Article #135-1 | Gutenberg Articles

Excerpt

Excerpt from Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo

Joly deposited a kiss on Mame Hucheloup’s fat, red, wrinkled neck, and
said to Grantaire: “My dear fellow, I have always regarded a woman’s
neck as an infinitely delicate thing.”

But Grantaire attained to the highest regions of dithryamb. Matelote
had mounted to the first floor once more, Grantaire seized her round
her waist, and gave vent to long bursts of laughter at the window.

“Matelote is homely!” he cried: “Matelote is of a dream of ugliness!
Matelote is a chimæra. This is the secret of her birth: a Gothic
Pygmalion, who was making gargoyles for cathedrals, fell in love with
one of them, the most horrible, one fine morning. He besought Love to
give it life, and this produced Matelote. Look at her, citizens! She
has chromate-of-lead-colored hair, like Titian’s mistress, and she is a
good girl. I guarantee that she will fight well. Every good girl
contains a hero. As for Mother Hucheloup, she’s an old warrior. Look at
her moustaches! She inherited them from her husband. A hussar indeed!
She will fight too. These two alone will strike terror to the heart of
the banlieue. Comrades, we shall overthrow the government as true as
there are fifteen intermediary acids between margaric acid and formic
acid; however, that is a matter of perfect indifference to me.
Gentlemen, my father always detested me because I could not understand
mathematics. I understand only love and liberty. I am Grantaire, the
good fellow. Having never had any money, I never acquired the habit of
it, and the result is that I have never lacked it; but, if I had been
rich, there would have been no more poor people! You would have seen!
Oh, if the kind hearts only had fat purses, how much better things
would go! I picture myself Jesus Christ with Rothschild’s fortune! How
much good he would do! Matelote, embrace me! You are voluptuous and
timid! You have cheeks which invite the kiss of a sister, and lips
which claim the kiss of a lover.”

Explanation

**Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo**

This passage from Les Misérables (1862) captures a moment of raucous camaraderie among the Friends of the ABC, a group of revolutionary young men in Paris, just before the June Rebellion of 1832. The scene takes place in the Corinth wine shop, a gathering place for the rebels, where the characters indulge in wine, wit, and revolutionary fervor. The excerpt focuses on Grantaire, one of the most complex and tragic figures in the novel—a cynical, alcoholic, yet deeply idealistic man who masks his despair with humor and bravado.

Context of the Scene

Setting: The Corinth is a seedy tavern run by Mother Hucheloup, a tough, mustachioed woman, and her daughter Matelote, a plain but kind-hearted girl. The Friends of the ABC (a revolutionary student group) frequent the place, using it as a base for their political discussions.
Historical Background: The novel is set against the 1832 Paris Uprising, a failed republican rebellion against the July Monarchy. The Friends of the ABC are preparing to join the barricades, knowing they will likely die.
Grantaire’s Role: Grantaire is a skeptical, self-destructive foil to the group’s leader, Enjolras (a fiery idealist). While Enjolras believes in pure revolutionary principle, Grantaire doubts everything—yet he is just as devoted to the cause, albeit in a more chaotic, self-loathing way.

Themes in the Excerpt

Revolutionary Idealism vs. Cynicism
- Grantaire’s speech is a drunken, paradoxical mix of idealism and nihilism. He mocks the government ("we shall overthrow the government") but also admits his own failures ("my father always detested me").
- His claim that he understands "only love and liberty" contrasts with his self-destructive behavior—he is a man who believes in grand ideals but lacks the discipline to live by them.
The Grotesque and the Sublime
- Hugo often juxtaposes beauty and ugliness to highlight deeper truths. Grantaire’s hyperbolic praise of Matelote’s ugliness ("a dream of ugliness! A chimæra") is both comedic and poignant—he sees beauty in what others reject, much like the revolutionaries see hope in a doomed uprising.
- His comparison of Matelote to a Gothic gargoyle (a monstrous but sacred architectural feature) suggests that true beauty lies in authenticity, not conventional standards.
Poverty and Generosity
- Grantaire’s fantasy of being "Jesus Christ with Rothschild’s fortune" reflects Hugo’s socialist leanings—the idea that wealth should serve humanity, not exploit it.
- His line, "if the kind hearts only had fat purses, how much better things would go!" critiques economic inequality, a central theme in Les Misérables.
Masculinity and Femininity
- The scene subverts traditional gender roles:
  - Mother Hucheloup is described as a "old warrior" with "moustaches"—a symbol of toughness in a man’s world.
  - Matelote, though "homely," is praised for her inner strength ("every good girl contains a hero").
- Grantaire’s oscillating between brotherly and romantic affection for Matelote ("cheeks which invite the kiss of a sister, and lips which claim the kiss of a lover") reflects his emotional instability and the blurred lines between camaraderie and desire in revolutionary circles.
Alcohol as Both Escape and Truth Serum
- Grantaire is always drunk, using alcohol to numb his despair but also to speak uncomfortable truths.
- His dithyrambic (wild, ecstatic) speech reveals his self-hatred, longing for love, and belief in the revolution, even as he jokes about it.

