, the sword!" Those are methods of execution. When Javert realizes that he is not right in his beliefs, he executes himself. And the ending of "Stars": also foreshadows his death: "Lord, let me find him, that I may see him safe behind bars. I will never rest, 'till then, this I swear, this I swear by the stars!" Well, when Javert realizes that he [[MortonsFork can either arrest Jean Valjean, make a morally reprehensible choice by sentencing a good man to prison and thus damming himself, or let Jean Valjean go, make a morally reprehensible choice by breaking divine law (as he sees it) and thus damming himself, will be doing evil either way,]] [[BreakTheBeliever and that all the beliefs he has held so close to his heart were wrong,]] he is unable to resolve the conflict and is only able to find peace by killing himself, but, given that suicide is a mortal sin, he's ''still'' made the wrong choice, thus damming himself, and as such is never able to find rest, ("I will never rest, 'till then, this I swear, this I swear by the stars!"... Remember that line?) not even in death. [[TearJerker Awww, poor thing.]]

* Enjolras shouting "Grantaire, ''put that bottle down''!" is usually played as him just being annoyed with Grantaire, but consider: the Amis are gathering weapons and ammunition. The last thing they need is an alcoholic waving a bottle around in a room full of guns.

** Also, in "Javert's Suicide", one of the lyrics towards the end, just before he kills himself, is "And the Stars are Black and Cold", showing that he believes himself to be abandoned by God.
** Another note about celestial symbolism: Stars are a guiding light for navigation, like a lighthouse, so they also represent Javert's moral code- the guiding light of his life. But when the light goes out... You're left in the darkness, with nothing to steer by("There is nowhere I can turn").

* The musical makes incredible use of parallels, contrasts, and leitmotifs across the span of the work in order to send various messages. One is the contrast between two tunes: "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" and the "authority" melody used mainly by Javert, but also by the soldiers in "Valjean Arrested, Valjean Forgiven." "Empty Chairs" is sung of course by Marius, but the tune is also used by the Bishop of Digne ("Come in, sir, for you are weary / And the night is cold out there"). This is a healing song. The Bishop uses it to heal Valjean's soul, and Marius uses it to heal his own, for, right after he finishes singing it, Cosette notices a change in him, singing: "Every day, you walk with stronger step / You walk with longer step / The worst is over". The "authority" tune (for example: "Tell his reverence your story / Let us see if he's impressed" or "Could it be he's some old jailbird / That the tide now washes in?") is in direct contrast to it. Notice they use the same meter, and the words of either one can be sung to the tune of the other! And the Bishop segues directly from one to the other: he uses the "authority" melody when dismissing the soldiers, and switches to the "Empty Chairs" melody when they are gone and he speaks only to Valjean again. The message here is that authority and law, here in Les Mis, are forces of good that have been twisted to evil purposes, which reflects a Hugo quote from the book narration: "Probity, sincerity, candor, conviction, the idea of duty, are things that, when in error, can turn hideous."

* Most people are very divided on Russel Crowe’s performance of Javert, citing an overall lack of range, volume, and vocal presence, especially in “Stars.” It is usually seen as a declaration of Javert’s crusade to capture Valjean, using the stars and God as his witness. However, in the film version, Crowe’s Javert is singing this song right after Valjean has just escaped him for the second time. Crowe’s Javert sings the song much more softly, but with just as much emphasis, while walking along a narrow ledge. This is not a Javert that is planning a personal crusade, but a Javert reassuring himself in his faith that, just as the stars have their order in the sky, so too does the world have an order, which is the law. His faith in this order is illustrated by his walking on the ledge; it is dangerous, and he could fall, but he firmly believes that God will keep him from falling in accordance with this order, just as He orders the stars in the sky. This is referenced again in “Javert’s Suicide;” once again, he is walking along a ledge and pondering the order of the world. However, this time, his belief in this order is shaken. He remarks that “the stars are black and cold,” and is no longer certain about his faith in God or the nature of the law. When this faith is challenged, he falls from the ledge and dies.

** That could also be a reference to the Marsellaise "Marchez, marchez, qu'un sang impur abreuve nos cillons", which also makes sense as the students were shown singing it in the book.

* In the song "Plumet Attack", right after "Heart Full of Love", Thenardier tells Eponine that if she screams to warn Valjean and Cosette that she'll "regret it for a year". Later, after she does it, he shouts "I'll make you scream, you'll scream alright". In at least one of the stage versions, he's physically restraining her as he says this. Just what does he do to her afterwords? Especially since the next time we see her, it's for "On My Own", in which she seems considerably more broken-down and sad, wandering the streets at night daydreaming about Marius, and she's obviously not staying with her family any more. She may well have been afraid to go home.

* Most of the characters singing in ''One Day More'' [[spoiler: only have one day more to live]].

* Gavroche to Enjolras: "If you are killed before me, I will take your musket." On the outside, that scene is just funny--but when you think about it, Gavroche, a little kid, not only understands that [[spoiler: They're both going to die,]] but he talks very matter-of-factly about it.

