Line #115 YMMV/LesMiserables


1	!![[Literature/LesMiserables The book]]
2
3	* AccidentalInnuendo: "I have come to sleep with you," from Marius to Courfeyrac. Of course, it's always been a point of debate just ''how'' "accidental" it is.
4	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
5	** Javert's wholehearted and single-minded devotion to the law, combined with his origin as the son of two convicts, has led some to believe that he has some deep fear that he is somehow a criminal by nature and is trying to overcome what he believes is a "blood taint". The implication that he has some Romani heritage has been further suggested as giving this possible self-hatred [[BoomerangBigot an ethnic component]].
6	** Enjolras' sexual orientation has been the topic of heated debate (mostly due to Grantaire's role in the novel and his and Enjolras' collaborative death following the defeat of the revolution, leading some readers to interpret Enjolras as [[AmbiguouslyGay faintly homosexual]]). This tends to bring in issues of both shipping and HomoeroticSubtext. The narration claiming that he was uninterested in women could be interpreted as him being a CelibateHero who didn't have time for romance, or as his romantic interests swinging in a different direction.
7	** Hugo comparing Enjolras to Saint-Just has led to speculation that had the revolution succeeded or at least lasted longer, he may have become less averse to violence in the name of safeguarding it. At least two film adaptations have [[AdaptationalVillainy taken this idea and run with it]].
8	** Did Éponine really [[TakingTheBullet take the bullet]] for Marius so they can die together, as she claims? Or was it because she believed he deserved to live, even if she wasn't in the picture? [[TakeAThirdOption Or]] did she believe that [[XanatosGambit either outcome would be acceptable to her]]?
9	* {{Anvilicious}}:
10	** Hugo treats every moral in the book as a matter of life-and-death. Literacy is not just useful, but makes the difference between life and death for several different characters. ThePowerOfLove changes Jean Valjean [[HeelFaceTurn from a petty crook doomed to die into a great philanthropist]]. Javert [[LawfulStupid only cares about enforcing the law]], and is driven to suicide when he finally realizes that Valjean is a more moral man than he is.
11	** People can change when given the chance. And being friendly towards those in need DOES make a difference to them. While putting a Cain's mark on former convicts under parole most surely will exclude them from honest work, thus leaving them not much choice than resorting to crime again. By expecting them to break parole and treating them as criminals in advance again you're making them into criminals. Or by treating an unmarried mother as a whore and firing her you force her to resort on prostitution to provide for her and her child.
12	** Also he loved to ponder about whether wars and fights are justified or not - concluding that wars are always bad and should be avoided. Unless they are necessary to bring humanity along. Still, every death is regrettable, no matter which side.
13	* BetterOnDVD: A variant; if you're one who has trouble focusing during huge blocks of text and interesting-but-plot-irrelevant {{infodump}}ing, you may find this story easier to get through in audiobook format.
14	* CatharsisFactor: Javert arresting the Thénardiers is very satisfying after everything they've done up to that point, as is Thénardier spending the next few months in solitary confinement.
15	* CommonKnowledge:
16	** Many people believe Jean Valjean was sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit. Except he really ''was'' guilty of the crime he was convicted for. Victor Hugo wanted to show that there were serious societal problems that needed to be addressed (especially that disproportionate punishment with no compassion is in itself a massive injustice, and in fact creates hardened, dangerous people who hate the world and their fellow man) and having Valjean be innocent would have undermined the whole point.
17	** On a similar note, some believe that Valjean was sent to prison for 19 years for his crime. Actually, his original sentence was only five years; another fourteen were added on for his multiple escape attempts.
18	** Many people think that the story is about the French Revolution. In fact, Valjean doesn’t even steal the bread until a full six years after Bastille Day, and is paroled sixteen years after the Revolution officially ended. One of Hugo’s main themes throughout the story is that, despite the Revolution bringing about huge political overhauls and supposedly ushering France into a new era, revolutions and regime changes really don’t mean anything if they don’t result in life changing for ordinary people.
19	* CompleteMonster: [[AbusiveParents Monsieur Thénardier]] is a greedy innkeeper who accepts guardianship of little Cosette from her mother, Fantine, while [[WouldHurtAChild beating the poor girl]] and [[FosteringForProfit using her to extort money from Fantine]], resulting in Fantine prostituting herself and eventually falling sick and dying. After losing his inn, Thénardier [[PimpingTheOffspring prostitutes his own daughters]] and even has one, Azelma, mutilate her hand to make her a more effective and sympathetic beggar. Not above murder, Thénardier happily tries to kill both Jean Valjean and Javert at different points, even threatening to torture the former with a hot poker. Even when driven from France by Marius Pontmercy, Thénardier simply sets up shop in America as a slave trader to further profit from human misery. Be he a con artist, [[RobbingTheDead grave robber]], or attempted murderer, there is no low Thénardier will not sink to for [[{{Greed}} the sake of profit]].
20	* CriticalDissonance: The book polarized critics when it released, with many panning it as overly sentimental and anti-monarchist propaganda; some even anticipated it being a CreatorKiller for Creator/VictorHugo. However, it was an immediate hit with the general public, and it remains one of Hugo's most commercially successful works.
