Characters

Major

Jean Valjean (also known as Monsieur Madeleine, Ultime Fauchelevent,

Monsieur Leblanc, and Urbain Fabre) The protagonist of the novel.
Convicted for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's seven starving
children and sent to prison for five years, he is paroled from prison
nineteen years later (after four unsuccessful escape attempts added
twelve years and fighting back during the second escape attempt added
two extra years). Rejected by society for being a former convict, he
encounters Bishop Myriel, who turns his life around by showing him
mercy and encouraging him to become a new man. While sitting and
pondering what Bishop Myriel had said, he puts his shoe on a forty-sou
piece dropped by a young wanderer. Valjean threatens the boy with his
stick when the boy attempts to rouse Valjean from his reverie and
recover his money. He tells a passing priest his name, and the name of
the boy, and this allows the police to charge him with armed robbery a
sentence that, if he were caught again, would return him to prison for
life. He assumes a new identity (Monsieur Madeleine) in order to pursue
an honest life. He introduces new manufacturing techniques and
eventually builds two factories and becomes one of the richest men in the
area. By popular acclaim he is made mayor. He confronts Javert over
Fantine's punishment, turns himself in to the police to save another man
from prison for life, and rescues Cosette from the Thnardiers.
Discovered by Javert in Paris because of his generosity to the poor, he
evades capture for the next several years in a convent. He saves Marius
from imprisonment and probable death at the barricade, reveals his true
identity to Marius and Cosette after their wedding, and is reunited with
them just before his death, having kept his promise to the bishop and to
Fantine, the image of whom is the last thing he sees before dying.

Javert A fanatic police inspector. The main antagonist of the novel.

Born in the prisons to a convict father and a gypsy mother, he renounces
both of them and starts working as a guard in the prison, including one
stint as the overseer for the chain gang of which Valjean is part (and here
witnesses firsthand Valjean's enormous strength and just what he looks
like). Eventually he joins the police force in the small village of Montreuilsur-Mer. He arrests Fantine and butts heads with Valjean (as M.
Madeleine, the mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer), who orders him to release
Fantine. Valjean dismisses Javert in front of his squad and Javert,
seeking revenge, reports to the Police Inspector that he has discovered
Jean Valjean. He is told that he must be incorrect, as a man mistakenly
believed to be Jean Valjean was just arrested. He requests of M. Madeline
that he be dismissed in disgrace, for he cannot be less harsh on himself

than on others. When the real Jean Valjean turns himself in, Javert is
promoted to the Paris police force where he arrests Valjean and sends
him back to prison. After Valjean escapes again, Javert attempts one
more arrest in vain. He then almost recaptures Valjean at Gorbeau house
when he arrests the Thnardiers and Patron-Minette. Later, while
working undercover behind the barricade, his identity is discovered.
Valjean pretends to execute Javert, but releases him. When Javert next
encounters Valjean emerging from the sewers, he allows him to make a
brief visit home and then walks off instead of arresting him. Javert can
not reconcile his devotion to the law with his recognition that the lawful
course is immoral. He takes his own life by jumping into the Seine.

Fantine A beautiful Parisian grisette abandoned with a small child by

her lover Flix Tholomys. Fantine leaves her daughter Cosette in the
care of the Thnardiers, innkeepers in the village of Montfermeil. Mme.
Thnardier spoils her own daughters and abuses Cosette. Fantine finds
work at Monsieur Madeleine's factory. Illiterate, she has others write
letters to the Thnardiers on her behalf. A female supervisor discovers
that she is an unwed mother and dismisses her. To meet the
Thnardiers' repeated demands for money, she sells her hair and two
front teeth, and turns to prostitution. She becomes ill. Valjean learns of
her plight when Javert arrests her for attacking a man who called her
insulting names and threw snow down her back, and sends her to a
hospital. As Javert confronts Valjean in her hospital room, because her
illness has made her so weak, she dies of shock after Javert reveals that
Valjean is a convict and hasn't brought her daughter Cosette to her (after
the doctor encouraged that incorrect belief that Jean Valjean's recent
absence was because he was bringing her daughter to her).

