Main characters
The main character of the passage is the girl Efrazi Cosette Fauchelevent. She is the illegitimate daughter of the commoner Fantine and the loving rich man Felix Tholomyes. The mother was forced to give her daughter up to another family, after which the girl’s life changed dramatically. From an early age she is forced to work and is abused . The author endows Cosette with the following qualities:
- timidity;
- humility;
- modesty;
- responsiveness;
- kindness.
There are many minor characters in Hugo's story. They somehow take part in Cosette’s life and influence her:
- Fantine is the girl’s mother, she is an ordinary woman who works hard so that her daughter grows up in good conditions, she does not know that in fact she lives poorly in the innkeepers’ house;
- Mr. Thenardier is the owner of the tavern, he is particularly greedy, selfish, the man seeks profit in everything, for the sake of money he is ready to commit the most vile acts;
- Madame Thenardier is an evil, cruel and stupid woman, she loves her own children and cannot stand Cosette, so she constantly insults her and overloads her with work;
- the stranger is the escaped convict Jean Valjean, who promised at Fantine’s grave that he would take care of her daughter; he fulfills his promise and takes the girl from the inn;
- Eponine and Azelma are the daughters of the Thenardiers, they are capricious, stupid and rude, constantly laughing at the orphan.
The novel, which reflects the atmosphere of France at the beginning of the 19th century, has become very popular all over the world. The name of the heroine of Hugo’s work, Cosette, became a symbol of all the orphaned and disadvantaged children of the country, who from an early age must have known hard work and unfair treatment of themselves.
Other characters
Fantine is Cosette's mother, a simple woman, kind and loving.
Mister Thenardier is an innkeeper, a greedy, selfish man who sought his own benefit in everything.
Madame Thenardier is the innkeeper's wife, a narrow-minded, rude and cruel woman.
Eponine and Azelma are the daughters of the Thenardiers, capricious girls who were rude to Cosette.
The stranger is the convict Jean Valjean, who freed Cosette from the slavery of Thénardier.
Summary
You can read the episode about Cosette either in the full edition of the book or as a separate story, which was published in a form adapted for children. Its plot is brief - the life of a girl in someone else's family, her relationships with others and gaining freedom with the help of another hero of the work - Jean Valjean.
Adoptive family
The story begins with meeting Fatina - this beautiful, gentle and cheerful young lady who had a lover. But as soon as a man finds out that his girlfriend is pregnant, he acts like a scoundrel and leaves her to her fate. The woman is left completely alone with her newborn daughter. The mother packs her things and leaves for her homeland; she hopes that at home she can find a decent job to raise the baby on her feet.
On the way, she stops for the night at a tavern, in the courtyard of which two wonderful girls, the daughters of the owners of the establishment, were playing. The woman decided to leave the child with Madame Thenardier; she hoped that the kind lady would take care of her girl. The innkeepers talked among themselves and decided to take the baby, but on the condition that the mother would pay monthly for her upkeep.
Fantine paid six months in advance and left. The owner was incredibly happy, since he just lacked this amount to pay off the old debt. The innkeeper praised his wife for a long time because she was able to set up an excellent mousetrap for the mother by sneaking in her girls.
At that very moment, the childhood of three-year-old little Cosette ended, and a series of difficult and monotonous days began. All family members bullied the baby:
- dressed in rags;
- mistreated;
- fed scraps;
- forced to work hard.
In addition, the evil innkeeper gave her a place under the stairs, where there were many spiders. The daughters also soon began to follow the example of their mother and laughed at the girl. Cosette watched in awe as they played with dolls, drew pictures of Eponine and Azelma, and then went with tears in her eyes to clean the house or sweep the yard.
Fantine also continued to work and send money monthly for her daughter; she had no doubt that everything was fine with her baby. A difficult life in which there was no affection, care and love led to the fact that Cosette turned into a gloomy shadow. In the area they nicknamed her Lark, because she got up early, worked a lot and was small and fragile like a bird. But none of the neighbors had ever heard the Lark sing.
Happy future
Fatina's affairs became very bad, she lost her job at the factory, and then became seriously ill. To pay for her daughter's maintenance, the woman had to sell her luxurious hair and pearl teeth - the only wealth she had.
One day Madame Thenardier sent the girl into the forest to bring water. Cosette obediently went to complete the task, despite the fact that night had long fallen outside. Already returning home, she began to cry, the heroine was scared, and besides, she was very cold.
Suddenly she felt someone touch her hand and then take the bucket. The unfamiliar man smiled affectionately at the little girl, and then asked to accompany him to the tavern.
During dinner , the guest observed how poorly the hostess treated Cosette . In the corner, the owner's daughters were happily playing with the doll, but soon they got tired of it and threw it into the far corner. The girl approached the doll and lovingly took it in her hands, she admired its beautiful curls, elegant dress and big eyes.
The innkeeper, seeing this picture, began to scold her more than ever and cursed her. The stranger quickly got ready and hurried to leave the tavern. However, he soon returned, holding in his hands a luxurious doll, such a beauty Cosette had never seen before. The guest handed it to the girl, but she did not even dare to touch the gift.
While the heroine was looking at her first toy with interest, the stranger managed to talk with the owner. Mr. Thenardier complained for a long time that the girl they once sheltered, taking pity on her mother, was costing him extremely dearly. The guest offered to take the orphan, but the innkeeper demanded a payment of one and a half thousand francs.
