Les Miserables

The Broadway musical, known for its catchy tunes, romantic themes, and entertaining performances, continually redefines itself by presenting increasingly complex subject matter. In the case of Les Misérables, Victor Hugo's mid-nineteenth century literary masterpiece and bestseller became the next frontier for the musical form. Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schonberg, and Cameron Mackintosh envisioned a revolutionary musical (no pun intended) that would assume an epic form, expressing grand, universal themes. Its three and a half hour-long length, relentless poetic language, and emphasis on heroic deeds give Les Misérables its epic-like quality. More notably, Les Misérables is one of the most tragic stories of all time, as emphasized by its grim title. The notion that literary tragedy can be the basis of a Broadway musical seems nearly impossible. How can a musical that kills nearly all of its characters remain uplifting, romantic, and entertaining? Edward Behr addresses this issue by stating that Hugo's underlying optimism was captured in the musical version, leaving audiences "both uplifted and in tears". While the numerous deaths and extreme misery of the characters warrant the audience's tears, the uplifting feeling is evoked in a more indirect manner. Les Misérables, the musical, derives its "universal appeal" from its pervasive spirituality and insistence upon Hugo's optimistic view of the human condition.

The misery portrayed throughout Les Misérables is always coated by an uplifting spiritual presence. The musical traditions of romance and humor are preserved in the midst of tragedy by the play's undying optimism. Unlike many of its early predecessors, Les Misérables is, by no means, an escapist musical. However, the spirituality that it offers and its insistence upon the "triumph of good over evil" make the world of the play rather attractive. By examining Les Misérables in this light, we understand why it "inspires a deeply emotional, joyful response", despite its tragic plot.

The musical's first words are "look down, look down". A chain gang of convicts pleads to the Lord as they slave away under the hot sun. This imperative tone sets the theme for the rest of the musical. The disparaging characters continue to plead with God, telling Him to look down upon them and show his mercy. These lyrics and their accompanying music return later in the play, but with a slightly different meaning. Instead of pleading to directly to God, the beggars seek compassion from the wealthier people: "Look down and show some mercy if you can. Look down, look down, upon your fellow man". The similarity of the lyrics and the repetition of the melody suggest that two pleas are comparable. While the chain gang pleas directly to God, the beggars seek out God through their fellow man. The notion that man can carry out God's work is especially potent in the character of Jean Valjean.

Immediately after Valjean is released from jail, he exhibits no God-like qualities. He is selfish, unforgiving, and dishonest. He exclaims: "Never forgive them for what they've done. They are the guilty - everyone . . . Now let's see what this new world will do for me". He does not think of what he can contribute to the world, only what he can gain for himself. Spending twenty years in jail has made him bitter, and understandably so. Desperate for money, he attempts to steal from a bishop who has offered him hospitality. Instead of turning him over to the police, the bishop lets him keep the stolen goods, and gives him two candlesticks in addition. The bishop thus "buys" his soul for God, telling Valjean that he must "become an honest man".

Following this scene, Valjean delivers an introspective soliloquy in which he acknowledges his past sins, repents, and decides to become God's servant. Although this transformation occurs rather rapidly in the musical, the soliloquy probably represents several weeks or even months of contemplation:

My life he [the bishop] claims for God above.

Can such things be?

For I had come to hate the world.

This world that always hated me. . .

He told me that I have a soul.

How does he know?

What spirit comes to rule my life?

Is there another way to go?

This song exemplifies the uplifting nature of the musical. It affirms the existence and the integrity of the human soul. It demonstrates repentance, true introspection, and asks fundamental questions about human redemption. In fact, the entire scene presents an optimistic vision of humanity. The Bishop, without hesitation, forgives Valjean for stealing his silver and does not turn him over to the police. Although Valjean is a complete stranger and an ex-convict, the Bishop finds goodness in him. He gives away his own silver to help Valjean begin a new, honest life. The Bishop demonstrates forgiveness, unconditional human compassion, and personal sacrifice. In return, Valjean recreates himself as God's servant: "Jean Valjean is nothing now, another story must begin". These opening scenes present humanity at its best. Even though an innkeeper turns him away and a farmer does not pay him for his work, Valjean eventually receives compassion. Goodness permeates his soul and prevails over his previous sinful self. This insistence upon the "triumph of good over evil" illustrates a universal ideal that gives Les Misérables an optimistic tone.