Cosette (a nickname, formally Euphrasie, also known as "the Lark",

Mademoiselle Lanoire, Ursula) The illegitimate daughter of Fantine and
Tholomys. From approximately the age of three to the age of eight, she
is beaten and forced to work as a drudge for the Thnardiers. After her
mother Fantine dies, Valjean ransoms Cosette from the Thnardiers and
cares for her as if she were his daughter. Nuns in a Paris convent
educate her. She grows up to become very beautiful. She falls in love
with Marius Pontmercy and marries him near the novel's conclusion.

M arius Pontmercy A young law student loosely associated with the

Friends of the ABC. He shares the political principles of his father, who
died at Waterloo, and has a tempestuous relationship with his royalist
grandfather, Monsieur Gillenormand. He falls in love with Cosette and
fights on the barricades when he believes Valjean has taken her to
London. After he and Cosette marry, he recognizes Thnardier as a
swindler and pays him to leave France.

ponine (the Jondrette girl) The Thnardiers' elder daughter. As a

child, she is pampered and spoiled by her parents, but ends up a street
urchin when she reaches adolescence. She participates in her father's
crimes and begging schemes to obtain money. She is blindly in love with
Marius. At Marius' request, she finds Valjean and Cosette's house for
him and sadly leads him there. She also prevents her father, Patron Minette and Brujon from robbing the house during one of Marius' visits
there to see Cosette. After disguising herself as a boy, she manipulates
Marius into going to the barricades, hoping that they will die together.
Wanting to die before Marius, she reaches out her hand to stop a soldier
from shooting at him; she is mortally wounded as the bullet goes through
her hand and her back. As she is dying, she confesses all this to Marius,
and gives him a letter from Cosette. Her final request to Marius is that
once she has passed, he will kiss her on the forehead. He fulfills her
request not because of romantic feelings on his part, but out of pity for
her hard life.

M onsieur Thnardier and M adame Thnardier (also known as the

Jondrettes, M. Fabantou, M. Thnard. Some translations identify her as
the Thenardiess) Husband and wife, parents of five children: two
daughters, ponine and Azelma, and three sons, Gavroche and two
unnamed younger sons. As innkeepers, they abuse Cosette as a child
and extract payment from Fantine for her support, until Valjean takes
Cosette away. They become bankrupt and relocate under the name
Jondrette to a house in Paris called the Gorbeau house, living in the
room next to Marius. The husband associates with a criminal group
called "the Patron-Minette" and conspires to rob Valjean until he is
thwarted by Marius. Javert arrests the couple. The wife dies in prison.
Her husband attempts to blackmail Marius with his knowledge of
Valjean's past, but Marius pays him to leave the country. He becomes a
slave trader in the United States.

Enjolras The leader of Les Amis de l'ABC (Friends of the ABC) in the
Paris uprising. Passionately committed to republican principles and the
idea of progress. He and Grantaire are executed by the National Guards
after the barricade falls.

Gavroche The unloved middle child and eldest son of the Thnardiers.
He lives on his own as a street urchin and sleeps inside an elephant
statue outside the Bastille. He briefly takes care of his two younger
brothers, unaware they are related to him. He takes part in the
barricades and is killed while collecting bullets from dead National
Guardsmen.

Bishop M yriel The bishop of Digne (full name Charles-FranoisBienvenu Myriel, also called Monseigneur Bienvenu) A kindly old priest

promoted to bishop after a chance encounter with Napoleon. After

Valjean steals some silver from him, he saves Valjean from being arrested
and inspires Valjean to change his ways.

