3.3.3-3.3.4
3.3.3
Hugo concerns himself with the history of France after Napoleon, therefore we learn more about the ultra-royalists who with one exception, Gillenormand, make up the salons of Madame Baronne de T, where Marius develops his earlier ideas.
Marius’ observations of seeing phantoms and the title of the chapter makes it clear that these people belong in another time and place and may actually constitute the living dead. There are more comparisons to the fact that these people are completely lifeless, they even speak in hushed tones. They are decayed ancients whose time is over, yet they still insist on being heard. Marius turns from joy to unhappiness in their company. Poor little kid, being surrounded by these people all the time must be so dampening to his young heart, he deserves better.
Since I don’t have much to say about them, except liking this mini digression, I would like to quote a small paragraph about them from The Constitutional Monarchy in France 1814-1848 by Pamela Pilbeam:
‘The ultras or ultra-royalists were even more than Louis XVIII and were led by his brother Artois, later Charles X. Although they formed a “chamber introuvable”, they were never more than a vocal minority of 60-80 deputies, many drawn from Southern or Western departments. Ultras believed that they stood for the traditional values of monarchy, church and nobility. Beneath an apparent unity, they were divided in their attitudes, not only to the Revolution, but also to the old Regime. Some were anti-revolutionary, a larger number believed that a counter-revolution was needed...’
This part stands out to me about these ultra-royalists in this chapter, ‘To be ultra is to go the extremes […] it is to be so strongly for that you are against.’ They have carried their politics to right wing extremes that their own government does not like them. What’s interesting is that these salons also read exclusively royalist literature and concern themselves with royalist politics, they live in a very insular world, where they can complain about the government.
We also get a mention of ultras being replaced by constitutional monarchists and their apologia for the monarchy. Hugo takes a very matter of fact tone while describing this chapter and little digression into history. He says that we can neither frown nor be pleased with this part of French history but also accept it as old France. I find it interesting that he does not outrightly condemn these, but it is also understandable, there might be some personal feelings about Hugo being a royalist in his youth. At any rate, as someone mentioned, he does treat them the way he treated the convents, as something to be accepted as something belonging to another time and it is fitting since Hugo writes as if he is narrating history.
We then come to a description of Marius who is a law student, royalist, fanatical austere, who neither loved his grandfather nor thought well of his father. He has lived in these salons and has had a very classical education and I feel really sorry for how sheltered and lonely he has been that till the point of becoming a law student he still keeps the views and the impressions from the royalist salons, even though Gillenormand stopped visiting these for some years.
I get where he’s coming from having lived a terrible childhood, but I still find it hard to warm up to Marius Pontmercy described as ‘cold-hearted, noble, generous, proud, religious, impassioned callously self-respecting, ferociously pure.’ Though I find him very interesting as a character.
3.3.4
We get a much fuller portrait of Marius this time round. Marius’ feeling on meeting his father is just being irritated. He feels abandoned by his father and so for him the simplest thing to do to protect himself from the hurt he must be feeling, is to not love his father back. I do feel sorry for him here.
I find Gillenormand’s matter of fact delivery according to his character, the way he delivers the whole news is so casual. He hates Marius’ father, but he cannot even be bothered to make some effort for Marius’ sake, his love is pretty selfish.
Poor Georges, he died before his son could meet and know him. Marius behaves exactly as someone who goes to a funeral where he does not know the deceased and him dropping his hat is both comical and awkward in a way that is relatable. It is also very Romantic that the Colonel is depicted on his death bed with a single tear drop which signifies his son’s delay. The ‘corpse was weeping for him’ is also such a good image. But there are other people in the room who truly care for Georges who seems to have collected friends around him, the way he grew flowers.
Everything the colonel left is given away, there is nothing to remember him by, except Marius keeping the letter out of solemn duty to his father. The careful garden becomes overrun with weeds in the absence of that worthy man to keep cultivating it. But it must have given the neighbours some temporary joy to have the rare flowers with them. Georges’ cultivation of the beautiful and the useless did lead to some good after all. We have Georges’ letter which will be important later on, for now Marius goes back to being a law student and forgets his father except for a token remembrance.