The individual songs, themselves, are structured around this ideal. "At the End of the Day" is a seemingly bleak song. It presents the drudgery of daily working class life, and emphasizes the poor people's struggle to survive through each day. However, the first two dark verses give way to the bright image of the third. The line "At the end of the day you're another day older" becomes "At the end of the day there's another day dawning, and the sun in the morning is waiting to rise". Although these uplifting lyrics do not overshadow the despair of the song, they make the misery less of an absolute. They provide a glimmer of hope by affirming that a new day is close at hand. Previous Broadway songs such as "Memory" from Cats and "Tomorrow" from Annie also present this hopefulness in the midst of grief. Les Misérables continues to reinforce this vision throughout the musical.

Another song that offers optimism as an alternative to despair is "I Dreamed a Dream". The title of this song suggests imaginative possibilities and transcendence above everyday life. Fantine dreams that "the world was a song and the song was exciting". She remembers the love she once shared and how it was magical to her. Fantine's misery, however, is her inability to keep dreaming. She believes that her dream has become her shame and that "life has killed the dream". However, her actual singing of the song suggests that Fantine's dream is very much alive. She still remembers "when men were kind" and when there was "no song unsung, no wine untasted". The beauty and hopefulness of Fantine's dream shields her from absolute misery.

Les Misérables' affirmation of a loving God pervades Fantine's final plea for mercy and her subsequent death. Just as Javert is sending Fantine to jail, Valjean intervenes on her behalf. As the owner of the factory, he feels responsible for her losing her job there and her need to become a prostitute. Fantine pleas: "My daughter's close to dying. If there's a God above, He'd let me die instead". Valjean, committed to doing God's work, states that he will answer her plea in the name of God. Valjean's capacity for compassion and goodness is the direct result of his faith in God and his belief that he must live in His service. God's presence is particularly remarkable during Fantine's death scene. In her delirium, she has a pleasant vision of her child, Cosette, playing. Although Fantine is extremely ill, she is entirely at peace and prepared to die. Her delirium is like her heaven on earth. She is with her child and she sees Valjean as God: "Good Monsieur, you come from God in heaven". The tragedy of her death is mitigated by the peace she experiences during her last moments. In heaven, she will be able to look down upon Cosette and protect her from above: "For God's sake, please stay till I am sleeping, and tell Cosette I love her and I'll see her when I wake". The musical's first death is therefore more of an affirmation than a tragedy. God's good grace and the peacefulness of heaven are Fantine's salvation from her "hell" on earth.

The fact that Cosette has a vivid, beautiful vision of her mother in heaven suggests a relationship that transcends earthly love. Her mother is an angelic figure, a "lady all in white", who sings and comforts her. Cosette's "Castle on a Cloud" establishes her belief in heaven as a physical place in the sky. Her ability to dream allows her to escape the drudgery her slave-like existence. Just as Fantine's "I Dreamed a Dream" momentarily raises her spirits, Cosette's song offers her an alternative, more desirable world. Les Misérables continually celebrates the human ability to imagine and dream. No matter how much suffering and agony we experience, we can make it livable through our hopes and dreams. Eponine's "On My Own" is another compelling example of this universal truth.

Les Misérables further extols human virtue by emphasizing sacrifice. Fantine sells her hair and becomes a prostitute to make enough money to support Cosette. She sacrifices her dignity and pride for the love of her daughter. Jean Valjean willingly risks his life to save a man (M. Fauchelevent) trapped underneath a heavy cart. In doing so, he demonstrates his extreme physical strength before Javert's eyes. Javert, remembering Valjean's strength, suspects that Valjean (currently using another name) may be the convict that broke his parole years ago. Thus, Valjean not only risks his life to save the man, he also risks revealing his true identity and being sent to prison. Overcome with gratitude, M. Fauchelevent exclaims: "You come from God, you are a saint", further emphasizing Valjean as a God-like figure.

Following this event, Javert states that he has recently found the real Valjean and is sending him to jail. The knowledge that an innocent man is being sent to jail in his place torments Valjean. In "Who am I?", Valjean struggles to determine if should reveal his true identity and accept the prison sentence. Should he risk his freedom and everything he has strived to become for a man he does not even know? He ponders:

Who am I?

Can I condemn this man to slavery?

Pretend I do not see his agony? . . .

How can I ever face my fellow men?

How can I ever face myself again?

My soul belongs to God, I know

I made that bargain long ago.

He gave me hope when hope was gone

He gave me strength to journey on.