Volume I Fantine
The story begins in 1815 in Digne, as the peasant Jean Valjean, just released
from 19 years' imprisonment in the galleysfive for stealing bread for his
starving sister and her family and fourteen more for numerous escape
attemptsis turned away by innkeepers because his yellow passport marks
him as a former convict. He sleeps on the street, angry and bitter.
Digne's benevolent Bishop Myriel gives him shelter. At night, Valjean runs off
with Myriel's silverware. When the police capture Valjean, Myriel pretends that
he has given the silverware to Valjean and presses him to take two silver
candlesticks as well, as if he had forgotten to take them. The police are fooled
by Myriel's charade. After they leave, Myriel continues the pretense and tells
Valjean that his life has been spared for God. That he should use the silver
candlesticks to make an honest man of himself and live for the Lord.
Valjean broods over Myriel's words. When opportunity presents itself, purely
out of habit, he steals a 40-sous coin from 12-year-old Petit Gervais and chases
the boy away. He quickly repents and searches the city in panic for Gervais. At
the same time, his theft is reported to the authorities. Valjean hides as they
search for him, because if apprehended he will be returned to the galleys for
life as a repeat offender.
Six years pass and Valjean, using the alias Monsieur Madeleine, has become a
wealthy factory owner and is appointed mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer (referred to
as "M--- sur M---" in the unabridged version). Walking down the street, he sees
a man named Fauchelevent pinned under the wheels of a cart. When no one
volunteers to lift the cart, even for pay, he decides to rescue Fauchelevent
himself. He crawls underneath the cart, manages to lift it, and frees him. The
town's police inspector, Inspector Javert, who was an adjutant guard at the
Bagne of Toulon during Valjean's incarceration, becomes suspicious of the
mayor after witnessing this remarkable feat of strength. He has known only one
other man, a convict named Jean Valjean, who could accomplish it.
Years earlier in Paris, a grisette named Fantine was very much in love with
Flix Tholomys. His friends, Listolier, Fameuil, and Blachevelle were also
paired with Fantine's friends Dahlia, Zphine, and Favourite. The men
abandon the women, treating their relationships as youthful amuseme nts.
Fantine must draw on her own resources to care for hers and Tholomys's
daughter, Cosette. When Fantine arrives at Montfermeil, she leaves Cosette in
the care of the Thnardiers, a corrupt innkeeper and his selfish, cruel wife.

Fantine is unaware that they are abusing her daughter and using her as forced
labor for their inn, and continues to try to meet their growing, extortionate and
fictitious demands. She is later fired from her job at Jean Valjean's factory,
because of the discovery of her daughter, who was born out of wedlock.
Meanwhile, the Thnardiers' monetary demands continue to grow. In
desperation, Fantine sells her hair and two front teeth, and she resorts to
prostitution to pay the Thnardiers. Fantine is slowly dying from an
unspecified disease.
A dandy named Bamatabois harasses Fantine in the street, and she reacts by
striking him. Javert arrests Fantine. She begs to be released so that she can
provide for her daughter, but Javert sentences her to six months in prison.
Valjean (Mayor Madeleine) intervenes and orders Javert to release her. Javert
resists but Valjean prevails. Valjean, feeling responsible because his factory
turned her away, promises Fantine that he will bring Cosette to her. He takes
her to a hospital.
Javert comes to see Valjean again. Javert admits that after being forced to free
Fantine, he reported him as Valjean to the French authorities. He tells Valjean
he realizes he was wrong, because the authorities have identified someone else
as the real Jean Valjean, have him in custody, and plan to try him the next
day. Valjean is torn, but decides to reveal himself to save the innocent man,
whose real name is Champmathieu. He travels to attend the trial and there
reveals his true identity. Valjean returns to Montreuil-sur-Mer to see Fantine,
followed by Javert, who confronts him in her hospital room.
After Javert grabs Valjean, Valjean asks for three days to bring Cosette to
Fantine, but Javert refuses. Fantine discovers that Cosette is not at the
hospital and fretfully asks where she is. Javert orders her to be quiet, and then
reveals to her Valjean's real identity. Weakened by the severity of her illness,
she falls back in shock and dies. Valjean goes to Fantine, speaks to her in an
inaudible whisper, kisses her hand, and then leaves with Javert. Fantine's
body is thrown into a public grave.

Volume II Cosette
Valjean escapes, is recaptured, and is sentenced to death. The king commutes
his sentence to penal servitude for life. While imprisoned at the military port of
Toulon, Valjean, at great personal risk, rescues a sailor caught in the ship's
rigging. Spectators call for his release. Valjean fakes his own death by allowing
himself to fall into the ocean. Authorities report him dead and his body lost.
Valjean arrives at Montfermeil on Christmas Eve. He finds Cosette fetching
water in the woods alone and walks with her to the inn. He orders a meal and
observes how the Thnardiers abuse her, while pampering their own daughters

