- grisettenounChapter 1 →
A young working-class French woman, typically employed in a low-paid trade such as sewing or shop work, who lived independently and was associated with a free-spirited social life.
- francsnounChapter 1 →
The basic unit of French currency used throughout the 19th century; the money Fantine and others earn, spend, and owe in the novel.
“It brought her ten francs.”
- accomplicenounChapter 1 →
A partner who helps carry out a wrongful act; here used to accuse society of actively assisting nature in crushing those without power.
“What is society? It is the accomplice of nature in the oppression of the weak.”
- oppressionnounChapter 1 →
The prolonged, unjust exercise of power over others, keeping them in poverty or subjection with no means of escape.
“What is society? It is the accomplice of nature in the oppression of the weak.”
- illegitimateadjectiveChapter 1 →
Born to parents who were not married to each other; in 19th-century France this carried severe social stigma for both mother and child.
- parolenounChapter 1 →
A conditional early release from prison requiring the freed person to report regularly to authorities and obey strict rules; breaking it made Valjean a fugitive again.
- stubblenounChapter 2 →
The short, sharp stalks left in a field after grain has been harvested; walking barefoot over them cuts and scratches the feet.
“She went through the fields and along the paths in her bare feet, which the stones and the stubble cut and bruised.”
- enviouslyadverbChapter 2 →
With a longing desire for something someone else has; feeling resentful that another person possesses what you want for yourself.
“It was the great doll in the pink dress, which she had looked at so enviously from outside.”
- obscuritynounChapter 3 →
A state of being unknown and forgotten by the world; here, the condition of a hero whose deeds are deliberately hidden from public recognition.
“Gillenormand did not know that he had, by sending away his son-in-law, thrust a hero into obscurity.”
- sacredadjectiveChapter 3 →
Treated with the deepest reverence, as though set apart and untouchable; here, the hero's suffering in silence gives him an almost holy moral authority.
“That obscurity had made the hero sacred.”
- royalistadjectiveChapter 3 →
Loyal to the French monarchy and its restoration after Napoleon; in the novel this political stance puts Gillenormand in direct conflict with those who admired the Emperor.
- servileadjectiveChapter 3 →
Showing an excessive, degrading eagerness to please those with power; crawling or grovelling rather than keeping one's self-respect.
“Marius was poor, but the poverty of his youth was never servile.”
- rampartnounChapter 4 →
A broad defensive wall or earthwork built to protect a position; used here to say the barricade is the last defensive wall standing between the powerless and those who crush them.
“The barricade is the rampart of all that is oppressed; it is the last resort of those who have nothing left.”
- last resortphraseChapter 4 →
The final option tried only when every other means has failed; the one remaining action available when all else is exhausted.
“The barricade is the rampart of all that is oppressed; it is the last resort of those who have nothing left.”
- pearlnounChapter 4 →
Used figuratively here for something of rare and precious value; Hugo says love is the one treasure worth finding in a life full of darkness and suffering.
“There is no other pearl to be found in the dark folds of life.”
- barricadenounChapter 4 →
A makeshift street barrier built from paving stones, furniture, and carts by urban rebels to block soldiers and hold a position during an uprising.
“The barricade is the rampart of all that is oppressed; it is the last resort of those who have nothing left.”
- galleysnounChapter 5 →
The French penal system of hard labour, originally on rowing ships but later in brutal prison camps; the word names the entire institution of convict servitude Valjean endures.
“He had entered the galleys sobbing and shuddering; he came out hardened.”
- shudderingverbChapter 5 →
Trembling violently with fear, cold, or horror; here describing the physical terror of a young man entering a brutal prison for the first time.
“He had entered the galleys sobbing and shuddering; he came out hardened.”
- hardenedadjectiveChapter 5 →
Made emotionally tough and unfeeling by repeated suffering; no longer capable of being hurt or moved in the way one once was.
“He had entered the galleys sobbing and shuddering; he came out hardened.”
- sullenadjectiveChapter 5 →
Silently resentful and gloomy, refusing to speak or show feeling; the mood of someone whose spirit has been crushed into cold, bitter withdrawal.
“He had entered in despair; he came out sullen.”
- prunernounChapter 5 →
A labourer who cuts back the branches of trees or vines; a seasonal, low-paid rural worker with no steady income, which explains Valjean's desperate poverty.
- despairnounChapter 5 →
The complete loss of hope; a state in which a person believes nothing can ever improve and no help is coming.
“He had entered in despair; he came out sullen.”
Les MisérablesNovel by Victor Hugo