Cosette: Saved and Savior

  Cosette: Saved and Savior

~Blog Post #2~

Topic C

April 24, 2015

by Nick Goeckner 

Throughout the second section of Les Miserables, “Cosette”, Jean and Cosette grow very close. After the death of Fantine, Jean takes responsibility for raising Cosette. Cosette really begins to bond with Valjean as a father figure when he “rescue[s] Cosette from the clutches of the Thénardiers” (118). By going to save her even after just escaping prison, we see how close Fantine and Jean were, and how this bond translates to Jean and Cosette. Unlike the Thenardiers, Valjean takes care of Cosette, and protects her from the dangers of his past and the world around her. This is an important emotional time for Jean as well. He has never had anyone in his life close enough for him to love, so he is often “very incomprehensible and very sweet” about his fatherly love for Cosette (123). Due to his feelings, Jean is kept from straying too far back into his criminal past. Although returning to his previous life of crime seems very tempting, all he has to do is think of Cosette and how he needs to protect and care for her, and he is set back on the right path. Cosette motivates Jean Valjean to keep living and to follow the path the bishop set for him, no matter how hard it may seem. By doing this, Cosette saves Jean from being returned to prison.