ponine and Azelma, who mistreat Cosette for playing with their doll. Valjean
leaves and returns to make Cosette a present of an expensive new doll which,
after some hesitation, she happily accepts. ponine and Azelma are envious.
Madame Thnardier is furious with Valjean, while her husband makes light of
Valjean's behavior, caring only that he pay for his food and lodging.
The next morning, Valjean informs the Thnardiers that he wants to take
Cosette with him. Madame Thnardier immediately accepts, while Thnardier
pretends to love Cosette and be concerned for her welfare, reluctant to give her
up. Valjean pays 1,500 francs to them, and he and Cosette leave the inn.
Thnardier, hoping to swindle more out of Valjean, runs after them, holding the
1,500 francs, and tells Valjean he wants Cosette back. He informs Valjean that
he cannot release Cosette without a note from the child's mother. Valjean
hands Thnardier Fantine's letter authorizing the bearer to take Cosette.
Thnardier then demands that Valjean pay a thousand crowns, but Valjean
and Cosette leave. Thnardier regrets that he did not bring his gun and turns
back toward home.
Valjean and Cosette flee to Paris. Valjean rents new lodgings at Gorbeau
House, where he and Cosette live happily. However, Javert discovers Valjean' s
lodgings there a few months later. Valjean takes Cosette and they try to escape
from Javert. They soon find shelter in the Petit-Picpus convent with the help of
Fauchelevent, the man whom Valjean once rescued from being crushed under
a cart and who has become the convent's gardener. Valjean also becomes a
gardener and Cosette becomes a student at the convent school.

Volume III Marius

Eight years later, the Friends of the ABC, led by Enjolras, are preparing an act
of anti-Orlanist civil unrest on the eve of the Paris uprising on 56 June 1832,
following the death of General Lamarque, the only French leader who had
sympathy towards the working class. They are also joined by the poor of the
Cour des miracles, including the Thnardiers' eldest son Gavroche, who is a
street urchin.
One of the students, Marius Pontmercy, has become alienated from his family
(especially his grandfather M. Gillenormand) because of his liberal views. After
the death of his father Colonel Georges Pontmercy, Marius discovers a note
from him instructing his son to provide help to a sergeant named Thnardier
who saved Pontmercy's life at Waterloo in reality Thnardier was looting
corpses and only saved Pontmercy's life by accident; he had called himself a
sergeant under Napoleon to avoid exposing himself as a robber.
At the Luxembourg Gardens, Marius falls in love with the now grown and
beautiful Cosette. The Thnardiers have also moved to Paris and now live in

poverty after losing their inn. They live under the surname "Jondrette" at
Gorbeau House (coincidentally, the same building Valjean and Cosette briefly
lived in after leaving the Thnardiers' inn). Marius lives there as well, next door
to the Thnardiers.
ponine, now ragged and emaciated, visits Marius at his apartment to beg for
money. To impress him, she tries to prove her literacy by reading aloud from a
book and by writing "The Cops Are Here" on a sheet of paper. Marius pities her
and gives her some money. After ponine leaves, Marius observes the
"Jondrettes" in their apartment through a crack in the wall. ponine comes in
and announces that a philanthropist and his daughter are arriving to visit
them. In order to look poorer, Thnardier puts out the fire and breaks a chair.
He also orders Azelma to punch out a window pane, which she does, resulting
in cutting her hand (as Thnardier had hoped).
The philanthropist and his daughter enteractually Valjean and Cosette.
Marius immediately recognizes Cosette. After seeing them, Valjean promises
them he will return with rent money for them. After he and Cosette leave,
Marius asks ponine to retrieve her address for him. ponine, who is in love
with Marius herself, reluctantly agrees to do so. The Thnardiers have also
recognized Valjean and Cosette, and vow their revenge. Thnardier enlists the
aid of the Patron-Minette, a well-known and feared gang of murderers and
robbers.
Marius overhears Thnardier's plan and goes to Javert to report the crime.
Javert gives Marius two pistols and instructs him to fire one into the air if
things get dangerous. Marius returns home and waits for Javert and the police
to arrive. Thnardier sends ponine and Azelma outside to look out for the
police. When Valjean returns with rent money, Thnardier, with Patron Minette, ambushes him and he reveals his real identity to Valjean. Marius
recognizes Thnardier as the man who "saved" his father's life at Waterloo and
is caught in a dilemma.
He tries to find a way to save Valjean while not betraying Thnardier. Valjean
denies knowing Thnardier and tells him that they have never met. Valjean
tries to escape through a window but is subdued and tied up. Thnardier
orders Valjean to pay him 200,000 francs. He also orders Valjean to write a
letter to Cosette to return to the apartment, and they would keep he r with them
until he delivers the money. After Valjean writes the letter and informs
Thnardier of his address, Thnardier sends out Mme. Thnardier to get
Cosette. Mme. Thnardier comes back alone, and announces the address is a
fake.
It is during this time that Valjean manages to free himself. Thnardier decides
to kill Valjean. While he and Patron-Minette are about to do so, Marius
remembers the scrap of paper that ponine wrote on earlier. He throws it into

