Les Miserables Archetypes
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo is a book written in 1845 about the time period directly following the French Revolution. As is the case with most literature, Les Miserables includes character archetypes. In Les Miserables, the characters Cosette and Jean Valjean are both character archetypes.
The character Cosette represents the archetype of the orphaned child. Her mother, Fantine, was forced to abandon her as she needed a job and couldn't take Cosette with her, who was an infant at the time. She left Cosette in the care of Madame Thenardier, to whom she explained, "I cannot take my child into the country. Work forbids it. With a child I could not find a place there; they are so absurd in that district" (Hugo 127). When Fantine dies of fever
The character Cosette represents the archetype of the orphaned child. Her mother, Fantine, was forced to abandon her as she needed a job and couldn't take Cosette with her, who was an infant at the time. She left Cosette in the care of Madame Thenardier, to whom she explained, "I cannot take my child into the country. Work forbids it. With a child I could not find a place there; they are so absurd in that district" (Hugo 127). When Fantine dies of fever