Les Misérables & The Tortured on Earth
There’s something undeniably captivating about the art of storytelling; it’s a timeless tradition, an integral part of human culture, and a desire to connect, preserve, and entertain.
From ancient myths and legends, to contemporary novels, films, paintings, and digital media, we told tales of courage, and fear, stories of love and loneliness. I find the most fascinating (or morbid) of all, writings about misery. Suffering, resilience, and ultimately, redemption, have always been a pervasive theme in literature — the bread and butter of literature if you will. From Shakespearean tragedies to Dostoevsky’s crime and punishment, misery manifests in various forms, each echoing the universal struggles of humanity.
Today, I’m going to explore the concept of misery in literature, or rather the similarities between Victor Hugos “Les Misérables” and Taha Hussiens “The Tortured on Earth” (still debating if it should be the tortured or the tormanted). Though set in different times and places, these novels resonate with universal experiences — human suffering.
But, before i get to the novels, i have some confessions to make.
I have never read Les Misérables in its original form. Ever since i found it at the public library, written in that small impossible-to-read dictionary font, i said nope and never looked back. However, i have read it as a comic, watched it as an anime, and read online articles and takes on it. That’s to say, in my avoidance of reading the whole thing, I have explored it in different formats and therefore feel acknowledged enough to talk about it.
My second confession is that at the time of writing this (21/02/2024) i have yet to finish reading all of The Tortured on Earth. I’m a slow reader, not in the sense i want to savor what i’m reading or any other pretentious reason, i just have the attention spam of a five year old on a sugar high.
I have also tried and failed to find an English translation of the book, and as far as I’m aware, there is none.
That’s all, now back to the program.
- Victor Hugo, Les Misérables:
“- Ce n’est rien de mourir ; c’est affreux de ne pas vivre.”
(“It’s nothing to die; it’s terrible not to live.”)
Set in 19th-century France against a backdrop of revolutionary fervour , Les Misérables paints a vivid portrait of societal injustice, poverty, crime, love, loss and personal redemption. We start our story with Jean Valjean, a former convict, who gets released from prison after serving nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread and for subsequent attempts to escape from prison. Suffice to say, the man is miserable and Spiteful.
When Valjean arrives at the town of Digne, no one is willing to give him shelter because he is an ex-convict. Desperate, Valjean knocks on the door of Charles Myriel, the kindly bishop of Digne.
Unfortunately, Valjean ends up stealing again, this time from the very man who opened his home to him. When the police arrest him, the bishop covers for him, claiming that he gifted him the stolen silverware. Touched by the gesture, Valjean vows to change his life. Later on, he emerges as Madeleine a factory owner and Mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer in the north of France.
Then, the story shifts to Fantine, a young woman from Montreuil, pregnant and abandoned. On the way to her home village with her daughter, she realizes that she will never be able to find work if the townspeople know that she has an illegitimate child. So, she decides to drop her daughter off at the Thénardiers, a family that runs the local inn who agreed to look after Cosette as long as the mother sent them a monthly allowance.
In Montreuil, Fantine finds work in Madeleine’s factory. However, she is fired once a coworker finds out about Cosette. The Thénardiers demands more money to support her daughter, and Fantine to make ends meet, resorts to prostitution and sells everything she has, including her hair and teeth.
Fast-forward, Fantine is on her dying bed, and Madeleine promises her that he will find and look after her daughter Cosette.
Nine years later, Valjean lives in Paris with Cosette, whom he saved from the Thenardiers where she was abused and treated as a slave. The duo ends up making friends with a young student called Marius who falls in love with Cosette.
Meanwhile, The streets of Paris are full of revolutionaries, barricades are set up in the streets, fights break out and Marius is injured. Valjean arrives to try to find the injured Marius and finds himself in a position to dispose of his arch enemy, Javert the police officer who’s been chasing him all this time, but he lets him go.
Marius is nursed back to health by Cosette, where they get married later on. Valjean’s story is complete, and he tells Cosette of her mother and his own history before dying.