Already in the morning, Monsieur Madeleine, who in the past was the mayor of the city, and even earlier an escaped convict named Jean Valjean, left the tavern. A man walked hand in hand with a girl who did not yet know that a happy future awaited her .
When analyzing the work, the main idea of the passage becomes clear: cherished dreams come true, despite any difficulties, life's hardships and cruel people. You need to believe in a miracle, and it will definitely happen, as happened with Cosette by Victor Hugo.
The summary of this passage does not fully convey the girl’s experiences and the tragedy of her life among strangers, but is suitable for understanding the thoughts of the work, characterizing the characters and filling out the reader’s diary.
The main characters of the tale:
Cosette is an orphan who is raised by the innkeeper's family at the request of her mother, Fantine.
Fantine, Cosette’s mother, a hard worker, is ready to give everything to support her daughter.
Mister Thenardier is an innkeeper with extraordinary self-interest.
Madame Thenardier is the innkeeper's wife, a stupid and cruel woman.
Eponine and Azelma are Thénardier's daughters, cruel and spoiled.
The stranger is the convict Jean Valjean, Cosette's savior.
Reader reviews
I really love the work of Victor Hugo, and especially his novel “Les Miserables”; I read him a lot when I was young. The story about the little girl Cosette and her difficult fate was very memorable; I recommend that readers pay special attention to this part. The book really touches the deepest strings of the soul, makes you look at many things with completely different eyes.
Valentina Kologreeva, Simferopol
Simple text, interesting storyline and detailed description of the characters. The book by the French writer is very fascinating; it holds your attention literally until the last page. You read the novel and, together with Cosette and other poor children, you experience the events. The author honestly and in detail described the life of old France, in which ordinary people often faced injustice, but especially felt sorry for children.
Victoria Tremasova, Vladivostok
We studied the work at school, although in an abridged version; even then I was very attracted to the plot, so I decided to read the book in its entirety.
Moreover, today the novel can be downloaded online. This is a very touching and sad story, the heroine evokes different emotions, one of them is pride. Despite her difficult life, she was able to remain kind, generous and understanding. The novel is reminiscent of a fairy tale, it is addictive and captivating, I recommend everyone to read it. Alexandra Nikiforova, St. Petersburg
What is V. Hugo's short story about - plot
Victor Hugo "Cosette" summary for the reader's diary:
The action of the story "Cosette" takes place in an inn in a village located near Paris.
One morning Madame Thenardier, the owner of this small hotel, spoke with a poorly dressed woman who was going to her homeland in search of work. She was alone, and there was nowhere to wait for help. With her was a tiny girl of three years old, who trustingly held her mother's hand.
The lady's daughters played happily in the sun, and the unfortunate woman, with a sinking heart, asked the innkeeper to take her little Cosette to live with her for a while. She also convinced the lady that she would send her money for her daughter. From that moment on, childhood ended for Cosette. The girl was immediately dressed in rags, and she slept under the stairs in the company of spiders.
When the girl was only six years old, she chalked countless rooms, constantly washing and scraping something. The lady's daughters played and ran carefree all day long, and little Cosette constantly listened to insults and suffered beatings. There was no person in the whole world who could stand up for her.
One night the innkeeper sent the little girl into the forest to fetch water. The girl was so scared that she couldn’t even breathe. She deliberately rattled the bucket loudly so that she would not be so scared. But still the cold chilled the whole body. When she walked with a filled bucket of water, she silently cried and trembled.
Suddenly someone took her hand and affectionately took away the bucket. The girl looked up and saw an unknown person. The stranger spoke kindly to Cosette and began asking what the little girl was doing on the street alone, and even at night. After listening to the girl’s explanations, he persistently asked her to take him to the tavern.
The innkeeper looked at the stranger with a disgusted look and declared that she had no room. Then the man put a coin in front of the hostess, and a room was immediately found for him. The hostess immediately changed, and her flattery offended the stranger.
The man watched Cosette, seeing her tired fingers knitting stockings for Madame Thenardier’s daughters. He looked at the hostess from under his brows and offered to buy these stockings so that the girl could play. The innkeeper allowed Cosette to play; she did not dare to contradict the gentleman who had such coveted coins.
While no one was looking, the girl took the forgotten doll under her table. Then a cry from two sisters was heard, and the mistress began to call poor Cosette names for daring to take the fragile doll with her dirty hands. The stranger left and returned a few minutes later. He was carrying in his hands the best doll in the world, which he bought in a nearby shop.
The next day, the stranger took the baby with him, giving the innkeeper a few coins. He took the girl away from pain and evil and everything bad.
A summary of “Cosette” for a reader’s diary tells of the cruel treatment of a girl and the love of a stranger for her.
About the product
The fairy tale “Cosette” by Hugo was written in 1862, becoming an important part of the writer’s famous novel “Les Miserables”. The name of the main character, an orphaned girl, became a symbol of all disadvantaged children in France, forced to work hard from early childhood. Only thanks to the intervention of a kind stranger did the girl gain a chance at a happy life.
To better prepare for a literature lesson in 4th grade, we recommend reading an online summary of “Cosette” on our website. A retelling of the work will also be useful for the reader's diary.
