Smiling Man - World Literary Classics Collection (Complete Translation) (Complete Translation)

Author: Victor Hugo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: The Man with the Smiling Face is another romantic masterpiece by the renowned French literary giant Victor Hugo. The protagonist, Gwynplaine, is the descendant of a nobleman, who is sold to child traffickers from a young age and becomes a victim of court intrigue. After falling into the hands of the child traffickers, he is forced to undergo disfiguring surgery, leaving his face perpetually resembling a grotesque smile. Later, he is taken in by the kind-hearted vagabond Josserand. From then on, he travels with Josserand, performing street acts. Before meeting Josserand, Gwynplaine had saved a baby girl from the snow—a blind girl named Titey, whom the kind Josserand also adopted. The three of them drift across the world, enduring poverty and misfortune, but they never surrender to their circumstances. They are filled with sincere affection for one another. During their nomadic life, love gradually grows between Gwynplaine and the blind girl Titey. Later, Gwynplaine has the chance to regain his noble title, but he despises aristocratic life. After passionately condemning the crimes of the nobility in the parliament, he returns to his companions. By then, Titey is already dying and eventually passes away. Gwynplaine is devastated and, in the end, takes his own life by jumping into the sea. Gwynplaine's face is ugly, but his heart is incredibly beautiful.