21	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
22	** The street urchin Gavroche was embraced by the French as a literary and cultural icon.
23	** Fandom-wise, Les Amis de L'ABC - as a group of young men with diverse, entertaining personalities and [[HeroOfAnotherStory whole rafts of deliberately-implied-but-untold stories of their own]] - are extremely popular. Enjolras and Grantaire in particular have an abundance of fans.
24	** While the musical's [[AdaptationalHeroism more sympathetic take on her]] is credited with popularizing Eponine, she was popular in the book as well. The noted Victorian literary critic George Saintsbury wrote that she could've easily been the best character in the book [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter if Hugo had just given her more page-time]].
25	* FanNickname: The book itself is a fairly hefty DoorStopper and is often referred to as "The Brick".
26	* FanPreferredCouple: The large cast and larger fanbase means that there are plenty of these.
27	** Marius/Éponine was this, at least at in the early days (and we're talkin', like, [[OlderThanTheyThink prior to the Internet]] early days, here) of the fandom and still is considered to be this in popular perception of the fandom by the media. In the fandom itself, not so much anymore; there actually seems to be more Marius/Cosette and Enjolras/Éponine at Fanfiction.net, for one, than Marius/Éponine.
28	%%** Enjolras/Grantaire definitely qualifies; fans have taken the oodles of canon HoYay (see below) and ''run'' with it. It is currently by far the top pairing in the Les Miserables category on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn.
29	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: An ironic example. This book became a hit in the post-UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar South thanks to the romantic but doomed Les Amis de l'ABC. Victor Hugo would not approve in the slightest, being a vocal supporter of the Union, an abolitionist who once wrote a letter in support of John Brown, and having the evil Monsieur Thénardier become a slaver in the American South.
30	* HilariousInHindsight: One of the book's chapters is titled "[[InWhichATropeIsDescribed In Which Is Explained How Javert]] Lost The Game.", which, out of context, sounds like one of those [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/the-game "You just lost The Game" memes]].
31	* HollywoodHomely: There's an interesting disconnect between how the narrative describes Eponine and how the official illustration depict her. The narrative goes into great detail about how her years of living in squalor have cost her the majority of her looks (although one chapter later in the novel does describe her as having regained some of her beauty after disconnecting from her family and the various crimes they commit), but in the illustrations she's not really any uglier than Cosette, just scrawnier and scruffier.
32	* HoYay:
33	** Between Javert and Valjean. No such ''sensual'' language was used when Javert was pursuing the Patron-Minette, for instance, proving that Javert only reacts like this with Valjean.
34	--->A score of times he had been tempted to fling himself upon Jean Valjean, to seize him and devour him, [[spoiler: that is to say, to arrest him]].
35	--->Then [Javert] began to play. He enjoyed a ravishing and infernal moment; he let his man get ahead of him, knowing he had him, but wishing to put off as long as possible the moment of arrest, delighting to feel him caught and see him at liberty, fondly gazing at him...
36	** Grantaire "admired, loved, and venerated" Enjolras, and is "subjugated" by his character. Grantaire says Enjolras' "chaste, healthy, firm, direct, hard, candid nature charmed him," and his own "soft, wavering, disjointed, diseased, deformed ideas, attached themselves to Enjolras as to a backbone. His moral spine leaned upon that firmness." The two are compared to several classical figures known or suspected to have been lovers (Achilles and Patrokles, Alexander and Hephestion, Orestes and Pylades, among others) and Enjolras is the one thing Grantaire allows himself to believe in. Moreover, he's ''only'' in the revolution because of his love for Enjolras. It even goes to the point of [[spoiler: asking to die with him, and doing so (while [[AmbiguouslyGay Enjolras smiles at him and holds his hand]])]].
37	** You can't put nine young-ish male revolutionaries in a novel without at least a little of this. Aside from Grantaire and Enjolras, the most notable is Joly and Bossuet - best friends who live together and even ''share a mistress''.
38	** Bossuet and Courfreyrac see Marius, who is somewhat known to stalk those he is fond of, in the street, during the beginning of the "Jondrette's arrest" episode. Dialogue:
39	-->'''Bossuet:''' Hold on, Marius!
40	-->'''Courfeyrac:''' I saw him. Don't let's speak to him.
41	-->'''B:''' Why?
42	-->'''C:''' He's preoccupied.
43	-->'''B:''' With what?
44	-->'''C:''' Don't you see that look on him?
45	-->'''B:''' What look?
46	-->'''C:''' Like a man following somebody.
47	-->'''B:''' That's true.
48	-->'''C:''' And look at the eyes he's making!
49	-->'''B:''' But who the devil is he following?
50	-->'''C:''' Some deary-sweety-flowery-bonnet! He's in love.
51	-->'''B:''' But I don't see any deary, nor any sweety, nor any flowery bonnet in the street. There's not one woman.
52	-->'''C:''' He's following a man!
