Motifs and Themes

Les Miserables is a musical filled with themes, values, lessons and motifs. Could you expect anything less from Victor Hugo? A 1800's born french poet and writer who is recognized as one of the greatest, even today. Under all the "évenements misérables" (miserable events) that make this musical the masterpiece that it is, there is always more than just death. So we begin the usual dissection that comes with any of the great poems that Mr. MacWilliam unleashes on our class.

Motifs and Themes

Though there are always a stupid amount of motifs and themes in any piece of literature, I have the task of picking three. So I go for the important ones. Theme number one: love and compassion, which I will explain through the motif of forgiveness. Throughout the play we see Valjean forgive a lot of people, and the biggest bout of forgiveness is carried out by the bishop, forgiving Valjean for stealing his silver, and giving him his freedom, which allows for love and compassion. To continue, there is the motif of Religion, which goes hand in hand with that of Forgiveness(/love and compasion). This is a theme that though it was not on the list, is one of the most prominent ideas that come up in this musical. The last motif I will attempt to explain is that of sacrifice. This motif comes up quite a bit during the movie/musical, and is one of those things that creates such an emotional story.

The first theme is "Love and Compassion". A theme carried out mostly by Valjean, Cosette, Marius and The Bishop. Not that the other characters are not compassionate, but that these characters demonstrate it the most in this particular story. The motif of forgiveness goes with this theme. You can see this motif first when the Bishop tells the guards that Valjean did not steal the silver (even though he did). He forgives him for taking his silver, because he knows that he is desperate, and has no guidance. He shows Valjean compassion, by taking him into his church and giving him food and a place to sleep. His forgiveness brings Valjean into a realization that the world is not all dark and hateful. He then goes on to dedicate his life to being "an honest man" someone who shows compassion and love to others. This can be seen in his encounter with Fantine, how he tells the guards she shall not go to prison, but to a hospital, and then he promises to save her daughter. That is an amazing feat of compassion. To take care of a stranger's child and give up the life you know. He also forgives Javert for all the years he kept him a slave, and to all the hate Javert has shown him when he sets him free. If he didn't love or forgive, he would have killed Javert, and felt terrible for the rest of his life. Cosette is a strong demonstration of love and compassion as well. Her love for her father, and her love for Marius shows she is full of kindness and caring. She loves her father who is "gentle and good" because he shows her love and after all, he saved her. She then falls in love with Marius, and he falls in love with her. This demonstrates that even in dark times, finding love is still possible, and that as long as you hold on to love, you can overcome the hate in your life. This theme is present through the whole story, for without it, the story would have not nearly as much meaning.

 The second motif is Religion. This motif comes up manny times during the musical, whether it's a prayer or a quick salute to god. To start off, Valjean gets his shelter at the church, where the Bishop shows him mercy. He forgives him as he says, and I quote: "I have saved your soul for God". relating the idea that God is full of love and forgiveness. Throughout the play manny characters mention god. Some of these instances include Fantine's "If there's a god above, He'd let me die instead"and Valjean says he knows there is. Then she comments that Valjean is from heaven, because he is going to save her child. Also, Thenardier says "wont see you all in hell" at the wedding scene. This gives us the picture that those who love, are with god; and those who steal and hate are against him. When it comes to mentioning the lord, Javert is not an exception. He can be seen saying "God let me find him, so I can see him safe behind bars". He believes that God's way is one of order, but he forgets to love and forgive, which is the embodiment of God in this story. He also says, "He knows, his way in the dark, but mine is the way of the lord". Again thinking that Valjean is somehow evil and against god. Marius is caught saying "I am one with the Gods and heaven is near" when he sees Cosette, again solidifying that love is God's way. The very end is the most clever part. Valjean is dying in a church. Bringing you back to the start when the bishop gave him his freedom. When Cosette comes, he says "Thank God, thank God, I'll live to see this day".  Cosette then learns the truth, and she forgives him, and forgiveness is an important part of religion. The three characters (and a ghost) that share the most love all reunite at the church: Fantine's ghost, who loves Cosette and Valjean ; Cosette, who loves Marius and Valjean; Valjean, who loves Cosette; and Marius who loves Cosette. There's a lot of who loves who there, but you get the picture. The point is, the church is a place of love. When Valjean dies, he goes to heaven with Fantine, and joins the rest of the dead in love and courage. The last line before the chorus of "do you hear the people sing gives it all away: "to love another person is to see the face of God". Therefore religion plays a big part in this story. 

The third, and last motif is that of Sacrifice. It provides a devastating mix of love and sadness. There are manny instances where characters sacrifice themselves for another person, or for a cause. The first instance of this is Fantine, sacrificing her hair and her teeth to save her little girl, Cosette. She loves her and she has no choice  and that brings reality to the story. It shows the hard truth of people in poverty. Selling their bodies and all that they have to survive, or to save their child. Sacrifice is also shown in Eponine's scene. She takes a bullet for Marius, and dies for him because she loves him. Heartbreaking, but she in the end, saved Cosette and Marius' love (along with Valjean). The ABC cafe (which in french sounds like abaissé, which means the lowly or poor) is another example of sacrifice. They sacrificed their lives for the hope of a better world, where people are not dying of hunger and disease while the upper class have more than they need. They expected a better world after they guillotined Marie Antoinette and King Louis the 14th. (BTW let them eat cake was never said by Marie Antoinette, mind blown!) but things didn't change. The leaders of the revolution went down in courage, holding the revolutionary flag up as they were shot. They sacrificed themselves for what they believed in, but didn't change the way things were. As you can see there are manny instances where sacrifice comes up. Why does this motif come up so often? I believe that it helps explain multiple themes, such as Love and Compassion, and Standing up for what you believe in, and what is right. Sacrifice also makes the audience emotional, because it means putting someone or something else before yourself. 

