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Personification
Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:
Victor Hugo's Les Misérables takes place between the years 1815 and 1832 in France. During these politically tumultuous years, several regimes ascended and fell. Until 1824, Louis XVIII sat on the throne, after which the authoritarian Charles X took charge. His reign ended in 1830 with the July Revolution, when insurrectionists successfully drove Charles X out of Paris. Louis-Philippe then became king, beginning the July Monarchy. Throughout Louis-Philippe's reign, lower- and working-class citizens revolted with the classic barricade technique—such as in the failed June Rebellion of 1832—and finally succeeded in 1848.
The first half of the novel takes place in various provincial towns. In Digne, Jean Valjean wanders free from prison and tries to find a place to sleep. The Bishop kindly offers Jean Valjean a hot meal and a bed. Montreuil-sur-mer is the unspecified factory town where Jean Valjean makes his fortune and where Fantine works to pay for Cosette's care. The Thenardiers live with their daughters Azelma and Eponine—and Cosette—in Montfermeil. This is also the town where Fantine last sees Cosette. Meanwhile, the prison scenes take place in the galleys at the port of Toulon on the southern coast of France.
The second half of the novel takes place mostly in Paris, including well-known locations such as the Luxembourg Gardens and Les Halles. The story also takes the reader to the Petit-Picpus Convent, where Cosette and Jean Valjean find safety with Fauchelevent. The Gorbeau hovel is the hub for crime in the novel, where Marius and the Jondrettes live in dire poverty. The garden on the Rue Plumet is not only Cosette's home, but also the rendezvous spot for her and Marius. Finally, the scenes that mirror the 1832 riots in France take the reader all over Paris, including the infamous sewers beneath the city and the Seine.