- Taha Hussien, The Tortured on Earth:
“إلى الذين يحرقهم الشوق إلى العدل، وإلى الذين يؤرقهم الخوف من العدل، إلى أولئك وهؤلاء جميعا أسوق هذا الحديث”
(To those who are burned by the longing for justice, and to those who are troubled by the fear of justice, To all of them, I present this.)
On the other hand, in The Tortured on Earth, Taha Hussein describes disability, discrimination, resilience, and other social conditions in Egyptian society in the period preceding the 1952 revolution.
With eleven short stories, this novel is relatively small compared to the previous bulk, reaching only around 215 pages. Each story tells tales of different individuals of different genders, names, and events, Taha Hussien explored a society in which poverty, ignorance, and classism were widespread, a society that only recognized money and had no place for those whose life have dealt the shorthand.
While reading i found that The Tortured on Earth was first published by a Lebanese publishing house, since Egypt at the time was restricting publication of books of political nature.
For the sake of keeping this short, i choose only one of the eleven short stories. The story of Khadija.
Khadija worked as a maid for a wealthy lady nearby to support her parents and younger siblings. Her father was a builder, and her mother made and sold bread. Described as a beautiful, hardworking young lady, Khadija was loved by her mistress, who provided clothing and food for her family.
One day, the mistress heard Khadija screaming and rushed to find her mother beating her, accusing her of stealing two expensive-looking silverware items from their house. Fearing that her daughter’s alleged theft would jeopardize the lady’s kindness toward them, the mother lashed out.
The mistress intervened, explaining that she had sent food with Khadija the previous night, as she always did, suggesting that Khadija might have forgotten to bring it with her in the morning. Surprised, Khadija’s mother admitted that her daughter never brought back food, neither the previous night nor before.
It was then that Khadija confessed to giving away the food, admitting that she disliked feeding her family with charity.
Skipping ahead, Khadija found herself pressured into marrying a young man from a well-off family. Feeling trapped and seeing no other solution, Khadija reluctantly agreed to the marriage. Unfortunately, just a few days after the wedding, Khadija took her own life.
Her mistress reflected that Khadija despised being forced into marriage, viewing it as a violation of her pure modesty and soul. For Khadija, the stain of this coercion was unendurable, “Love could not wash it away, so only death could.”
- Comparison:
Despite their differences in setting and narrative focus, both novels shared a deep concern for the marginalized and oppressed. Whether it’s the impoverished masses of Paris or the disabled inhabitants of rural Egypt, Hugo and Hussein shined a light on those who society often overlooked. Some mentions that Taha Hussein was influenced by French literature, which reached Egypt during Napoleon’s invasion.
Moreover, both authors employ richly drawn characters and intricate plots to convey their messages, whether they are farmers, carpenters, maids, or other hardworking characters.
From the bustling streets of Paris to the sun-drenched villages of Egypt, Hugo and Hussein created vivid tapestries of human experience, depicting how they dealt with poverty, misery, and sadness. They touched on children who found no other way but to work themselves, and explored how children born out of wedlock are treated in both societies.
Poverty breeds ignorance, as the working class is kept poor and illiterate, unaware of their rights or unable to reach them. Consequently, they spend their lives chasing the illusion of escaping poverty while breading more misery.
“Les Misérables” and “The Tortured on Earth” stand as timeless testaments to the universal truths of the human experience. Hugo and Hussein both believed in freedom, justice, and the eradication of class distinctions, viewing them as fundamental rights for every human being. Reminding us that even in the darkest of times, hope endures.
Hello world!
Please do what you can for Palestine. Keep talking about it, keep signing petitions, and donating when you can. This is a genocide, please don’t stay silent.
I’m slowly climbing out of my reading slump, i already gave up on finishing Rosemary’s baby for now and i’m currently reading The Rachel Incident.
I finally fixed my desktop PC, and with reluctance, I’m admitting that writing from a desk is much better than my phone app.
I’m doing better than last time too. And what about you friends, how are you keeping?
Until next time,
F.