"Les Miserables"

Hello! Summer is quickly coming to an end, and so I figured I should get my blog up and running asap. During the past few months I have been listening to the "Les Mis" soundtrack over and over again. I have to say the music is amazing as well as the movie. Which brings me to my first topic, the movie viewing.

When the cast watched the Les Miserables movie all together, that was not my first time seeing that movie. In grade seven Megan R, T and Maddi M and I went to see it in theatres. Mind you I needed a bit of a refresher.
The great thing about the movie is that, in my opinion, it makes you believe and feel what the characters are going through. That is an important part in any production to connect with your character and the audience and make them believe the story.

What I learned

I learned a good deal from watching that version of the musical. I have only seen two different versions, and I have to say this, the professional movie version was 100 times better than the student version which was the other one I watched. For one I learned that props make a huge difference in the way the story is carried out. The first student cast version I saw had a black empty stage with minimal props, whereas the movie was rich and filled out with intricate sets and props. Granted, the movie definitively had more of a budget, which made it possible for them to have such detail. I believe that having just the bare minimum makes it hard for the audience to be wrapped up in the story when they don't have a setting to place the characters. You don't need to go overboard, but some setting is a nice thing to have.
Another random thing I learned is that Marius is rich! The last time I saw this movie I missed that detail. I find this interesting because he is fighting for the rights of the poor, and yet he does not need to worry about money himself. That suggests that he is either #1 unhappy with his family or #2 cares about the less fortunate. Perhaps both, seen as though his father calls him a disgrace when he is seen helping run the revolution.
I learned a few things about my character, Cosette while watching this version. First thing I learned about her is that she is extremely gentle and kind. She is also curious and wants to show that she is growing up and can handle herself. I really liked the way Amanda Seyfried played this character, and I got a few ideas from her on how to seem gentle and loving, for example the way she uses her eyes. She keeps them open and soft most of the time to seem innocent and gentle but changes them subtly when in surprise or inquiry.
I learned that my character is the eye of the storm as it would seem in the story. She is filled with love and compassion even while everyone is dying. She is protected and alone because Valjean wants her to be safe. The audience needs one character to root for and love and she is a splash of hope and gentleness in a dark cauldron of death and hate. She is also one of the few survivors of the movie, so you want the audience to like her.

Most Memorable Scenes

The scenes that stood out to me the most in the movie were: Eponine's death, Marius' "Empty Chairs in Empty Tables" and Valjean's death. Though there were many scenes that stood out, (the whole musical practically stands out), these scene all have high emotion which sets them apart. Interestingly enough, they all deal with loss, and sadness which not co-incidentally makes them more intense, emotional and memorable.

Eponine's death was one of the most heartbreaking scenes. Many people can relate to her and how she loves someone who does not love her back. Because she is relatable, the audience naturally sympathizes with her and her sadness. This scene is so powerful because of her sacrifice. She loves Marius so much, that she would die for him. She sacrifices herself so that he can live. The wort part is that when she is dying he finally comforts her and holds her. She says "Don't you fret Monsieur Marius, I don't feel any pain". It's heartbreaking! "Just hold me now and let it be" She is in love with him, and that takes away all her pain, like it was worth the sacrifice for only a few minutes with Marius. It's bittersweet because her dream can never be, and she would rather he live that she did. She was so in love, but it could never be, and she knew it. The audience is so torn because they want Eponine to be happy. That is why it is memorable.

Marius' "Empty Chairs in Empty Tables" is a song of loss, pain and despair. I think what really made this scene so memorable was the way the actor played the character so well. He did such an amazing job at capturing all the sadness and anger that Marius felt in this scene. Marius is singing about the loss of his friends, how they used to sing and sit around with dreams. The audience by this point is a bit shocked, because by now most of the characters introduced are dead. This song makes the audience reflect, and creates the sense of loneliness and grief that now is affecting Marius and the audience. This song is really a soliloquy, which connects you to the character and makes you feel what they feel. Marius has to accept that all his friends are gone and dead, and for absolutely nothing. They made no change. Again, a sacrifice, and that is what makes it so powerful and full of loss.

Last but not least, Valjean's death scene. This scene always gets me teary. By this time we are all enraptured in the story. We know that so much has happened to Valjean, and through it all he has been this amazing man, full of forgiveness and love. He gives so much and has to deal with all sorts of garbage, and by the end we are thinking "That can't be it for him!?". Having to live such a hard life, you want to see him finally happy and not having to think about people finding and killing him. But he is dying and alone and it is just heartbreaking, he doesn't deserve this. You just can't stand it any more when Cosette arrives with Marius. This is the part that is so powerful and leaves the lasting impression. It's Cosette and Valjean's connection. Cosette loves him, there is no bond exactly like a cild and a parent. He saved her from a terrible life and showed her love and understanding. He asks for forgiveness, but he need not ask. He thought Cosette would be ashamed but she is not and loves him still. After all he has always been there (and really who cares about a loaf of bread). Cosette does not want to admit that he will die; she loves him so dearly and the audience feels her love and sadness. When he does die, Fantine is there to thank him, which is just the full circle of the story. The last part is also quite memorable; all the people who died, living in heaven and singing.