* In the song "Plumet Attack", right after "Heart Full of Love", Thenardier tells Eponine that if she screams to warn Valjean and Cosette that she'll "regret it for a year". Later, after she does it, he shouts "I'll make you scream, you'll scream alright". In at least one of the stage versions, he's physically restraining her as he says this. Just what does he do to her afterwords?
** Especially since the next time we see her, it's for "On My Own", in which she seems considerably more broken-down and sad, wandering the streets at night daydreaming about Marius, and she's obviously not staying with her family any more. She may well have been afraid to go home.

* In the novel, Thenardier asks for money to support three people, even though the only family he has left is his younger daughter, Azelma. Earlier in the novel, when the Patron-Minette was breaking him and Babet out of prison, it described Montparnasse, the handsome young dandy of the group, to be practically a son-in-law to Thenardier. Thenardier wanted the extra money so he could bring Montparnasse and marry Azelma off to him.
** Assuming he wasn't just lying so he could get more money. He told Marius that his wife was still alive.

* Another reference to the tides - "Could it be he's some old jailbird/that the tide now washes in?" [[spoiler: And like the tide, Valjean goes 'out' as well; he escapes from both Javert, who's singing, /and/ the barricades!]]

** "... And if you fall, as Lucifer fell, the flames the sword!" Those are methods of execution. When Javert realizes that he is not right in his beliefs, he executes himself. And the ending of "Stars": also foreshadows his death: "Lord, let me find him, that I may see him safe behind bars. I will never rest, 'till then, this I swear, this I swear by the stars!" Well, when Javert realizes that he [[MortonsFork can either arrest Jean Valjean, make a morally reprehensible choice by sentencing a good man to prison and thus damming himself, or let Jean Valjean go, make a morally reprehensible choice by breaking divine law (as he sees it) and thus damming himself, will be doing evil either way,]] [[BreakTheBeliever and that all the beliefs he has held so close to his heart were wrong,]] he is unable to resolve the conflict and is only able to find peace by killing himself, but, given that suicide is a mortal sin, he's ''still'' made the wrong choice, thus damming himself, and as such is never able to find rest, ("I will never rest, 'till then, this I swear, this I swear by the stars!"... Remember that line?) not even in death. [[TearJerker Awww, poor thing.]]

* When Javert, after denouncing Madeleine as Valjean in M-sur-M, comes to argue that he should be discharged for his actions, he declares (Quoted from a non-English translation): "I have often been severe in my life. If I would not be severe towards myself now, all that I have done would become an injustice. Should I save myself more than the others? No." It's isn't until much later in the book, upon his suicide, when that line truly becomes foreshadowing and begins to shed light into the matter. Javert learns that he has been wrong about the concepts of justice and redemption for his entire life. Therefore, despite his ambition to become utterly irreproachable, he has constantly been unjust: He has arrested men and women like Valjean and Fantine a hundred times over petty laws, leaving countless men, women and children to suffer poverty, sickness and death, not realizing the injustice of it because of his blind devotion to the laws of men instead of those of God. Upon realizing this, he sees that he has failed his moral duty and gives his resignation to God by throwing himself to the Seine, because his rigid moral code demands for his punishment which he can only attain by damning himself.

* During Thénardier's VillainSong "Dog Eat Dog", he refers to {{God}} being as dead as the "stiffs at (his) feet". Initially, this just seemed like a usual example of a villain having NietzscheWannabe pretentions, but then it hits you... During this scene, Thénardier is in the Paris sewers, and it seems like the "stiffs" he references are Valjean and Marius, neither of whom are dead. Thus, the musical is sending the message that God is very much alive.

* In 'Stars', Javert promises to never let Valjean go, and swears it by the stars. in 'Dog Eat Dog', M. Thenardier 'looks up to see the heavens and only the moon shines down'. A few songs later, Javert gives up on chasing Valjean.

*** Another note about celestial symbolism: Stars are a guiding light for navigation, like a lighthouse, so they also represent Javert's moral code- the guiding light of his life. But when the light goes out... You're left in the darkness, with nothing to steer by("There is nowhere I can turn").
** Remember when Javert sings "And if you fall, like Lucifer fell, you fall in flames!"? Let's see. Lucifer fell because he was punished by God, and fell into the flames (hell). [[spoiler: Javert fell because he wanted punish himself, and fell into... the water (Seine).]]
*** "... And if you fall, as Lucifer fell, the flames the sword!" Those are methods of execution. When Javert realizes that he is not right in his beliefs, he executes himself. And the ending of "Stars": also foreshadows his death: "Lord, let me find him, that I may see him safe behind bars. I will never rest, 'till then, this I swear, this I swear by the stars!" Well, when Javert realizes that he [[MortonsFork can either arrest Jean Valjean, make a morally reprehensible choice by sentencing a good man to prison and thus damming himself, or let Jean Valjean go, make a morally reprehensible choice by breaking divine law (as he sees it) and thus damming himself, will be doing evil either way,]] [[BreakTheBeliever and that all the beliefs he has held so close to his heart were wrong,]] he is unable to resolve the conflict and is only able to find peace by killing himself, but, given that suicide is a mortal sin, he's ''still'' made the wrong choice, thus damming himself, and as such is never able to find rest, ("I will never rest, 'till then, this I swear, this I swear by the stars!"... Remember that line?) not even in death. [[TearJerker Awww, poor thing.]]

