A LES MISERABLES "What if...?" question for discussion — Page 2

I HEARD Valjean was Christ from my English teacher, but I decided to stray because there is actually a lot of supporting evidence for Fantine. That's what I love about Lit: nobody's really right or wrong.

---

She suffered for her child like Christ suffered for his children...it's not really vivid in the musical, but I found it to be in the novel.
A stretch? Well, I got a few pages out of it for an in-class essay, and just to boast, an A at that

---

Updated On: 6/25/06 at 07:47 PM

I suppose a case could be made for it, but I'd be surprised if Hugo intended that...it still seems like a stretch. Believe me, I spent YEARS in school stretching half baked ideas into papers. It's part of what makes me a good teacher - being able to see through all that in a kids' writing. :)

I'm not saying it's impossible, but I think it's reading something that's not necessarily intentionally there.

---

Oh, come on. Of course not! There is no basis for a romance seeing as they knew each other for a day or two (it's difficult to tell time in Les Mis). Fantine admires Valjean, yes, but she knows nothing more about him than his good deeds. When Valjean sings "our time is running out," he means that he cannot stay to see how her health progresses and that he cannot return with Cosette (he didn't know she was that close to death). He really only says this because he wants to tell her he will take care of Cosette but get out of the hospital quickly before Javert arrives.