I'm just nearing the end of the convent digression now (at least, I THINK I'm nearing the end :P) and really enjoyed it! I'm loving all the digressions -- they're just such fascinating pictures of ways of life in a time and place that I can never visit. And yes, you are so right that Albertine is interesting. I'd love to know what her deal was too!
Re: Cosette, I feel like Hugo has this...overly romanticized idea of childhood, from the way he keeps on talking about kids, and views them as these perfect angels of innocence, so I think he's failing to grasp what some of the actual effects of that kind of long-term physical and emotional abuse might be on a child.
(and socially-awkward Marius ftw! His obvious awkwardness in the new movie version of the musical made me actually kind of like him. The soundtrack that I grew up on has a Marius who sounds way too confident and self-posessed)
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Date: 2013-01-09 12:03 am (UTC)Re: Cosette, I feel like Hugo has this...overly romanticized idea of childhood, from the way he keeps on talking about kids, and views them as these perfect angels of innocence, so I think he's failing to grasp what some of the actual effects of that kind of long-term physical and emotional abuse might be on a child.
(and socially-awkward Marius ftw! His obvious awkwardness in the new movie version of the musical made me actually kind of like him. The soundtrack that I grew up on has a Marius who sounds way too confident and self-posessed)