Headcanons of Characters

[between4walls]

Yeah, I think there would definitely be some discussions about Napoleon doing highly questionable things like selling Venice to the Austrians. As Feuilly would say, "The violations of Turkey on Greece and Thessaly, of Russia on Warsaw, of Austria on Venice, enraged him....Warsaw can no more be Tartar than Venice can be Teuton." And who let the Austrians in?

I'm not sure what Napoleon himself thought of Italian nationalism (though the contrast of the Napoleonic period with the subsequent reaction/Restoration was important in its development), but he definitely claimed to support Polish nationalism (though he was also using the Poles) and a lot of Poles fought for him. Both of these issues could be seen during the Restoration as as much an anti-Austria/Russia/Holy Alliance issue as anything. However, I am extrapolating from Napoleon himself, and the later actions of Napoleon III, because I don't know anything about contemporary Bonapartism .

Again, the Emperors supported these things insofar as they were also beneficial to themselves.

Spanish nationalism per se wouldn't be an issue in the Restoration period, since they were independent already, but I doubt any Bonapartist would have anything good to say about the way Spain fought for independence from the Empire. And the Restoration-era French intervention in Spain happened before Marius's political awareness. So I have no clue, without actually doing research, what would be the issue there.

[between4walls]

On a more-plausible-with-the-timeline note, and speaking of supporters of Poland and Italy, what if Marius ran into General Lamarque at one of the parties he goes to at Les Invalides to visit veterans who knew his father? (The people he's specifically mentioned to have met are Count Pajol, General Bellavesne, and General Fririon.)

I'm also surprised how little attention this line gets (referring to the change in Marius's feelings post-1830): "he admired a book like Job still more than an event like Marengo."

(I'm also kind of surprised that Marius prefers Moliere to Racine. Yay for characters not being totally predictable! Maybe M. Gillenormand was a fan? Or is this part of Marius's own development after leaving?)

[Aurelia Combeferre]

Oh my. This is geek fic begging to be written.

The line with the Job vs. Marengo thing though, what does that mean?

[between4walls]

Broadly, moving away from the initial focus on military glory to a more philosophical and literary point of view, a focus on the cultural and intellectual achievements of humanity rather than the military and political stuff he idolized before (which also explains his relative indifference to the politics as the timeline draws near the barricades, compared to his strong political beliefs earlier. It's not just Cosette). There's probably some deeper stuff to unpack there, but that's what comes to mind at first.

(I love Job. "I will maintain my ways before him...")

Apparently some of Marius's struggles are based on Hugo's efforts to start a writing career in opposition to the wishes of his father the general (who controlled the purse strings), who wanted Hugo to go into law. Interestingly, one of his brothers, Abel Hugo became a historian who wrote a lot about Napoleon and Spain.

Marengo was a major victory by Napoleon over the Austrians in 1800, forcing them out of Italy. It took place just 10 miles from my ancestral town, so I tried to go see the museum when there in June, but it was closed. I saw a little of the battlefield, though.

It's not mentioned in the initial description of Marius's father's career, but it is mentioned when Marius thinks of his father's reaction before the barricades. "...it was because, coming from Marengo and Friedland, [the sword] did not wish to go to the Rue de la Chanvrerie..." I don't know if that was meant to be symbolic or to imply that Pontmercy was actually there.

[between4walls]

"Now he preferred an idea to a deed, a poet to a hero, and he admired a book like Job more than an event like Marengo. And then, when, after a day spent in meditation, he returned in the evening through the boulevards, and caught a glimpse through the branches of the trees of the fathomless space beyond, the nameless gleams, the abyss, the shadow, the mystery, all that which is only human seemed very pretty indeed to him."

I was sort of right, but looking at it in context, it's more about how he's focused on the infinite and mysterious, which is very much in line with Job and its discussion of God's mysteriousness and vastness and inexplicability. So definitely "moving away from the initial focus on military glory to a more philosophical and literary point of view," but poetic achievements are interesting for the glimpse of the abyss and the beyond that they provide. And more about the ideas themselves rather than as a cultural and intellectual achievement.

[CeridwenLynne]

I always seem to picture Enjolras with bright blue almost turquoise colored eyes and long wavy blonde hair that he has trouble keeping out of them.
My headcanon of Combeferre is tall with brown eyes, glasses, and straight shoulder length light brown hair.
I've always pictured Bahorel as a redhead ( auburn red not carrot red) with hazel eyes.
My Courfeyrac has curly brown hair and green eyes.
To me Joly has light brown hair that tends to be wavy. Blue eyes.
I must be the only one who pictures Cosette as having long wavy black hair, a creamy complexion, and big blue eyes.
My Éponine has long reddish brown hair and green eyes.

[unamariah]

I've got some headcanons for my Modern AU.

Gavroche owns a teddy bear, which he sleeps with, but if any of the Amis tease him, WATCH OUT.

Courfeyrac and Jehan got together before Christmas and modge-podged Far Side comics to mugs for the rest of the Amis.

[Majestic_Picnob]

The Foreman's name is M. Victurnien, after the forelady who had the nearest approximation to his role in the book. I still wonder why they changed that.

Also, he has a character filter at ff.net. What stories would one write about him, I wonder?

[Barricade Butterfly]

That's an interesting point, but I have no idea. I don't see why he couldn't just be The Foreman and cut Victurnien out?

Well, you could mention him if writing canon about Fantine or the other factory workers.

But you know who DOESN'T have a filter on ff.net? MABEUF. I wrote a poem on him, and he didn't even show on the character list! Poor 'beuf.

[RoseMarieIsSuzette]

Enjolras is deist and asexual.
Cosette´s brown hair has chestnut-red shade, especially in the sun.
Jehan has a mistress we don´t see.

[CeridwenLynne]

Combeferre is nervous around the ladies and is always asking Courf for advice when it comes to romance.

[HotblackDesiato]

Not really the same, but if I see another modern AU where all the Amis are all at college in America, I'm quite possibly going to scream. And in response to the earlier complaints about Cosette, as far as I can see the logic goes something like:
1. Éponine and Marius are destined to be together.
2. But, Marius is in love with Cosette.
3. Cosette must be gotten rid of, she's getting in the way of TWU WUV!!!
4. Cosette, after much childhood neglect, was taken into the care of a wealthy man, so she must be a spoilt brat, OR, her kind and gentle nature must hide a manipulative shrew who has contrived to keep Marius away from his TWU WUV!!!

Something like that. The basis for pretty much every character assassination shipfic.

[Acaila]

Not really the same, but if I see another modern AU where all the Amis are all at college in America, I'm quite possibly going to scream.

If your username wasn't enough, I like you already.

[Platzhalter]

No idea if anyone else here knows the anime "Fairy Tail" so I'll explain, but in this series there's another world called "Edolas" where quite a few major an minor characters have some sort of AU counterpart. Said counterpart is usually different from the original concerning their most important trait... something that defines them, you know? In that matter, they are usually the polar opposite to each other. However, they still tend to have more in common than expected. Now... why the long explaination?

Because I came to the conclusion that the 2012 Musical Movie/Film is actually the Edolas version of the regular Les Mis world... makes it a lot easier to like the thing and not feel ashamed, you know?

[Anonymous Axolotl]

Mine is that when the amis are about to do something important (i.e. take a test, go to a big game) that they rub Bosset's bald head for good luck.
oh dear i think i spelled bosset wrong