53	-->'''B:''' ''[laughing]'' Who is that man?
54	-->'''C:''' That? A poet! Poets love wearing the pants of a rabbit-skin peddler and the jacket of a peer of France.
55	-->'''B:''' Let's see where Marius is going. Let's see where the man is going, let's follow them, eh?
56	-->'''C:''' Bossuet! Eagle of Meaux! You are a prodigious fool. Follow man following a man!
57	-->''[They go on their way.]''
58	*** In context, Marius is tailing the scruffy M. Thenardier, making it rather no-yay, but Bossuet and Courfreyrac don't know this.
59	** Marius and Courfeyrac. Barring the infamous "I have come to sleep with you," line (which is more like an example of HaveAGayOldTime), there's also the fact the first thing Courfeyrac ever says to Marius is "Come home with me," the paragraph immediately after their meeting where Hugo describes how Marius "breathed freely" in Courfeyrac's company, something which is apparently new to him, Courfeyrac's attempt to introduce Marius to Les Amis which goes [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything not unlike]] trying to introduce your new girlfriend to your friends (and it not going very well), and Courfeyrac "flinging himself upon Marius's neck" after Marius saves his life at the barricades.
60	%%* IronWoobie: Jean Valjean himself, of course.
61	* ItWasHisSled: Everyone dies (apart from Cosette, Marius, M. Thénardier, Azelma, and a handful of characters, like Fantine's friends, who disappear midway through the book and aren't mentioned again).
62	* JerkassWoobie: Madame Thenardier is not a pleasant individual, but she's implicitly a victim of domestic abuse, is genuinely heartbroken when she's separated from her daughters and is ultimately left to die in prison while her husband escapes.
63	* MemeticMutation:
64	** "Will you permit it?" That single line also manages to double as TearJerker and HoYay.
65	** In French, someone complaining about doing chores can be sarcastically referred to as "Cosette".
66	** Victor Hugo's insistence on giving lengthy descriptions and explanations about ''everything'' is often joked about in the fandom. Note that it's not usually ''complained'' about, except in a lovingly exasperated way, but it's very common to see people reading the brick for the first time ''begging'' Hugo to just get to the point. The fifty-ish pages he goes on a tangent about the Battle of Waterloo is nearly always brought up as an example of this, as is the fact that the first few chapters are about a minor character who never appears outside of those chapters.
67	** Victor Hugo's legendary spiel about the Paris sewer system.
68	* MisaimedFandom: As noted, the novel was highly popular for a time in the post-Confederate American South. This not only would have offended Hugo deeply, but many other fans and readers might well be confused by this, since the Friends of the ABC are left-wing revolutionaries and radical republicans who ''themselves'' would likely have considered the Confederacy, an oligarchic, undemocratic and ultraconservative state founded with the explicit intention of preserving slavery, a blight and an enemy. They are also fanboys of the UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution and the First French Republic, the first state to abolish slavery without compensations and preconditions, a decision that Napoleon overturned despite Marius being an avowed Bonapartist. But they're fighting a doomed battle against a state that wants to keep them down, so a great many Southerners found sympathy for them.
69	* {{Moe}}:
70	** Cosette. The TV tropes page for {{Moe}} uses Cosette as an example of the Moe archetype in Anime originating from ''Western literature'' (although, Victorian-era authors [[BreakTheCutie had different views]] [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth on how to use this character type]]). The Animated Adaptations that have aired in Japan over the years seem like they might've cranked the "moe" meter for her up to 11... but, uh, nope, that's ''exactly'' how she was described and acted in the book. Especially once she starts getting abused by the Thenadiers, even the most stoic among us want to scoop her up and give her a big hug and tell her it'll all be okay. Valjean then does this, and you can't help but cheer. This fades a little when she gets older, but Victor Hugo still makes her seem quite vulnerable.
71	** Hell, on the subject of Les Mis, we can't forget to talk about Cosette's mother, Fantine. She gets knocked up and abandoned, debases herself in every way to help her daughter, and [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth ends up dying of several diseases at once]].
72	** Or how about Eponine in the second half, who ends up destitute, uneducated, and in love with Marius but with no way to really express it, complete with Verbal Tics? (Not to mention shot dead pointlessly?) Really, the only major female character who doesn't have some of these elements is Madame Thenadier.
73	* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome: See [[Awesome/LesMiserables Awesome: Les Misérables]]
74	* MoralEventHorizon: Thénardier crosses it with the entire Gorbeau ambush, which he orchestrates even after Valjean has promised his family regular financial support. It's also not-so-subtly implied that he started [[{{Squick}} prostituting Eponine and Azelma for money]] after the family's descent into poverty.
75	* {{Narm}}:
76	** A single tear running silently down Enjolras' cheek as he snipes a young artillery officer.
77	** Fantine's [[spoiler:DeathByDespair]] can come off as melodramatic as it is described in a slightly over the top way, with lots of gasping and hand convulsions, as a result of a few words from Javert. Of note is that the theater and 2012 film versions changed this, so that [[spoiler:Fantine dies happy and never sees Valjean arrested.]]