Literary Devices

Hyperbole & Exaggeration
- Grantaire’s descriptions are deliberately over-the-top:
  - "Matelote is a chimæra" (a mythical monster)
  - "fifteen intermediary acids between margaric acid and formic acid" (a nonsensical scientific reference, showing his drunken pseudo-intellectualism)
- This comic exaggeration masks deeper existential despair.
Juxtaposition & Contrast
- Ugliness vs. Beauty: Matelote’s "ugly" appearance is celebrated.
- Seriousness vs. Comedy: Grantaire jokes about overthrowing the government while embracing a woman, blending political fervor with personal desire.
- Idealism vs. Cynicism: He believes in "love and liberty" but also admits he fails at math (symbolizing order and logic).
Classical & Mythological Allusions
- Pygmalion: A sculptor who fell in love with his statue (here, a Gothic sculptor falls for a gargoyle, twisting the myth into something grotesque yet tender).
- Jesus Christ & Rothschild: A sacred vs. profane contrast—Grantaire imagines divine compassion with infinite wealth, a utopian fantasy.
Stream-of-Consciousness Style
- Grantaire’s speech jumps between topics (Matelote’s ugliness → chemistry → his father’s hatred → economic justice), mimicking drunken thought processes and emotional instability.
Irony & Dark Humor
- His claim that he never lacked money because he never had it is bitterly ironic—he romanticizes poverty while suffering from it.
- His mock-scientific rambling ("fifteen intermediary acids") underscores his intellectual pretensions masking ignorance.

Significance of the Passage

Characterization of Grantaire
- This scene defines Grantaire as:
  - A tragic clown—funny but deeply unhappy.
  - A failed idealist—he believes in the revolution but lacks Enjolras’ discipline.
  - A self-saboteur—his alcoholism and cynicism prevent him from fully committing to anything.
- His affection for Matelote humanizes him, showing that beneath his cynicism is a longing for connection.
Foreshadowing the Rebellion’s Failure
- The chaotic, drunken energy of this scene contrasts with the solemnity of the barricades later.
- Grantaire’s jokes about overthrowing the government will soon turn deadly serious—many of these men will die in the uprising.
Hugo’s Social Commentary
- The passage critiques class inequality (Grantaire’s fantasy of wealth redistribution).
- It challenges conventional beauty standards (Matelote’s "ugliness" is celebrated).
- It explores the psychology of revolutionaries—how idealism, despair, and humor coexist in those who fight for change.
The Role of Women in Revolution
- Mother Hucheloup and Matelote are not passive figures—they are warriors in their own right.
- Hugo elevates working-class women, showing that revolution is not just a man’s game.

Conclusion: Why This Passage Matters

This excerpt is quintessential Hugo—grand, messy, and deeply human. It blends:

Comedy and tragedy (Grantaire’s jokes hide his pain).
Political idealism and personal failure (he believes in liberty but can’t free himself from self-destruction).
Ugliness and beauty (Matelote’s "homely" face is loved fiercely).

Grantaire’s drunken monologue is more than just humor—it’s a manifestation of the revolutionary spirit itself: chaotic, passionate, flawed, and ultimately doomed, but beautiful in its defiance.

