Seafarers - A Collection of World Literary Classics (Complete Translation)

Author: Victor Hugo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: This is a novel by the great French Romantic writer Victor Hugo, renowned alongside Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Set in the Channel Island of Guernsey, where Hugo once lived in exile, the story tells of sailor Giuseppe Desnoyers who braves perilous reefs alone. In extremely harsh conditions, he displays wit and courage, overcoming difficulties beyond human capability to rescue the machinery of a shipwrecked vessel for its owner, Master Létiéry. Ultimately, he sacrifices himself for the happiness of Déaherty.
Hugo employs his exceptional imagination to create the character of Giuseppe Desnoyers, an ordinary-looking laborer regarded as a demon by others. Through him and his deeds, the novel "praises labor, will, loyalty, and all that makes a person great." Les Misérables is half about the sea and half about those connected to it. The characters are few, primarily Master Létiéry, the shipowner, his two partners, Longuval and Clérambault, his niece Déaherty, and the mysterious and solitary Giuseppe Desnoyers, known as the "monster," along with Father épagnier, whose lives Desnoyers saves twice.
Hugo does not focus on the social relationships between these characters but delves deep into their souls. In his view, "the human body is merely a facade. It conceals our true selves, magnifying our light or darkness. The truth lies within the heart. In an absolute sense, our faces are masks, and the real person lies beneath the surface. If people could discover the one hidden, behind the veil of the body, they would be astonished. A universal error is to mistake the outward appearance for the true person."
Master Létiéry is one who makes this universal mistake: to his eyes, Longuval "has a thick neck, broad shoulders, as if born to carry heavy burdens, and a Heracles-like back." He has always regarded Longuval as a brother, believing they could share misfortunes. Yet, Longuval "wore courage as a cloak for cunning," and Létiéry never imagined that one day, his partner would "vanish, emptying the company's strongbox."
Mistaking Longuval, Létiéry lost only 50,000 francs he had earned honestly. But he was deceived by Clérambault's appearance and nearly lost his life. Because Létiéry had entrusted his "Durand," which he considered half his life, to the man he trusted most—Clérambault—Clérambault betrayed him maliciously. In a carefully planned shipwreck, he destroyed "Durand," stole the money, and sought to escape.