78	** In one translation, instead of telling Thenardier that his gun will misfire, Javert tells him that he will ''miss.'' We then get this: "Thenardier pulled the trigger. [[EpicFail He missed."]] In other words, ''Javert somehow dodges a bullet fired at point-blank range.''
79	* OneTrueThreesome: Much of the internet fandom seems to have agreed that Joly and Lesgle are in a triad with their shared mistress Musichetta, particuarly in modern [=AUs=].
80	* PopCultureHoliday: June 5 is Barricade Day, because it is the first day of the historical 1832 June rebellion, which is fictionalized in the book (and musical). It is usually celebrated by creating fan works.
81	* SignatureScene:
82	** Little Cosette carrying her water bucket and meeting Jean Valjean in the woods.
83	** The entire barricade sequence.
84	** Jean Valjean carrying the wounded Marius through the sewers.
85	* SlowPacedBeginning: The novel is infamous for, [[CompressedAdaptation much to the surprise of fans of the musical going into the novel blind]], its many lengthy explanations (many of them being [[AuthorFilibuster Author Filibusters]]) and extensive backstory (although some of it, particularly in the cases of Jean Valjean and Marius, is fairly interesting and engaging, and can also double as AllThereInTheManual, most notably in the beginning, where the novel's first fourteen chapters are devoted to the life and work of Bishop Myriel (who plays a [[DemotedToExtra brief role in the musical]] and [[AdaptedOut is absent from the original French concept album]]) - likewise, it takes seventy pages at least (depending on which edition you're reading) to even reach Jean Valjean, over 100 pages to reach Fantine (the titular character of the novel's first volume) and nearly 800 before the June Revolution (which is the setting for most of the musical and film's second and third acts). And even then, the revolution itself only lasts a little over 150 pages in a 1200 (or more)-page novel.
86	* TearJerker:
87	** Every death scene.
88	** Fantine's descent into prostitution and sickness, amplified by extortion by the Thénardier couple and the cruelty of Montreuil's townsfolk.
89	** The story of Mabeuf's growing poverty and despair, and the whole book onwards from 'The Sleepless Night'.
90	** "Javert In Disarray."
91	* ThreesomeSubtext: A weird example. Two of Les Amis, Joly and Bossuet, are explicitly stated to be sleeping with the same woman, Musichetta; however, she is primarily identified as Joly's mistress who they occasionally "share", and to further complicate matters, Joly and Bossuet live together and are HeterosexualLifePartners, while Musichetta (despite being a reasonably popular character in fanfiction) never actually appears in the story and is only mentioned, so her side of events are never explained. Thus, it's hard to say definitively if the relationship between the three is simply Joly and Musichetta having an open relationship, Musichetta being [[MarryThemAll polyamorous with two platonic friends]], or [[ThreeWaySex a straight-up ménage à trois]].
92	* UglyCute: Eponine is described as "wretched and beautiful".
93	* ValuesDissonance: Being over 150 years old at this point, the book runs into this rather hard in some places.
94	** The most notable is the SheIsAllGrownUp example on the main page happening to Cosette and Marius becoming infatuated with her. Marius' behavior during all this can strike many readers as ''profoundly'' creepy, what with hanging about the places she and Valjean hang out for hours on end (and certainly Valjean gets annoyed with him in-story) and the fact that Marius is 20 while Cosette had just turned 15, but in the 19th century Marius' incredible shyness and his devotion to wanting to see her would have come across as extremely romantic.
95	** Very modern readers may have some difficulty feeling sympathy for Valjean's initial plight: "so his sister's children needed bread, just wait 'till morning; so he gets five years hard time, so what, just wait it out, don't try to escape and make your sentence worse, idiot". Given how poverty in almost all Western countries in the 21st century still provides at least some way to eat and is much gentler than in any time in history, modern readers can have difficulty understanding the absolute depths of destitution and lack of learning that Valjean was subjected to as a young man and his subsequent lack of judgment, [[AuthorTract even when Hugo attempts to point this out himself]]. Within the book, Valjean himself contemplates this issue, thinking that the baker would likely have given him the bread if he had asked for it, but determines that even if he was at fault, his punishment was still grossly disproportionate.
96	** A great many modern readers could very well rankle at Hugo's treatment of Gavroche; that is, the way in which he is portrayed as ''perfectly healthy and happy'' despite being a street urchin and technically a thief. Given modern attitudes concerning the necessity of children having a loving caregiver, Hugo's apparent tacit message that Gavroche is ''better off'' on the streets could shock or disgust many even though, compared to his parents, the streets do seem to be the better option.
97	** Cosette herself, though a feminine ideal in the nineteenth century, could strike modern readers as underdeveloped next to many of the other characters -- she doesn't really serve any purpose as an adult other than being Valjean's daughter and Marius's love interest. Interestingly, the same can't necessarily be said for Hugo's other female characters; Fantine and Éponine in particular are given much more realistic personalities (even if they both wind up tortured throughout most of the story). This can be justified if we view her in symbolic terms, less as a real young woman than as the embodiment of hope, but writing any major character as an idealized symbolic figure instead of a realistic person is Values Dissonance in and of itself.
