Smiling Man

Author: (French) Victor Hugo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: Victor Hugo (1802–1885) was a famous French novelist and poet. The Man with the Smiling Face is one of his major novels. The protagonist, Gwynplaine, is a noble descendant who falls into the hands of human traffickers as a child, is disfigured and tortured, and always appears to be smiling grotesquely. The kind traveling performer, Soussu, adopts Gwynplaine as his foster son and also takes in the blind girl Tite, who rescued Gwynplaine from the snow. The three of them wander the world, earning a living by performing. Later, due to chance factors and the needs of British politics, Gwynplaine is able to regain his noble title, but he rejects this dirty gift and chooses to return to his companions in hardship; at this time, Tite is already suffering from a serious illness. After the blind girl passes away, Gwynplaine is filled with grief and commits suicide by drowning.