And there are storms we cannot weather
I had a dream my life would be so different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed...
Fantine's story in Les Miserables is a heartbreaking one. A working girl cast out into the street, forced to sell her hair and her body in order to make a living, Fantine is a woman who feels at the end of her rope. Perhaps she wonders what her life would have been like if things had been different. Certainly she had dreams, dreams of a life worth living, dreams of reuniting with her daughter, Cozette. Instead, she was dealt some pretty horrible blows. It certainly didn't seem as if things were going to get better.
And then a man named Jean Valjean came into her life. He couldn't erase the past--not by a long shot. Heck, he wasn't even able to prevent her death. But that didn't stop him from paying a kindness with a kindness (for someone had extended a loving hand to him once). Valjean, I have no doubt, gave nary a second thought to her reputation: all he wanted to do was make her last moments the most painless that he could. Valjean fulfilled her dying wish--to take care of her daughter. In not so many words, Valjean was Fantine's Savior and she was better for having had him in her life.
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In many ways, I am like Fantine. I might not have sold my hair; I might not be a prostitute; I might not live in nineteen century France but that doesn't make me any less of a "fallen soul." I have dreams that have not been fulfilled; I have had hopes that have been quite high only to have them come crashing down. I have made mistakes in my own life, mistakes that I wish I had never made and yet they are ones that I cannot undo. But someone has extended a Hand to me, One who has looks past my sinful exterior every single time and instead looks on me with love.
His name is Jesus
If I were to give you a detailed account of how the Lord had guided my life, this post would never end. I can tell you this though. My life is SO much better for having Christ in it. I can stop and recollect how He has made things better by providing for my family when we so desperately needed it or how He has had someone come into my life at just the right moment. Christ has taken away all of my sorrow and my pain. It comes at a high price to himself--His death. Valjean had to pay a price for helping Fantine: he fled from the law constantly in order to provide a home for Cozette. Showing love often comes a cost albeit it a worthwhile one.
Les Miserables, at the crux of the story, lies a tale of redemption. My life, YOUR life, holds that key as well. Because of Christ, we have a life worth living and for that, I am immensely thankful. Life is not hell when God's involved in it =)
Just had to share this post with y'all today!
4 comments:
In a word -- yes, so much yes. =)
I think what is most memorable (and most heart-breaking) about Les Mis is the realization that the Bishop showed Valjean God, and Valjean changed. Valjean turned around and showed Javert God, and Javert chose not to change -- he chose to die instead.
For me, I was very nearly Javert, thinking I could keep all the rules and be "good enough" for heaven.
Touching post, Ella.
I agree with your conclusion of *what* Les Mis is meant to be... but if this is the closest adaptation to the novel (which people are saying), goodness, that gives me even more pause to how flawed the musical was. The 1998 version explores those themes SO much more fully - and the end result is ten times more satisfying.
I love Valjean!! From my first-time viewing of the 1978 film, I was powerfully moved by his true repentance, which then played out in how he lived his life from that moment on. He was self-sacrificing the remainder of his days.
Very beautiful and insightful post!!
Beautiful, dear sister!
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