Approaches to Teaching Hugo’s Les Misérables Edited by Michal P. Ginsburg and Bradley Stephens The Modern Language Association of America New York 2018 © 2018 by The Modern Language Association of America All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America MLA and the MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION are trademarks owned by the Modern Language Association of America. For information about obtaining permission to reprint material from MLA book publications, send your request by mail (see address below) or e-mail ([email protected]). Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 978-1-60329-335-8 (cloth) ISBN 978-1-60329-336-5 (paper) ISBN 978-1-60329-337-2 (EPUB) ISBN 978-1-60329-338-9 (Kindle) Approaches to Teaching World Literature 150 ISSN 1059-1133 Cover illustration of the paperback and electronic editions: Jean Victor Schnetz, Fighting at the Hotel de Ville, 28 July 1830, 1833, oil on canvas. Musée de la Ville de Paris, Musée du Petit-Palais, France / Bridgeman Images. Published by The Modern Language Association of America 85 Broad Street, suite 500, New York, New York 10004-2434 www.mla.org CONTENTS Introduction vii PART ONE: MATERIALS Editions, Abridgments, and Translations 3 Visual, Audiovisual, and Digital Materials 4 Biographies and Reception 5 Criticism 7 Background Materials 8 Characters and Character Networks in Les Misérables 10 The Paris of Les Misérables: Maps and Commentary 11 Michal P. Ginsburg PART TWO: APPROACHES Contexts The Reception of Les Misérables in the Context of a New Aesthetic 21 Dean de la Motte Best-Selling Hugo: Les Misérables and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Market 29 Anne O’Neil-Henry Hugo’s Waterloo: History, Politics, Commemoration 37 Bettina R. Lerner Beyond Fiction: Misère in Historical Context 45 Rachel G. Fuchs Teaching Social Class and the Dynamics of History in Hugo’s Les Misérables 54 Laurence M. Porter Les Misérables in /as American Pop Culture 64 Kathryn M. Grossman Specific Courses Les Misérables and the Nineteenth-Century French Novel 72 Philippe Moisan Teaching an Undergraduate Course on Les Misérables: Ways of Doing It 80 Michal P. Ginsburg vi contents Les Misérables and Childhood in Nineteenth-Century France 87 Pauline de Tholozany Studying Criminality and the Popular Press through Les Misérables 95 Andrea Goulet Les Misérables and the Literature of Paris 104 Cary Hollinshead-Strick and Anne-Marie Picard Misery and Militancy: Hugo’s Social and Political Engagement in Les Misérables 112 Brian Martin “Les horizons du rêve”: Hugo’s Utopianism 120 Daniel Sipe Les Misérables and the French Revolution: How to Keep That “Unfamiliar Light” Aflame 129 Julia Douthwaite Viglione Les Misérables and Adaptation Studies 136 Bradley Stephens Reading Les Misérables with High School Students 145 André Iliev Critical Perspectives Teaching Les Misérables through the Lens of Gender and Sexuality 153 Dorothy Kelly Infinity and Home: Exploring Moral Action in Les Misérables 161 Joseph Mai What the Novel Omits from the Musical: Teaching 1848 and the Misfortunes of Progress 169 William Paulson But I Digress: Teaching Les Misérables through the Historical and Philosophical Digressions 176 Mary Anne O’Neil No Expectations: An Aspect of Misery in Les Misérables 183 Timothy Raser Type Transformed: Character and Characterization in Les Misérables 190 Isabel K. Roche Notes on Contributors 199 Survey Respondents 203 Works Cited 205 Index 221 Editions, Abridgments, and Translations According to the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF) catalog, more than three hundred French editions of Les Misérables have been published. The ma­ jority of our survey participants favored the edition by Yves Gohin, in the Folio classique series (reissued in 1999 in two volumes) because of the quality of its notes and its affordable price. This is the edition contributors to this volume cite. It includes, besides extensive notes, an introduction by Gohin in the first volume, and a “dossier” at the end of the second volume, consisting of a parallel chronology of Victor Hugo’s life and of the events told in Les Misérables; a short bibliography; and, in an appendix, the text “Les Fleurs” (the first part of which eb ­ came the four chapters of “Patron­Minette” [pt. 3, bk. 7]). A good alternative to the Gohin edition is the 1998 Livre de poche edition by Nicole Savy and Guy Rosa, also in two volumes. Published research increas­ ingly tends to reference the 1985 Laffont­Bouquins one­volume edition (part of the project of complete works led by Jacques Seebacher and Guy Rosa in the late 1980s). One of the editions mentioned by respondents is no longer in print: the Classiques Garnier two­volume edition by M.