98	** There's a section in the novel where Jean Valjean goes to the Thénardiers' inn and gives Cosette a doll (the first one she's had since she's been with Thénardiers; probably the first one she's ''ever'' had, considering how poor Fantine was). Hugo then goes off on a tangent to explain how important it is for a young girl to have a doll, since it is the fate and instinct of every little girl to grow up to be a mother. Although this was a perfectly natural outlook on gender roles in the 1800s, many women today would be insulted by the gender stereotype.
99	** And in general, many of the narrator's thoughts about women and their behavior come off as overly stereotypical and backward by modern standards. Hugo ''is'' writing in good faith, but he was born, raised, and wrote fifty years or more before women's liberation was even an organized concept.
100	* ValuesResonance:
101	** For being 150 years old, many issues discussed in ''Les Miserables'' are remarkably pertinent today, as we see men persecuted simply for their past reputation, families divided over such petty issues as political fanaticism, and scoundrels who abuse their position of "caretaker" simply for the money. Victor Hugo's urging that these ills ''must'' be faced are every bit as relevant today as they were in post-Revolutionary France.
102	** Many modern criticisms of both police forces and prisons today reflect closely what Hugo felt were their most damning errors and injustices. The book's plot is kicked off by a minor crime committed out of desperation and leading to an extreme punishment; similar patterns are a major argument raised today in favour of prison/justice system reform.
103	* VindicatedByHistory: Critical reception when it first came out was mostly negative, with reviewers finding it [[ArcFatigue too long]], [[WriterOnBoard too preachy]], and [[ValuesDissonance too sympathetic to those smelly poor people]]. To say its reputation has improved is an understatement: it's often lauded as one of the greatest novels ever written, is the national prose epic of France, and has spawned more adaptations than almost any other work of fiction.
104	* TheWoobie: Every character who is not one of the Thénardier parents or working for the Thénardier parents qualifies.
105
106	!![[Theatre/LesMiserables The musical]]
107
108	* AccidentalInnuendo: In the French version of "Stars," Javert sings that he will not slacken in his search "until [Valjean] is on his knees before me". Given the distinct HoYay in this song, that line could be taken a certain way.
109	* AdaptationDisplacement:
110	** The musical is arguably more well-known than the book it was based on, in large part due to, let's be frank, the book being notoriously long-winded. Except, unsurprisingly, in UsefulNotes/{{France}}, as Creator/VictorHugo is considered one of the greatest novelists the country has produced and the work is very frequently [[MediaNotes/SchoolStudyMedia studied in school]].
111	** Fewer still are aware that the English version is a libretto translation ([[{{Woolseyism}} albeit an excellent one]]) from Boublil and Natel's French lyrics, nor that said original version opened in Paris five years prior to its West End run.
112	** "Do You Hear The People Sing" is used as an inspirational protest song divorced from the fact that "the people" '''did not''' sing, leaving the few diehards to... die hard.
113	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Depending on how the actors play it, this can occur with many of the characters.
114	** In the Champmathieu situation, a lot of the actors playing Javert play the situation as though Javert still suspects the Mayor despite the news of the 'real' Valjean, and is hoping to panic him into making a mistake. The 2012 film plays it as though Javert is genuinely ashamed at his accusal.
115	** A few lyrics in the show are mutable, and subject to different interpretations by different actors. A small change that profoundly affects a character is the line "Be careful how you go, don't let her/your father know," sung by Marius to Eponine. The first version makes it clear that he's only thinking about Cosette and doesn't want to get caught; the second line emphasizes how he understands the risks Eponine runs, and wants her to be safe from her own family.
116	** Similarly, Enjolras's lines can sometimes be read differently without changing a word. "Everybody keep the faith/For surely as the eagle flies/We are not alone/The people too must...rise," for example, has been played both as Enjolras trying to keep his friends' spirits up that soon their terribly outnumbered revolution will be supported by the people like they'd dreamed, and as Enjolras realizing he and all of his friends are going to die.
117	** Javert infiltrating the rebels can be either played as MoralPragmatist, that he doesn't want the army to be responsible for a massacre given the PR, or as a ReasonableAuthorityFigure. After all, these students seem to be misguided, and Javert only pursues those who break the law. He tries to reassure the rebels that they won't be attacked at night, and see Gavroche as a WorthyOpponent for exposing him as a spy. Perhaps Javert believes that if he acts, then he can prevent death on either side.
118	** Is Gavroche truly as happy as he acts? Or is he a StepfordSmiler trying to make the best of the terrible situation he's in? The book implies the latter, but it's more ambiguous here. Different productions have different takes, of course.
119	%%* {{Anvilicious}}: The musical drops one at the end, when [[spoiler:almost all of the cast is dead, except for Cosette and Marius, who are HappilyMarried]]. All of the cast gathers on stage peacefully, for the final song:
120	%%-->Do you hear the people sing/Lost in the valley of the night/It is the music of the people who are climbing to the light/For the wretched of the Earth/There is a flame that never dies/Even the darkest night shall end and the sun will rise!