the Thnardiers' apartment through the wall crack. Thnardier reads it and
thinks ponine threw it inside. He, Mme. Thnardier and Patron-Minette try to
escape, only to be stopped by Javert.
He arrests all the Thnardiers and Patron-Minette (except Claquesous, who
escapes during his transportation to prison; Montparnasse, who stops to run
off with ponine instead of joining in on the robbery; and Gavroche, who was
not present and rarely participates in his family's crimes, a notable exception
being his part in breaking his father out of prison. Valjean manages to escape
the scene before Javert sees him.

Volume IV The Idyll in the Rue Plumet and the Epic in the Rue
St. Denis
After ponine's release from prison, she finds Marius at "The Field of the Lark"
and sadly tells him that she found Cosette's address. She leads him to
Valjean's and Cosette's house on Rue Plumet, and Marius watches the house
for a few days. He and Cosette then finally meet and declare their love for one
another. Thnardier, Patron-Minette and Brujon manage to escape from prison
with the aid of Gavroche. One night, during one of Marius's visits with Cosette,
the six men attempt to raid Valjean's and Cosette's house. However, ponine,
who has been sitting by the gates of the house, threatens to scream and
awaken the whole neighbourhood if the thieves do not leave. Hearing this, they
reluctantly retire. Meanwhile, Cosette informs Marius that she and Valjean will
be leaving for England in a week's time, which greatly troubles the pair.
The next day, Valjean is sitting in the Champ de Mars. He is feeling troubled
about seeing Thnardier in the neighbourhood several times. Unexpectedly, a
note lands in his lap, which says "Move Out." He sees a figure running away in
the dim light. He goes back to his house, tells Cosette they will be staying at
their other house on Rue de l'Homme Arme, and reconfirms to her that they
will be moving to England. Marius tries to get permission from M.
Gillenormand to marry Cosette. His grandfather seems stern and angry, but
has been longing for Marius's return. When tempers flare, he refuses his assent
to the marriage, telling Marius to make Cosette his mistress instead. Insulted,
Marius leaves.
The following day, the students revolt and erect barricades in the narrow
streets of Paris. Gavroche spots Javert and informs Enjolras that Javert is a
spy. When Enjolras confronts him about this, he admits his identity and his
orders to spy on the students. Enjolras and the other students tie him up to a
pole in the Corinth restaurant. Later that evening, Marius goes back to
Valjean's and Cosette's house on Rue Plumet, but finds the house no longer
occupied. He then hears a voice telling him that his friends are waiting for him
at the barricade. Distraught to find Cosette gone, he heeds the voice and goes.

When Marius arrives at the barricade, the "revolution" has already started.
When he stoops down to pick up a powder keg, a soldier comes up to shoot
Marius. After, a man covers the muzzle of the soldier's gun with his hand. The
soldier fires, fatally shooting the man, while missing Marius. Meanwhile, the
soldiers are closing in. Marius climbs to the top of the barricade, holding a
torch in one hand, a powder keg in the other, and threatens to the soldiers that
he will blow up the barricade. After confirming this, the soldiers retreat from
the barricade.
Marius decides to go to the smaller barricade, which he finds empty. As he
turns back, the man who took the fatal shot for Marius earlier calls Marius by
his name. Marius discovers this man is ponine, dressed in men's clothes. As
she lies dying on his knees, she confesses that she was the one who told him to
go to the barricade, hoping they would die together. She also confesses to
saving his life because she wanted to die before he did.
The author also states to the reader that ponine anonymously threw the note
to Valjean. ponine then tells Marius that she has a letter for him. She also
confesses to have obtained the letter the day before, originally not planning to
give it to him, but decides to do so in fear he would be angry at her about it in
the afterlife. After Marius takes the letter, ponine then asks him to kiss her on
the forehead when she is dead, which he promises to do. With her last breath,
she confesses that she was "a little bit in love" with him, and dies.
Marius fulfills her request and goes into a tavern to read the letter. It is written
by Cosette. He learns Cosette's whereabouts and he writes a farewell letter to
her. He sends Gavroche to deliver it to her, but Gavroche leaves it with Valjean.
Valjean, learning that Cosette's lover is fighting, is at first relieved, but an hour
later, he puts on a National Guard uniform, arms himself with a gun and
ammunition, and leaves his home.

