Historic French Culture and French Culture Described throughout Victor Hugo's Les Miserables - Research Paper Example

Number] French Culture The French culture has been shaped by the geography, internal forces, and most importantly through its literature, cinema, and art. Since the 19th century, the French culture has been widespread across the world and has been known as the ‘literary culture. Some of the major artists who contributed in the French culture are Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Charles Nodier, and many others. These artists used their work to represent different aspects of French culture. These were artists from the 19th century as French literature saw a great series of developments in this period. Victor Hugo was one of the most important names in the French Romanticism. Through his work, he greatly shaped the literature and political actions in France. He greatly helped France to move to a democratic government from a monarchy. His writings consisted of several characteristics of French culture including the architecture, religion, politics, and antimonarchism. His writings represented the French culture of that time and focused on aspects of human rights and justice. During his life, he had begun to have immense importance in the French society that he was invited for the coronation Charles X in Reims. As he was an important figure in the society, he decided to dedicate his work towards the culture and significant aspects of the society which needed to be given consideration. The Hunchback of Notre Dame was his first successful published in 1831. And then after 30 years he published his other most famous novel Les Miserables (Hugo 23). The Hunchback of Notre Dame was a novel set in the 15th century taking place in Notre Dame Cathedral. Hugo represents the French culture through a tragic story surrounding themes of justice, religious fanaticism, fate, social upheaval, revolution, and the distinction of social classes. These were some major elements of the French culture of that time. The novel uses Notre Dame as the geographical centre for the fictional Paris in Hugo’s novel. The cathedral inspired and encouraged Hugo to write this novel as it served his passion of architecture and Gothic art (Hugo 43). The title used is in French which depicts the importance of the French language and emphasizes on the importance of the city in the novel represented as a symbol. Hugo focused on Notre Dame because at that time there was no respect for the architecture and it had been damaged. No one was working towards the damage which had been caused during the French Revolution. Hugo realised that this cathedral was an important figure in the past of France and it needed to be given its due importance. Thus, in his novel, he represented the cathedral as the cultural centre of Paris. Due to this importance and recognition, the cathedral was soon restored and became a national monument of France. Other than architecture, the main theme in the novel is striving socially and revolution. Hugo focused on the differences of classes that were the product of the French Revolution. Several classes were found in the society which included Nobility Clergy, and the Third Estate (Hugo 43). The class divisions had also lead to the lack of importance of the Church. Hugo was concerned about these differences around him and so he reflected the theme in his novel. The novel shows every character as an orphan to focus on the diminishing of the feudal system. The French society was also shown as a big family which eventually broke down and resulted in the civil war that divided the nation. Other characters in the novel fail to represent their free will and Hugo represents the importance of free will that everyone must exercise it to retain morality and responsibility of all our actions. One another important theme of the novel was cultural evolution. Through the depiction of the damage caused to the cathedral and the need for repair, Hugo represented how culture is innovated from the ideas of the early eras mainly through technology and literature. He believed that cultures are passed from one era to another through literature and architecture. With the representation of the cathedral as a symbol of Paris, Hugo describes how the structure and architecture of the cathedral goes back to the gothic roots of the French culture and till the ancient times. Les Miserables was published in 1862 and it focused more on the life of the lower class members of the society or those who are less fortunate. Hugo represents in his writing the social injustice which existed in the French society in the nineteenth century. He wrote about the class inequalities and society structure which had turned innocent people into criminals and beggars. Three areas which he discusses are important for reforms are criminal justice, education, and treatment of women. Through his character of Fantine, he conveys the message that many women have died due to the cruelty of the society. Fantine is a pregnant girl who is abandoned by her lover which leaves her reputation vulnerable in the society. She tries her best to hide her child but she is unable to and is handed into prostitution. This depicted the French culture of that time where women were left uneducated and forced into prostitution and behaviour of men to use women was openly encouraged (Hugo 65). The criminal justice system which is portrayed in Hugo’s novel shows how in French society even a small bread thief is turned into a big criminal. This lack of criminal justice made the criminals sharper and more vicious. The worst criminals were not punished while the ones who committed petty crimes for their living were put in prison for years and years. The third representation of the French culture in this novel is the impact of the French Revolution. Hugo finds that the revolution had a wide social impact that remained in the eighteenth and nineteenth century both. The uncertain and unstable political events had a deep affect on the daily lives of citizens. They suffered social injustice, class system, poverty, and a violent culture. Greed and corruption had become common in the society. The Three Musketeers was written by Alexandre Dumas in 1844. Since it was the time after the French Revolution, Dumas also focused most of his novels on the themes of social injustice and abuses of the old regime. This novel surrounds around the journey of three friends who follow the motto all for one, one for all (Dumas 24). They set off to a journey in Paris where they face several adventures and go through many events. Even though this novel does not focus on a particular social issue, it shows the diversity and class system in the society as the musketeers go through new experiences and new adventures. Many other artists that existed in the French Literature discussed the French culture and depicted it using their literary works. The Romanticism period is however known to be the most influential and important period in which literary works were created depicting the French culture after the French Revolution. Many artists of that time made painting, wrote novels, and composed songs that represented the injustices of the society. Many artists contributed to the social order through their work. This was also the time period when French culture was beginning to be widespread across the world and these artists played a major role in promoting the French literature and culture. Hugo, along with other writers, proved to be very influential for the French culture. He represented it through his great works including poems and novels that left the audience emotionally affected. The issues of social unrest and rule of power lead to great conflicts between the elite class rulers and the ordinary people. The Three Musketeers is also about the nobleman who always wanted to be a musketeer. These injustices lead to people losing confidence in their government and dissolving their inner spirit for social fairness, values, justice, and equality. These popular authors of that time greatly influenced the French society and motivated the people (Finch 27). The work of these authors had a great impact on the French culture as positivity was spread, an anti-oppression political movement was held, humanistic values were promoted, and human rights were valued. At that time of social distress, the cinema, novels, and poems of these writers promoted a positive attitude and a sense of solidarity amongst the society. Writers such as Jane Austin and Shakespeare also used the French culture in their work and depicted it as selfish, brave, confident, and witty as they were British (Finch 56). In the modern times, the French culture was promoted by the government as they were able to form a close relationship with the citizens and change the previous situation that had been shaped in the nineteenth century after the French Revolution. Modern writers represent the modern French culture in their novels and poems. Work Cited Hugo Victor. Les Miserables. France: A Lacroix, Verboeckhoven & Cie, 1862 Hugo Victor. The Hunchback of Notre Dame. France: Barnes & Noble Classics, 2004 Dumas Alexandra. The Three Musketeers. France: Saddleback Educational Publications, 2010 Finch Alison. French Literature: A Cultural History. USA: John Wiley & Sons, 2013 Read More