121	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: ''The whole damn show.''
122	* CommonKnowledge: No, ''Les Misérables'' does ''not'' take place during UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution, which happened almost three decades before the start of the book. In fact, the so-called revolution at the climax was a small rebellion that ended up being nothing more than a footnote in French history.
123	* DracoInLeatherPants:
124	** Thénardier got an uptick in likeability thanks to his comic relief song in the musical.
125	** As Javert is a sympathetic character, he has a good-sized number of fans, especially when [[AdaptationalAttractiveness the actor who plays him is handsome.]] In many fanfics, he goes from being an ugly [[NoSocialSkills awkward]] Jerkass to a TallDarkAndHandsome man with [[TroubledButCute a ton]] [[IronWoobie of emotional baggage]]. And he is [[SlashFic often paired with Valjean.]]
126	** Eponine. In the book, she comes in as rather creepy and obsessed with Marius, while she's a lot nicer in the musical and all the immoral things she does are ripped off. Celia Keenan-Bolger in the 2006 Broadway revival, however, did manage to keep Eponine's initial madness from the book.
127	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
128	** Oodles of 'em, but most notably Éponine and ''Les Amis'', who have become affectionately referred to simply as the "Barricade Boys", which can make it sound like they're a freaking boy band.
129	** A parody of Les Mis featured Éponine lampshading her extreme popularity by singing about how she's the true star.
130	* EstrogenBrigade: Enjolras. Marius. Jean Valjean. Javert. Grantaire. In fact, pick a male character, and there is probably a sizeable group of fans who swoon at the mere mention of his name. Specific actors can also get this: notably, Michael Maguire (Enjolras) and Michael Ball (Marius) are probably responsible for quite a bit of the show's initial female fanbase.
131	** In the 2014 Broadway revival, Ramin Karimloo definitely qualifies. [[https://web.archive.org/web/20140324154946/http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/theater/les-miserables-review-smartly-cast-1.7479430 It's not difficult to see why.]]
132	* FandomEnragingMisconception: It's not set during the UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution. "Do You Hear The People Sing" is not the "song of the French Revolution", that's ''La Marseillaise'', the French ''national anthem''.
133	* FandomHeresy: Go into any group of die-hard Les Mis fans and say you like [[TheScrappy Nick Jonas as Marius]].
134	* FanNickname: The Friends of the ABC are called the "Barricade Boys". Retroactively applied to the novel too.
135	* FanPreferredCouple: Marius and Eponine. Sympathies tend to go to Eponine, since she has presumably been in love with him for much longer than Cosette, and she actually goes to the barricades to deliver him a letter. Cosette doesn't go to be with Marius, which raises the question of what she was doing when both Marius and Valjean were there. Also doesn't help that in the musical the sudden romance of Cosette and Marius often can be a little nausea inducing.
136	** Since the 2012 movie adaptation came out, however, there seems to be more Marius/Cosette shippers than Marius/Éponine. This is probably because Eddie Redmayne and Amanda Seyfried insisted on making the relationship between Marius and Cosette more believable, and that Amanda played a Cosette with a backbone... their relationship is still rushed, though.
137	* HilariousInHindsight:
138	** A twofer: [[Music/TheJonasBrothers Nick Jonas]] playing Marius instantly makes Éponine the original Jonas Brother fangirl. Nick Jonas playing Marius when he also originally played Gavroche means Éponine [[IncestSubtext has the hots for her brother.]]
139	*** A threefer, because Nick actually dated Samantha Barks for a while, while they were in Les Mis.
140	** There are multiple cases of actors playing different roles in Les Mis so you get this a lot. For example, Hugh Panaro has played both Valjean and Marius, Hans Peter Janssens as Valjean and Javert, Ramin Karimloo as Enjolras and Valjean, Lea Salonga as Éponine and Fantine etc.
141	*** Speaking of Ramin Karimloo, he and Hadley Fraser are the epitome of this: Ramin was Hadley's understudy when Hadley played Marius, then went on to play Enjolras in the 25th production with Hadley as Grantaire, and finally the pair played Valjean and Javert opposite each other. Plus Hadley was the army captain in the 2012 movie. So to recap: one has played Marius, Enjolras, and Valjean; the other, Marius, Grantaire, the captain, and Javert. And ''then'' they were cast as the Phantom and Raoul, bitter love rivals, in the 25th Anniversary performance of ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera''.
142	** Drew Sarich, who managed to play Grantaire, Enjolras, Javert, AND Valjean... all in a single run of the musical!
143	** In the German production, Uwe Kröger and Martin Pasching - Javert and Enjolras, respectively - previously played Death and Crown Prince Rudolf in Theatre/{{Elisabeth}}. They lampshaded it by dueting "Die Schatten werden länger", the ''Elisabeth'' song which their characters share... making it canon that Enjolras, [[spoiler: the character whose corpse is shown most prominently in the show]] dances with Death.
