between Marius and Cosette is inhibited by the silent objections of Cosette’s guardian, Jean Vanjean. Cosette, like Hugo, resided with a family that treated her unkindly, a family similar to the Fouchers. Her mother, a prostitute who had died, left her to Jean Vanjean. Jean Vanjean had cared for Cosette, and he loved her as if she were his own daughter. In return, Cosette loved and respected Jean Vanjean despite his objections to her romance with Marius. After Marius enlists in the military in a kind of prolonged suicide attempt, Vanjean joins the army to save Marius for his beloved Cosette. Because of the battle he is fatally wounded, and the two young lovers spend his last moments by his side. After which, they live on together. (Les Miserables)Despite Madame Hugo’s objections to Victor’s obsession with Adele, Victor loved and respected his mother. She provided for him and offered him the education and opportunities that opened up his writing career. He said, “I learned, from a strong-minded mother, that one can be the master of events.” (Maurois 59) He despised the way that his father treated her, and he voiced his disgust freely. In a letter to his father he states:We have seen your correspondence with mamma. What would you have done to anyone who had dared use such language to her in the days when you first knew her, when it was your delight to find happiness in her company? She is still, and always has been, the same, and we shall ever think of her as you though of her then. (Maurois 40-1)Shortly after the death of his dear mother, Victor secretly wedded his beloved Adele. Their marriage would remain a secret for almost a year. During that time Victor underwent a great deal of agony because of his separation from his wife. Now, it is said that Victor and Adele, because of their youth, did not know the meaning of true love, that their words to each other were merely frivolous sayings, that they were si...
