Sodomon - WhoAmI

The way she is blackmailing him to take care of himself

Im returning to my eponine obssesion era

I let out a gasp at today's title; I had forgotten how fast all the deaths come (Bahorel, Jehan and now Éponine!) I wanna focus on Éponine:

Éponine's humanization

The last we saw Éponine named was in 4.8.3, facing off Patron-Minette. There, she is reduced to a multitude of animals: a dog, a daughter of a wolf. And here, just before her identity is revealed, she is referred to by 'it' pronouns, once again comparing her to something less-than-human:

It was crawling along the pavement. It was this that had spoken to him.

What a frightening and horribly sad image! Thankfully, once she says her name, she is humanized once more- giving her back her proper pronouns as well as giving her the agency to tell Marius to not go, to let her stay here and die in his lap. Not a very happy choice, but it's a choice that she gets to make for herself!

Though her choice to die (and to call Marius down to the barricades) is troubling, we cannot hate her for it after seeing how extremely messed up and tragic her life and death are, hence The Agony of Death after the Agony of Life. Though the agony most certainly refers to how miserable Éponine's entire life story has been, I think it can also refer to how agonising her choices have been to live and die: the agony of having to commit crimes just to live, and the agony of resorting to calling your friend down to both of your deaths in the hopes of reuniting in the afterlife, for it is the only way you believe you can be happy. Ultimately, this decision still humanizes Éponine despite her cold intentions: it shows how much she loves and dreams of Marius, to the point of desperation, portraying her as someone very human.

Overall, Éponine manages to bow out of the story with a very touching scene. Readers are reminded of just how human she was, even living in such desperate poverty, and Hugo makes a good choice letting her final words be one of an innocent-like love confession: in the end, no matter her actions or her life, she is still defined by her yearning for love. And we the readers are left to lament and reflect at how such a girl - so full of the potential to love - can be pushed to such a state. o7 Éponine, for such beautifully haunting final words.

no i will not make separate blogs for my fandoms, everyone who follows me must experience ALL my insanity

canon barricade boys as they’re introduced

honestly reading this part of the brick is basically reading a list of headcannons off tumblr but i digress

Enjolras

…a charming young man who was capable of being a terror.

- essentially both a nerd and a jock

- very very pretty

- cares about justice, not women

- his speech can be harsh and intense

Combeferre

He was learned and a purist, precise, eclectic, hard-thinking, and at the same time imaginative ‘to the point of fantasy’, his friends said.

- very close with Enjolras, and really balances his out

- believes that education is really important in society

- gentle, and while he could fight would rather not

Jehan

Jean Prouvaire was a lover; he cherished a pot of flowers, played the flute, wrote verses, loved the people…

- learned Italian, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew to be able to read poetry

- likes to walk through meadows of wild flowers

- he likes to contemplate social issues and the immensity of the heavens

- kind in a way that kindness is like greatness

- an only child

- awkward and shy and fearless

Feuilly

There is no more powerful eloquence than that of indignation based on true conviction, and his was the power that he possessed.

- makes fans

- an orphan - he likes to say that his country took the place of his mother

- he taught himself how to read and write

- affectionate and warm hearted

- is really passionate about issues beyond France (greece, poland, hungary, etc)

Courfeyrac

He possessed that youthful ardour that may be termed the infernal beauty of the spirit.

- ditched the de part of de Courfeyrac because it was too bougie and he wanted to be like lafayette

- he’s essentially the heart of the revolution

- he’s “decent” (victor hugo did him dirty here)

Bahorel

He was a born agitator: that is to say, he enjoyed nothing more than a quarel except a rebellion, and nothing more than a rebellion except a revolution.

- wears crimson waistcoats

- connected the ABC to other groups

- his motto is “no lawyers”, he would literally button up his coat every time he walked by the law school to avoid ‘contamination’

- he has no regular habits but likes to stroll through paris and go to different cafes

Bossuet

Bossuet was a cheerful but unlucky young man, notable for the fact that he succeeded in nothing. On the other hand, he laughed at everything.

- so very bald

- he’s poor, as in basically always broke but still finds a way to squander money when he can

- merry and cheerful and good humoured

- studying law

- couch surfs, but mostly lives with Joly

- bald

Joly

For the rest, he was the gayest of them all.

- med student

- disabled and uses a cane

- jolly and eccentric

Grantaire

Grantaire was a young man who made a point of believing in nothing.

- goes by R because of grand R (aka capital R because he’s such a nerd)

- knows where all the best alcohol is

- so fucking ugly

- a boxer, gymnast and dancer

- completely and utterly in love with Enjolras

Even the title of this chapter is painful. Éponine's life was an agony, evident in her desire to end it. It is equally distressing to witness Marius's indifference towards her, his failure to recognize her, and his inability to acknowledge her even when she names herself. He shows no appreciation for the countless small and large acts of service she performed for him. And now she is actually dying, having covered him from a bullet by her body.

However, the situation is more complex. Éponine's revelations make this one of the most controversial chapters. She confesses that she lured Marius to the barricade with the knowledge that they were all doomed. "You are going to die, I count upon that," she tells him. She hopes they will die together, with her first and him following shortly afterward. This is a very Romantic idea. And Marius himself could have appreciated it, if it were not Éponine, but Cosette. But I would not dare to blame Éponine for her twisted Romantic dream. After all, Marius was willing to die, so she only pushed him in the right direction. What is more disturbing is her other confession: “How happy I am! Every one is going to die.” Of course, she is not the one causing the death, she just found the right place where everyone is going to die. It is also kind of understandable that it would be comforting to know that you won’t be alone in your death (probably, I don’t know). But still, it is sad and disturbing that the death of all the people at the barricade makes her feel happy. This brings us back to the issue: what a horrible life she had!

And then there is Cosette’s letter Éponine has concealed from Marius. The only reason she gives it to Marius now is she doesn’t want him to have bitter feelings against her when they (soon, as she thinks) meet again after death. Her final words are a heartbreaking confession about her (possible) love for Marius. She expresses it in a way that implies she is not even sure what it was. But at the end of the day, no one knows what to do with this confession, least of all Marius. And I’m afraid she wouldn’t have died happy, knowing that Marius is not going to join her. Poor Éponine, even in this, she was deceived.