In the broader context of Les Misérables, this scene humanizes the rebels before their tragic end, reminding us that revolutions are fought by real, imperfect people—not just ideals.

Questions

Question 1

The passage’s depiction of Grantaire’s speech—particularly his oscillation between mockery of the government and declarations of love for Matelote—primarily serves to:

A. expose the inherent hypocrisy of revolutionary idealism by juxtaposing political fervor with personal frivolity.
B. illustrate the psychological fragmentation of an individual whose intellectual pretensions are undermined by his emotional volatility.
C. critique the romanticization of poverty by demonstrating how alcohol and desperation distort perceptions of both beauty and justice.
D. highlight the performative nature of masculinity in revolutionary circles, where bravado compensates for underlying vulnerability.
E. embody the paradoxical unity of the sublime and the grotesque, where transcendental ideals are expressed through deliberately degraded forms.

Question 2

When Grantaire declares, “if the kind hearts only had fat purses, how much better things would go!”, the rhetorical effect of this statement is most analogous to:

A. a Marxist manifesto’s call for the seizure of capital, repurposed as drunken hyperbole.
B. a satirical inversion of Christian charity, where material wealth is framed as a prerequisite for moral virtue.
C. a Romantic poet’s lament for an unattainable utopian harmony between wealth and compassion.
D. a Socratic paradox in which an apparent absurdity (“kind hearts” needing “fat purses”) exposes a systemic contradiction in economic justice.
E. a naturalist’s observation that human goodness is inevitably corrupted by the acquisition of power.

Question 3

The passage’s description of Matelote as a “chimæra” whose birth stems from a “Gothic Pygmalion” serves primarily to:

A. reinforce the medieval setting of the novel by anchoring her character in archaic mythological tropes.
B. suggest that her physical ugliness is a deliberate artistic choice, implying that beauty is constructed rather than inherent.
C. align her with the revolutionary cause by positioning her as a monstrous but necessary disruption to conventional aesthetics.
D. illustrate how Grantaire’s perception of her transcends conventional beauty, reframing deformity as a form of sacred grotesquery.
E. underscore the futility of the revolution by comparing its ideals to a mythological hybrid doomed to remain unrealized.

Question 4

Grantaire’s assertion that “every good girl contains a hero” is most effectively read as:

A. a misogynistic reduction of female agency to a supporting role in male revolutionary narratives.
B. an ironic inversion of traditional gender roles, where femininity is recast as a latent form of martial virtue.
C. a subversive claim that moral integrity, regardless of gender, is the true foundation of revolutionary potential.
D. a drunken non sequitur that undermines his own argument by conflating personal affection with political conviction.
E. a sentimental idealization of women as inherently noble, contrasting with the cynicism of his earlier remarks.

Question 5

The structural function of the chemical reference (“fifteen intermediary acids between margaric acid and formic acid”) in Grantaire’s speech is to:

A. expose the hollowness of his intellectual posturing by inserting pseudoscientific jargon into an otherwise emotional tirade.
B. symbolize the irreversible corruption of revolutionary ideals, where even the purest intentions degrade into chaos.
C. mirror the fragmented nature of his thought process, where disparate ideas collide without logical cohesion.
D. parody the Enlightenment’s faith in rational systems by applying it to an irrational, intoxicated monologue.
E. foreshadow the chemical violence of the barricades, where literal acids (e.g., gunpowder) will dissolve the old order.

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: E

Why E is most correct: The passage exemplifies Hugo’s signature blend of the sublime (transcendent ideals like liberty and love) and the grotesque (Grantaire’s drunken ravings, Matelote’s “ugliness”). Grantaire’s speech does not merely juxtapose these elements but fuses them: his declarations of revolutionary fervor (“overthrow the government”) and romantic devotion (“lips which claim the kiss of a lover”) are delivered in a degraded, chaotic form (dithyramb), yet they retain a paradoxical grandeur. This aligns with Hugo’s aesthetic, where beauty emerges from deformity and idealism persists amid squalor. The correct answer captures this dialectical unity, whereas other options reduce the passage to a simpler contrast (e.g., hypocrisy or fragmentation).