** "Like the flowing of the tide, Paris coming to our side!" [[spoiler:The tide goes in and out...]]
* In "Lamarque is Dead"
** Enjolras never finds out how many guns they have, which explains why they [[spoiler: run out of ammunition later]]. Both times that he asks Feuilly and Combeferre if they have the guns they need, he gets interrupted before they can answer: first by Grantaire, then by Gavroche. Note that this only applies to the cut production of the musical- the full version (as demonstrated by the Complete Symphonic Recording) has an extra set of lines before Gavroche's interruption where there is quite a lot of detail given about the amount of ammunition in each district.
*** Enjolras is going to get that answer before the revolution starts.

** Extra Fridge Brilliance in that one, given in 'Master of the House' Mdm. Thenardier says her husband is a 'regular Voltaire'. Voltaire was an 1700s scholar who was very critical of the French Church.

* I had one for ''Theatre/LesMiserables'' based on one of the performances on Youtube. During Thénardier's VillainSong "Dog Eat Dog", he refers to {{God}} being as dead as the "stiffs at (his) feet". Initially, this just seemed like a usual example of a villain having NietzscheWannabe pretentions, but then it hit me... During this scene, Thénardier is in the Paris sewers, and it seems like the "stiffs" he references are Valjean and Marius, neither of whom are dead. Thus, the musical is sending the message that God is very much alive.-- {{Jordan}}
** Extra Fridge Brilliance in that one, given in 'Master of the House' Mdm Thenardier says her husband is a 'regular Voltaire'. Voltaire was an 1700s scholar who was very critical of the French Church.

* When Javert, after denouncing Madeleine as Valjean in M-sur-M, comes to argue that he should be discharged for his actions, he declares (Quoted from a non-English translation): "I have often been severe in my life. If I would not be severe towards myself now, all that I have done would become an injustice. Should I save myself more than the others? No." It's isn't until much later in the book, upon [[spoiler: his suicide]], when that line truly becomes foreshadowing and begins to shed light into the matter. [[spoiler: Javert learns that he has been wrong about the concepts of justice and redemption for his entire life. Therefore, despite his ambition to become utterly irreproachable, he has constantly been unjust: He has arrested men and women like Valjean and Fantine a hundred times over petty laws, leaving countless men, women and children to suffer poverty, sickness and death, not realizing the injustice of it because of his blind devotion to the laws of men instead of those of God. Upon realizing this, he sees that he has failed his moral duty and gives his resignation to God by throwing himself to the Seine, because his rigid moral code demands for his punishment which he can only attain by damning himself.]]

* In the film version of the musical, Valjean starts as a convict with a shaven head, dressed in red tatters. By the time Fantine is arrested and confronts Valjean, her head's been shorn and she's wearing a bright red dress, as an ironic echo of Valjean's own helplessness, powerlessness, and [[HumansAreBastards hatred towards humanity.]]

* Many of the songs in the musical, while eminently memorable, have rather simplistic -- one might even be tempted to say ''banal'' -- melodies. "Master of the House," "Look Down", and "Do You Hear the People Sing" all have short melodies that repeat the same snippets many times. For an internationally renowned musical, they might seem to fall a little flat ... ''UNTIL'' you get to "One Day More", and you suddenly realize that those earlier melodies were simple ''because they all had to work together when sung at the same time!'' 'Twas true CrowningMusicOfAwesome at that moment.

** Here's another one from Les Mis. Jean Valjean's [[HeelFaceTurn repentence song]] ("What Have I Done?") is about how the bishop's love has turned his life around. [[InspectorJavert Inspector Javert's]] [[DrivenToSuicide suicide song]] ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Javert's Suicide"]]) is about how Valjean's love has turned his life around...only in a completely opposite way. The tunes to both songs are the same. Every song in this musical gets a reprise (most of them [[DarkReprise increasingly darker]]), and it's fittingly ironic that the hero's song about deciding to live a purposeful, redeemed life should return as the [[AntiVillain antagonist's]] song about being unable to continue with life.

* While it doesn't really play a role in the musical itself, a ''[[SarcasmMode truly lovely]]'' line sung by Thénardier about using [[KickTheDog body parts from horses and even poor dead housecats]] as filler for sausages will sometimes stick in one's mind, especially for those that are cat lovers, those eating while watching, or both. Especially in [[Film/LesMiserables2012 the 2012 film]], when the cat he uses is ''right there'' when he's singing.

** Especially since the next time we see her, it's for "On My Own", in which she seems considerably more broken-down and sad, wandering the streets at night daydreaming about Marius, and she's obviously not staying with her family any more.

* This doubles as a TearJerker at the end when all the deceased cast at the end stand behind the large barricade in heaven. It hits you when you remember is heaven is as you visualize it to be. To the Friends of the ABC, their heaven was a world where everyone would stand by them and they weren't alone. Not abandoned behind the barricade to [[DyingAlone die alone]] [[AllforNothing and in vain.]]