Unregistered
05-24-2005, 06:07 PM
Victor Hugo is undoubtedly one of the top two or three novelists of all time. What else could be said about the man who wrote "Les Miserables"; a story which represents the summation of human experience as well as the totality of human emotion. If any story could represent all things to all people, it is this one. But who wrote the summary on the top of this page? I'm sure I'm not the only one who noticed a couple of major errors in it. Firstly, Valjean was not sentenced to 19 years in prison--he was sentenced to five, and had his sentence extended because of a series of breakouts. Secondly, the summary states that Valjean "cancels his plan" to rob the Bishop Myriel. What?! He didn't "cancel his plan" to steal the Bishop's silver. Saying Valjean "cancelled his plan" totally changes the complexion of the story. Valjean was apprehended by the gendarme and the Bishop tells them that he gave the silver to Valjean. The crux of the whole story is that the Bishop gave Valjean another chance on the condition that he use the silver to end his life of corruption and dishonesty and dedicate his life to God. Valjean doesn't "eventually reform." Bishop Myriel reforms him with this gesture. Whoever is in charge of this site, please change this summary as it produces a false portrayal of one of the greatest monuments in the history of literature.