This introspective song reveals Valjean's compassion, dignity, and faith in God. His compassionate nature allows him to consider the situation from the other man's perspective; he "sees his agony". Furthermore, if he were to let this man go to jail in his place, he would never be able to face himself or his fellow men with dignity. Valjean's faith in God ultimately gives him the courage to turn himself in. God took care of him in his time of need, giving him the "strength to journey on". Remembering God's good grace, he believes that God will help him survive any hardship that he may encounter. The interrogative nature of this song allows the audience to identify with Valjean. He asks many questions and struggles to find the right answers. If Valjean made his decision without singing "Who am I?", his character would seem unrealistic. His sacrifice would appear so saintly that the audience would not be able to relate to it. Instead, Valjean's inner conflicts represent the universal struggle to find answers to life's problems. Later in the musical, Marius faces a similar struggle when deciding whether to fight at the barricade or follow his lover, Cosette.

Les Misérables also presents the pursuit of justice as a universal human endeavor. The students risk their lives on the barricade for the sake of political justice. More notably, Javert devotes his life to "seeing that justice is done", especially in his pursuit of Valjean. Although Javert is the play's ostensible villain, he, too, exhibits human virtues. In fact, he lives his life to serve God, much like Valjean. He views God as the ultimate judge, and his life objective is to carry out God's justice on earth. The significant difference between the two men is Javert's inability to understand repentance and forgiveness. While Valjean's God is forgiving and merciful, Javert's God punishes evil and rewards good. In "Stars", Javert expresses his belief that those who have sinned cannot be redeemed: "And so it has been, and so it's written on the doorway to paradise that those who falter and those who fall must pay the price". Javert's pursuit of Valjean has little to do with his actual crime. In "Stars", Javert reveals that he must punish this fallen man in order to serve God. Les Misérables offers another portrait of the human pursuit of goodness through Javert's attempt to insure that good will prevail over evil.

Looking up at the evening sky, Javert imagines a universe governed by order and justice. In this respect, Javert's vision seems somewhat appealing. He looks into the chaos of the night sky to find order, structure, and absoluteness. He addresses the stars: "Filling the darkness with order and light, you are the sentinels, silent and sure . . .you know your place in the sky, you hold your course and your aim". In Javert's ideal world, there is no confusion and everything is black and white. The stars are "sure" and they "know their place", indicating Javert's desire for stability and certainty. "Stars" demonstrates that the play's villain is actually a man of God, seeking a structured world that rewards righteousness and punishes sin. Les Misérables emphasizes inherent human goodness by attributing noble characteristics to the antagonist. In addition, the fact that Javert can imagine an alternative, more attractive world unites him with the play's other dreamers, Fantine, young Cosette, and Eponine. Like these other characters, Javert can escape from his struggles through his vision of an ordered, justice-serving universe.

Further evidence of Les Misérables' optimism is its celebration of the community. The students unite together because of their shared commitment to fighting for freedom. The song "Do You Hear the People Sing?" glorifies this common will of the "people". Enjorlas inspires this communal spirit by affirming the importance of the group over the concerns of the individual. Marius must decide whether to fight with the students or to leave with Cosette. Enjorlas influences his decision by stressing his duty to fight for a common, higher cause: "Now there is a higher call. Who cares about your lonely soul? We strive towards a larger goal- our little lives don't count at all!". While Les Misérables recognizes the integrity of the individual, it more passionately emphasizes human relationships and the notion of fellowship. The lyrics of "Who am I?" and the beggar's version of "Look Down" specifically address the importance of "fellow man".

More notably, the song "One Day More" presents the interplay of individual concerns with community sentiment. All of the characters sing the same song, but they each have their own version of it. Valjean contemplates his constant flight from the law, Cosette grieves over having to leave her lover, Marius decides between fighting or following Cosette, Eponine laments her unrequited love for Marius, Enjorlas eagerly awaits the fight for freedom, Javert anticipates spying upon the students, and Thenardier thinks about the riches he will steal from the fallen students. Although each character is preoccupied with his or her individual situation, the song unites them as fellow men and women. At the end they sing, in unison: "Tomorrow we'll discover what our God in Heaven has in store. One more dawn, one more day, one day more". Despite their individual differences, the characters unite to express their faith in God and their anticipation of His plan. The end of the song, which is also the end of the first act, leaves the audience with an extremely uplifting and potent image. Their voices join together to create a beautiful harmony, and their bodies unite as they march to the beat of the song, forming a triangular formation on the stage. This image accentuates the beauty human fellowship and the spiritual understanding that we are all the God's children.

