Criticism

Here I will impart my knowledge and analysis of the play through various themes...

In a parody of "I Dreamed A Dream", the singer remarks- "I didn't sing one song then die!"  It is quite true that Fantine has a small appearance in the play itself, singing only one song alone, and having small parts in other songs.  However, her song "I Dreamed A Dream" is extremely important and foreshadows her death, which is unbeknownst by many.  The last line of the song "Now life has killed the dream I dreamed..." is powerful and shows that Fantine has given up on life.  The only thing she is living for is her daughter, Cosette.  After M. Madéline vows to save Cosette, Fantine is able to rest in peace, and dies soon after.  Her revelation is concealed within "I Dreamed A Dream" where she realizes that her dream will never come true, giving her no reason to live.  Sad, isn't it?  It's supposed to be...

Another example of this would be Javert.  He even goes as far as committing suicide to make this point!  After all those years of chasing Valjean, he throws them away to finally let him go.  Of course, it was the right thing to do, but all those years are now wasted!  He must have felt pretty down, wouldn't you agree?  Back to my original point, his revelation is that the law is wrong.  That' good, you're saying, and it is.  But he cannot accept it, being a police officer for so long, he cannot accept that the law is not just, so he commits suicide to escape, not only the world, but also the denial and also so he wouldn't have to admit that he was wrong (No, not really, but it's a little funny)

Wait!  You thought that was it, huh.  Well, there is another character who has a revelation and then dies soon after.  Can you guess?  Of course!  It's EPONINE!  Eponine is my favorite character for many reasons, but mostly for what she represents.  Eponine represents the illusion of dreams, mostly her dream of having Marius.  Nothing that happens in Eponine's life is right-her parent's are thieves and don't even recognize her in the "Attack on Rue Plumet", she was never allowed to go to school, and Marius, who has known Eponine for years, magically falls in love with Cosette after one look, never even realizing that Eponine is in love with him.  However, Eponine still helps Marius find Cosette and risks her life (dies, actually) giving Cosette a letter 'cause he's too lazy (Sorry about the anger).  In her revelation "On My Own" (I'll get to French in a minute) Eponine realizes that Marius will never love her, and after this, dies.  The French version is a bit different.  Eponine realizes that she will never get Marius much earlier, in the first act actually, while singing her song "L'Un Vers L'Autre" (A beautiful song, by the way).  In it she states that Marius and Cosette are now in love and that..."On ne peux plus les aimer l'un sans l'autre/Sans trahir la morale de l'histoire" (One can no longer love them, one without the other, without betraying the moral of the story).  It is quite evident by this that she has given up, and during "Demain" she even goes to say "Il aime Cosette, je l'accepte" (He loves Cosette, I accept it).  How's that for overly blatant?  It can be argued that this is her 'true' revelation, but I like L'Un Vers L'Autre too much to forget about it.  Either way, soon after "Demain" she dies in "Ce N'est Rien" (It's Nothing) which is very similar to "A Little Fall of Rain".

Isn't it ironic that these are my three favorite characters?  I'm not morbid, or anything, I just like characters with strong meanings.  I'm sure that most people adore at least one of these characters but don't really know why, I'll bet you it's because of their symbolic personalities.  Also, anyone who didn't like Eponine will after reading this...I guarantee it...

.:Synopsis:. .:Cast:. .:Criticism:. .:Libretto (français/English):.