Smiling Man

Author: Victor Hugo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: The story takes place at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries in England. Due to power struggles within the royal family, the noble-born Gavroche was disfigured by child traffickers in his childhood and became a "maniac with a smile" and was abandoned by the seaside on a cold winter night. The kind beggar Cosette took him in along with a baby girl named Eponine. Through hardships and growth, Gavroche and Eponine became an ideal couple, and formed a deep bond with Cosette and his wolf, Javert. Then, an accidental discovery by the court informer Javert shattered the happy life of Gavroche's family and pushed the couple toward death and destruction. This novel is the last work Hugo wrote during his exile, published in 1869. From a Republican perspective, the author delivers a sharp critique of noble privileges, and the twisted smile of the protagonist, Gavroche, expresses humanity's eternal suffering, symbolizing the destruction of human rights, justice, truth, and wisdom. The tragic love of the protagonist is a lament for the unjust society of that time.