144	* HoYay:
145	** Enjolras and Grantaire. Depending on the production, they do everything from touch foreheads to hug closely during "Drink With Me". Anton Zetterholm ''buries'' his Grantaire's head in Enjolras' chest for the hug.
146	*** Of course, the fact that their actors in the anniversary US touring cast, Jason Forbach and Joseph Spieldenner, are ''dating'' (now married) doesn't help.
147	*** Nor does the fact that the 2012 movie restored [[spoiler: Grantaire going to die at Enjolras's side and their clasped hands as they are shot]].
148	*** George Blagden has [[http://daisythecoder.tumblr.com/post/41343059132/in-which-george-blagden-is-the-captain-of-our-e-r admitted]] to intentionally playing Grantaire as in love with Enjolras.
149	** Enjolras and Marius in the 2012 movie, [[http://klainejolras.tumblr.com/post/43279292139 to a certain extent]].
150	* LoveToHate: The Thenardiers. Their AdaptationalComicRelief status doesn't downplay their wickedness, but makes them much more entertaining nonetheless.
151	* MemeticMutation:
152	** "You know NOTHING of Javert!!"
153	*** "AND I'M JAVERT!!"
154	** "Who ''cares'' about your lonely soul?!"
155	** Thanks to WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic, Colm Wilkinson singing "home" has become one due to it sounding like, in his words "a vomiting cat in reverse."
156	* NightmareFuel:
157	** ''Dog Eats Dog'', arguably the darkest song in the musical, can be this for some. In one production, upon recognizing an unconscious Valjean, Thenardier gets down and straddles him, puts his face about two inches from Valjean's, and yells "HA!" vindictively. He also gave an EvilLaugh as he ended the song and left the barricade. Had the potential to be {{Narm}}, but came off as ''extremely'' creepy.
158	** From "Attack on Rue Plumet", we have this when Eponine foils Thenardier's attempt at robbing Valjean by screaming and alerting everyone present to their location:
159	-->'''Thenardier:''' You wait my girl, you'll rue this night! I'll make you scream, ''[[AbusiveParents YOU'LL SCREAM ALRIGHT!]]''
160	** Somehow, the Thenardiers being AdaptationalComicRelief makes them even more abhorrent than their book counterparts--they cackle like lunatics over their rotten deeds and clearly don't show a shred of remorse nor a shred of empathy. Not even Madame can be bothered to care about her daughter's death.
161	** "Lovely Ladies" is about how prostitution is the easiest thing women can do for money and ''anyone'' can fall into it if they are desperate enough.
162	* RetroactiveRecognition:
163	** From the original cast in London: Creator/RogerAllam, Alun Armstrong and Caroline Quentin.
164	** A number of the child actors who appeared as Young Cosette, Young Eponine, and Gavroche over the years went on to bigger roles as teens and adults, including Nick Jonas (who played Gavroche prior to appearing as Marius in the 25th Anniversary concert), [[Series/StrangerThings Gaten Matarazzo]], Creator/LeaMichele, Creator/AshleyTisdale, [[Theatre/BeMoreChill Gerard Canonico]], and Creator/SamRiegel.
165	* RomanticPlotTumour: "A Heart Full Of Love" is arguably the weakest song in the entire musical. This may be at least partly due to the weaker lyrics in English compared to the original French.
166	* TheScrappy: Finding musical-only fans who actually ''like'' Cosette is difficult due to most of her characterization from the book being cut as a result of [[CompressedAdaptation the musical's timeline compressing or cutting most of her scenes]]. Creator/AmandaSeyfried's [[Film/LesMiserables2012 portrayal of Cosette]] has a lot more personality and has [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap significantly reduced fan dislike]].
167	** In terms of casting, good luck finding someone who likes Nick Jonas as Marius. Not that he does a bad job, he's perfectly serviceable. But even Nick Jonas fans agree that besides his youthful looks, Nick does ''not'' have the vocal power for this role.
168	** Gavroche becomes this depending on the adaptation because his subplot is cut and he's just an annoying TagAlongKid. Depending on the actor, he can either be a clever, witty, fiery little character or a cloying, irritating burden. Definitely NOT the case with the 2012 movie, where his spunk and intelligence make him an EnsembleDarkHorse.
169	* SignatureScene: The deaths of Eponine and Enjolras.
170	* SignatureSong: Either "I Dreamed a Dream" or "One Day More".
171	** "On My Own".
172	* SpoiledByTheFormat: In the book, it's something of a twist that the mayor in Fantine's storyline is actually Valjean hiding in plain sight after breaking parole. Naturally, keeping this twist would be rather difficult for the musical, as well as any other visual adaptation of the story. As such, there is no real attempt to hide who Valjean is.
173	* StrawmanHasAPoint
174	** He could’ve been nicer about it, sure, but Javert - really, as he implies, ''any'' sane police officer - didn’t actually have any reason to believe Valjean when he said he’d be back in three days after going to get Cosette. Especially since repeated escape attempts and breaking parole for 8 years are among the things Valjean is most wanted for, and he did hide his identity around Javert when they were in M-sur-M together - it honestly shouldn’t matter whether he’s become a good person or not, because even if Javert did believe Valjean intended to go save Cosette as promised, he still shouldn't have reason to believe that he'd willingly come back to jail after being let out of sight.