­F. Guyard. The 1993 Garnier­Flammarion three­volume edition and the Pocket one­volume edi­ tion (reissued in 2013) have no notes. All the above editions are unabridged; abridged editions (excerpts) include Classiques Larousse, edited by Alexandre Gefen (2007); Classiques Bordas, edited by Florence Naugrette (1995); and the École des Loisirs 2013 edition (designed for French schoolchildren). The English translation of Les Misérables that is used in this volume is Lee Fahnestock and Norman MacAfee’s 1987 revision of the original 1862 Charles E. Wilbour translation, published by Signet Classics. It is far from perfect but was judged to be more accurate (though less lively) than the Norman Denny trans­ lation (1976), published by Penguin Classics. The Signet edition has an after­ word by Chris Bohjalian, and the Penguin edition has an introduction by Denny; neither one has notes. The Modern Library paperback edition, translated by Julie Rose (2008), is lengthier and more expensive than the Signet or the Pen­ guin edition; on the other hand, it has, besides an introduction by Adam Gopnik, extensive notes by James Madden. Another option mentioned is Isabel F. Hap­ good’s translation, dating from 1887 and available online at Project Gutenberg (at the same time it is, of course, prudent to discourage students from using any online edition that has not been authenticated by scholars). Penguin Classics has more recently released a new and well­received translation by Christine Donou­ gher (2013), with an introduction by the historian Robert Tombs. An abridged version of the novel in English is published by Barnes and Noble Classics (2003); it is edited by Laurence M. Porter, uses the Wilbour translation, and includes an introduction and notes by Porter. visual, audiovisual, and digital materials Select List of Editions and Translations Editions Les Misérables. Edited by Alexandre Gefen, Classiques Larousse, 2007 (abridged). Les Misérables. Edited by Yves Gohin, Folio classique, 1999. 2 vols. Les Misérables. Edited by M.­F. Guyard, Classiques Garnier, 1963. 2 vols. Les Misérables. Edited by René Journet, Garnier­Flammarion, 1967. 3 vols. Les Misérables. Edited by Arnaud Laster, Pocket Classiques, 2009. 3 vols. Les Misérables. Edited by Florence Naugrette, Classiques Bordas, 1995 (abridged). Les Misérables. Edited by Guy Rosa and Annette Rosa, Laffont­Bouquins, 1985, 1991. Les Misérables. Edited by Marie­Hélène Sabard, École des Loisirs, 2013. Les Misérables. Edited by Nicole Savy and Guy Rosa, Livre de poche, 1985. 2 vols. Translations Les Misérables. Translated by Norman Denny. Penguin Classics, 1976. Les Misérables. Translated by Christine Donougher. Penguin Classics, 2013. Les Misérables. Translated by Lee Fahnestock and Norman MacAfee. Signet Classics, 1987. Les Misérables. Translated by Isabel F. Hapgood. Project Gutenberg, 1887. Les Misérables. Translated by Julie Rose. Modern Library, 2008. Les Misérables. Translated by Charles W. Wilbour, edited by Laurence M. Porter. Barnes and Noble Classics, 2003 (abridged). Note on Editions Cited in This Volume In this volume, contributors cite Gohin’s 1999 French edition of Les Misérables and Fahnestock and MacAfee’s 1987 translation, unless otherwise noted.1 Cita­ tions in the text are composed of three parts: the volume and page number(s) in Gohin’s edition; the page number(s) in Fahnestock and McAfee’s translation; and the corresponding part, book, and chapter number(s) in Hugo’s novel. Visual, Audiovisual, and Digital Materials The Web site of the Paris­based Groupe Hugo (groupugo.div.jussieu.fr/) offers an unparalleled resource for readers of Hugo’s work. Founded in 1969, the group brings together specialists, mainly within France. In addition to news relating to publications and conferences about Hugo, the Web site hosts a range of indis­ Michal P. Ginsburg and Bradley Stephens 5 pensable research tools, the highlights of which are arguably a growing archive of 1 over 260 research presentations from the group’s regular meetings since 1986 2 and links to nearly 100 downloadable publications, including Guy Rosa’s edition 3 of Les Misères (the manuscript of Les Misérables as it stood on the eve of the 188 revolution), which can illustrate to students the long­term evolution of 5 Hugo’s novel. 6 The site provides other useful links: for example, to Gallica, the digital library 7 of the BNF (gallica.bnf.fr), where original editions and illustrated versions of 8 Les Misérables can be consulted alongside press reviews from the 1860s; the 9 BNF’s online exhibition for Hugo’s 2002 bicentenary (victorhugo.bnf.fr/), which 10 opens a rich interactive portal into Hugo’s life and works (including his many 11 paintings and sketches); and the Hugo museums in Paris and Guernsey (maisons 12 victorhugo.paris.fr), which provide details on