The second half of Les Misérables presents the deaths of nearly all of the characters. It is no wonder why audiences leave the theatre "in tears". The image of the students' dead bodies upon the barricade is extremely depressing. The death of the child Gavroche also casts a gloomy shadow over much of the second act. However, Eponine's death represents more of a blessing than a tragedy. Like Fantine, Eponine is finally able to achieve peace and hopefulness in the moments before she dies. Just as Fantine's heaven is watching her daughter happily at play, Eponine's heaven is being held in Marius' arms. She rejoices: "The rain that brings you here is heaven blessed. The skies begin to clear and I'm at rest. A breath away from where you are". This moment is the only point in the play at which Eponine is happy. She views her death as a triumph because she will sleep in Marius' embrace. The deaths of Eponine and Fantine demonstrate the spirituality and peacefulness of death. Because they are the first two characters to die, their deaths offer a more uplifting way to interpret the subsequent deaths.

Javert's suicide demonstrates the despair of the belief in an unforgiving God. Unlike Fantine and Eponine, Javert dies a hellish death. He cannot find peace with a God who does not operate according to his black and white system of justice. When Javert enters into Valjean's custody, he expresses his disgrace: "The law is inside out, the world is upside down". His code of justice is violated and his ordered vision of the universe is destroyed. Furthermore, he cannot accept the notion that a fallen man can be redeemed. Javert exclaims: "Once a thief, forever a thief. What you want you always steal! You would trade your life for mine. Yes, Valjean you want a deal!". When Javert realizes that Valjean does not want a deal, he accepts his mercy. However, this acknowledgement of Valjean's righteousness shatters his structured view of good and evil. He reflects:

Can this man be believed?

Shall his sins be forgiven?

Shall his crimes be reprieved? . . .

The world I have known is lost in shadow

Is he from heaven or from hell?

And does he know

That granting me my life today

This man has killed me even so?

Javert refuses to believe in repentance and forgiveness because they do not concur with his system of justice. The notion that Valjean's sins can be forgiven is contrary to "the world [he] has known". Javert commits suicide because he cannot live in Valjean's debt. He refuses to accept a life granted to him by the mercy of a fallen man. By throwing himself into the river Seine, he symbolically falls into hell. He has not made peace with God, so even his heaven would be hellish for him. Although Javert's suicide seems to be completely desolate, it carries a rather potent spiritual message. It suggests that God truly is forgiving and that we can be redeemed from our sins. We must accept His forgiveness and live according to His high laws, instead of seeking out black and white notions of justice. Javert's inability to view the world from this divine perspective makes him unable to accept a redeemed man's mercy. Although Javert believes that "[his] is the way of the Lord", his misguided perception of God's will makes him rather unholy.

Behr states that Les Misérables conveys a message of hope in its "unforgettable finale". All of the musical's uplifting and optimistic notions of the human condition are reinforced during this final scene. The idea of death as a peaceful sleep and an ascent to God in heaven is demonstrated in Valjean's final prayer to God. He realizes that his time has come, and he is prepared to meet God. He prays: "Take me now to thy care. Where you are, let me be. Take me now, take me there. Bring me home". Just as Eponine dies peacefully in Marius' arms, Valjean needs Cosette at his side. He tells her: "Now you are here again beside me. Now I can die in peace, for now my life is blessed". The finale also reinforces Valjean as God's servant and the idea that his soul belongs to God. He asks God to bring him home, suggesting that heaven is his true home. In this respect, Valjean is more like a heavenly spirit than an earthly being.

The notion of forgiveness also figures prominently in the musical's finale. Valjean begs Cosette's forgiveness for keeping his past a secret from her. He then asks God for forgiveness one last time: "Forgive me all my trespasses and take me to your glory". Les Misérables' final image offers optimism and spirituality. The musical's celebration of fellowship is expressed in Valjean's final words: "To love another person is to see the face of God". The song "Do You Hear the People Sing", sung by the entire cast, is repeated with varied lyrics. It passionately emphasizes community spirit and oneness under God. The lyrics present the novel's original optimism that "We have a knowledge that even in the darkest nights the sun will rise again" (Victor Hugo).

For the wretched if the earth there is a flame that never dies.

Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise. . .

Do you hear the people sing? Say do you hear the distant drums?

It is the future that they bring with tomorrow comes.

Tomorrow comes!

Les Misérables thus ends with a declaration of universal truth.

When Les Misérables first opened, many critics wrote scathing reviews of it. Michael Ratcliffe of Observer headlined his article "Victor Hugo on the Garbage Dump", stating that the musical was "witless and synthetic entertainment". (Behr 140) Many critics agreed that recreating Victor Hugo's masterpiece for the musical theatre medium trivialized its message. Despite these unfavorable reviews, Les Misérables stills plays on the Broadway stage, over a decade after its debut. Its optimism, spirituality, and passion complemented by its unforgettable music, costumes, and set design insure that this musical will continue to inspire audiences around the world.

WORKS CITED

Behr, Edward. The Complete Book of Les Misérables. Arcade Publishing. New York: 1989.