Volume V Jean Valjean

Valjean arrives at the barricade and immediately saves a man's life. He is still
not certain if he wants to protect Marius or kill him. Marius recognizes Valjean
at first sight. Enjolras announces that they are almost out of cartridges. When
Gavroche goes outside the barricade to collect more ammunition from the dead
National Guardsmen, he is shot by the troops.
Valjean volunteers to execute Javert himself, and Enjolras grants permission.
Valjean takes Javert out of sight, and then shoots into the air while letting him
go. Marius mistakenly believes that Valjean has killed Javert. As the barricade
falls, Valjean carries off the injured and unconscious Marius. All the other
students are killed. Valjean escapes through the sewers, carrying Marius's
body. He evades a police patrol, and reaches an exit gate but finds it locked.

Thnardier emerges from the darkness. Valjean recognizes him, but his filthy
appearance prevents Thnardier from recognizing him. Thinking Valjean a
murderer lugging his victim's corpse, Thnardier offers to open the gate for
money. As he searches Valjean and Marius's pockets, he surreptitiously tears
off a piece of Marius's coat so he can later find out his identity. Thnardier
takes the thirty francs he finds, opens the gate, and allows Valjean to leave,
expecting Valjean's emergence from the sewer will distract the police who have
been pursuing him.
Upon exiting, Valjean encounters Javert and requests time to return Marius to
his family before surrendering to him. Javert agrees, assuming that Marius will
be dead within minutes. After leaving Marius at his grandfather's house,
Valjean asks to be allowed a brief visit to his own home, and Javert agrees.
There, Javert tells Valjean he will wait for him in the street, but when Valjean
scans the street from the landing window he finds Javert has gone. Javert
walks down the street, realizing that he is caught between his strict belief in
the law and the mercy Valjean has shown him. He feels he can no longer give
Valjean up to the authorities but also cannot ignore his duty to the law. Unable
to cope with this dilemma, Javert commits suicide by throwing himself into the
Seine.
Marius slowly recovers from his injuries. As he and Cosette make wedding
preparations, Valjean endows them with a fortune of nearly 600,000 francs. As
their wedding party winds through Paris during Mardi Gras festivities, Valjean
is spotted by Thnardier, who then orders Azelma to follow him. After the
wedding, Valjean confesses to Marius that he is an ex-convict. Marius is
horrified, assumes the worst about Valjean's moral character, and contrives to
limit Valjean's time with Cosette. Valjean accedes to Marius' judgment and his
separation from Cosette. Valjean loses the will to live and retires to his bed.
Thnardier approaches Marius in disguise, but Marius recognizes him.
Thnardier attempts to blackmail Marius with what he knows of Valjean, but in
doing so, he inadvertently corrects Marius's misconceptions about Valjean and
reveals all of the good he has done. He tries to convince Marius that Valjean is
actually a murderer, and presents the piece of coat he tore off as evidence.
Stunned, Marius recognizes the fabric as part of his own coat and realizes that
it was Valjean who rescued him from the barricade. Marius pulls out a fistful of
notes and flings it at Thnardier's face. He then confronts Thnardier with his
crimes and offers him an immense sum to depart and never return. Thnardier
accepts the offer, and he and Azelma travel to America where he becomes a
slave trader.
As they rush to Valjean's house, Marius tells Cosette that Valjean saved his life
at the barricade. They arrive to find Valjean near death and reconcile with him.
Valjean tells Cosette her mother's story and name. He dies content and is
buried beneath a blank slab in Pre Lachaise Cemetery.