London Week 1

2. In Les Mis, the characters of Fantine, Cosette, and Éponine each navigate womanhood in the face of poverty, exploitation, and varying degrees of societal protection and judgment. How do their stories reflect the intersection of gender and economic vulnerability, and what do they reveal about the limits and possibilities for women's agency in their specific social and historical contexts? In what ways do family, law, and love shape their experiences—and how might their circumstances mirror broader human rights concerns that women continue to face globally today?

There is a very strong connection between gender and economic vulnerability, especially when considering the time period that Les Mis is set in. In the historical context, women’s agency is almost entirely either outright refused or an illusion of free choice. Fantine was controlled by the pressure of keeping her child alive, the demands of the Thénardiers, and the demands of her various employers. She had the illusion of free choice in deciding to sell her hair and ultimately her body, but even that wasn’t really a choice because the alternative was to let her and her child starve. Epionine is in a somewhat similar situation; she was controlled by her parents and their decisions, and while she did have more control over her life than Fantine, she still wasn’t able to make entirely free decisions. She could live her life somewhat how she pleased, but because of her economical standing she had very few options. Cosette has the most agency because she is the most economically privileged, but even she was under the control of Jean Valjean. None of the women in the musical have true agency, even though they are in different economic situations. All of them are susceptible to economic vulnerability because they were women. If Cosette didn’t have Jean Valjean, she would have been in the same boat as Epionine, and as awful as the Thénardiers are, if it weren’t for them then all 3 women would likely be “lovely ladies.” Women in this story- and in this time period- really only had rights or agency as it related to the men in their lives. Jean Valjean, Monsieur Thénardier, and Marius all had the ability to shape the lives of the women around them– for better or for worse. While things have gotten much better, there are still areas of the world and still areas of life within the United States where women’s lives are largely governed by the decisions of the men surrounding them. Recognizing these themes in stories that are easier to digest- such as Les Mis- can help us to recognize these same patterns in our modern lives and work to break down these gender norms and societal constructs.