An introductory episode, where I tell you a bit about my plans for this podcast, and then we turn to Hugo's brief preface to his long novel.
We start our reading of the novel by thinking about the Bishop of Digne, and why Hugo spends so much time on him to start the novel.
We look at the various ways in which the Bishop spans cultural and political divides.
We meet Jean Valjean, as he arrives in Digne and first encounters the Bishop.
We consider our first glimpse behind the veil, into Jean Valjean's mind.
We explore the famous scene(s) that will change Jean Valjean's life.
We meet Fantine, and get an up-close look at the year 1817.
We leave a lot unsaid, for now, as we add some new characters to our cast.
We talk about humans behaving like animals, and worse, as we meet Javert, and discuss Fantine's "descent."
The men around Fantine are both heroic and.... less so. And Hugo is as well.
We watch Jean Valjean ask "Who am I?" and two special guests chip in some thoughts about his dream.
We discuss horse-drawn travel, our hero's anonymity, and his final agonizing moments of indecision.
Our hero's dilemma finds resolution in a strangely familiar place.
We think about just what, exactly, this long digression about Waterloo is doing in this book.
Caught in the web of fate, what reason is there for hope?
We look more deeply into another of the novel's most famous scenes.
Will our hero escape the clutches of the police? And what kind of strange place will his safe haven turn out to be?
We discuss Hugo's take on life inside his fictional convent.