Tag Archives: Victor Hugo

“As Befits A Caprice of Love and Magistracy”

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, with his wife, Silda, announces his resignation at his Manhattan office. [Source: NYT] I admit, I’m as guilty as the next guy when it comes to prurient interest and schadenfreude. I came of age in … Continue reading






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Rodin’s “Fall of Illusion: Sister of Icarus”

Auguste Rodin. L’Illusion soeur d’Icare. 1895. Musée Rodin, Paris. [Photo by Dave Rytell] This sculpture beguiled me when I saw it at the Musée Rodin. I so much wanted to touch her wing. It was marble but it looked like … Continue reading






Posted in Art, Flaneur's Gallery, Les Misérables, Paris, surrealism, VIIe | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

A Gavroche Retrospective

When I began quoting and commenting on Les Misérables in September — I’ll call it blog-reading — I didn’t know exactly why I was doing it or where it would lead. I needed content to work with to learn the … Continue reading






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“Mice which ate cats”

In Notre-Dame de Paris, Victor Hugo’s characters do not exchange  dialog. They declaim at one another, often histrionically.  The novel was written immediately after the tempestuous debut in 1829 of Hugo’s play, Hernani. Dramaturgy in one guise or another was … Continue reading






Posted in IVe, Les Misérables, Paris | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

From Gavroche to Huckleberry Finn

I continue to marvel at the rogue Gavroche and see in him the prototype for Huck Finn. After explaining how he “borrowed” his bedroom furnishings from the beasts at the Jardin des Plantes, Gavroche adds insouciantly, “You crawl over the … Continue reading






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