175	* UnconventionalLearningExperience: The setting of the musical has garnered from musical fans a lot of interest of French history, particularly that of UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution. Ironic, considering that the "revolution" in the book and musical is completely separate from the events of the French Revolution which predated it by almost fifty years
176	* VindicatedByHistory: Like the book, it wasn't a hit the first time it opened. Theater critics found it all flash, no substance, and literary critics felt adapting a classic novel into a ''musical'' of all things was in exceptionally bad taste. The English adaptation didn't fare any better yet fans kept watching, despite bad reviews.
177	* TheWoobie:
178	** Éponine, Fantine, Marius, Cosette and Valjean all have moments.
179	** Hell, the entire cast, bar Monsieur and Madame Thénardier. There's a reason you're sobbing by the end.
180	* {{Woolseyism}}: The original French version (1980) underwent many changes in the transition to English (1985), which in turn became the basis for a retooled French version (1991). Some songs/arrangements in the English version weren't in the original but were adapted back in with French lyrics, and some of the original French songs had their lyrics changed to be closer to the English ones.
181
182	!!Other adaptations
183
184	* LauncherOfAThousandShips: Eponine/Marius, Eponine/Montparnasse, Eponine/Enjolras, Eponine/Cosette, Eponine/Javert and Eponine/Valjean (mostly because of the 1935 film where they share a lot of scenes).
185	* {{Moe}}: Cosette.
186	* {{Narm}}: [[https://youtu.be/jMcgcgvF2c4?t=4m51s Javert's death scene]] in the 1978 film version. It's supposed to be depressing like all the scenes portrayed in most adaptations. But instead, he flipped over a few times before he hits the water, accompanied by a dramatic saxophone note.
187	** Javert again in the 1935 version, where he's played by an extremely wimpy-looking Charles Laughton whom one fears will burst into tears at any moment.
188	** From the 2012 film, [[RuleOfThree Javert's suicide.]] While the event itself is heartbreaking and serious, when he hits the water the sound effect used sounds less like the the likely intended SickeningCrunch and more like a cartoonish "splat".
189	* QuirkyWork: ''VideoGame/ArmJoe'', ([[https://takase.syuriken.jp/ArmJoe.htm offical Japanese site]], [[https://www.myabandonware.com/game/arm-joe-dd2 MyAbandonWare link]]) a FightingGame based on the musical. It features Enjolras attacking people by building a barricade on top of them, Cosette throwing Valjean as a weapon, an evil robot clone of Valjean, and Javert shooting firebolts from his fingers.
190	* RonTheDeathEater: Look at any bad ''Les Mis'' fan fiction. There is a fifty fifty chance that it involves Marius realizing Cosette is a "preppy bitch" and dumping her for Éponine, [[UnexplainedRecovery who got better]].
191	** Several adaptations do this to Javert, of all people. Now, Javert was never exactly warm and cuddly to begin with, but some adaptations play up the Cruel and Harsh part of his personality and tone down the integrity and honesty that made him such an interesting antagonist to begin with. For example, in the 98 version, he viciously kicks Fantine into the show over and over again, which seems out of character for him. In most versions of the story, Javert has LackOfEmpathy and is a very cold man, but he's not sadistic in the sense that he enjoys being cruel to people.
192	** There's a small, bizarre subgenre of fanfics where Enjolras succeeds in overthrowing the government and immediately becomes a [[UsefulNotes/FidelCastro Castro]]-style dictator, though most if not all of these are intended as BlackComedy rather than character-bashing. Enjolras also [[AdaptationalVillainy semi-officially received this]] in the 1935 film version, up to and including casting Creator/JohnCarradine, better known for many, many horror movie villain roles, in the part.
193	* TheScrappy: Certain character archetypes that repeatedly appear in adaptations often get this. Several adapted versions give Valjean a sort of "sidekick" character who is never someone from the book and who is usually disliked, as is the "Marjolras" archetype; that is, a CompositeCharacter with Marius' name and LoveInterest status but Enjolras' role in the plot, which happens more often than one might expect. There's also the 2000 TV miniseries'... [[MemeticMolester interesting]] interpretation of Valjean.
194	* SoBadItsGood: With so many adaptations out there, there's quite a few that fans consider to be this, with the 1952 American film version being seen as especially terrible. General consensus is, if an adaptation excludes both Eponine and Enjolras, ''run''.
195	* SpecialEffectFailure: In the 1958 movie, a bat or something similar scares Cosette in the forest. The string on which that thing is attached is clearly visible.
196	* ValuesDissonance: In a marked departure from the norm, Enjolras is the BigBad (and played by veteran horror film actor Creator/JohnCarradine) in the 1935 version. The film was made during the Second Red Scare in the 1950s, and thus a positively portrayed revolutionary would've been abhorrent to the public at the time.

Context YMMV / LesMiserables