A Romantic Theodicy: Sublime and Grotesque in Les Mis��rables by Victor Hugo

Nothing shows better the Hugolean aesthetics than the two following concepts of the sublime and the grotesque. The combination of these subjects is characteristic of Hugo, who strongly wished to start a new romantic style that would be completely different form the ideal ���forme���, slavishly imitated, like models inherited from the Antiquity. In his huge novel Les Mis��rables, Hugo draws a parallel between a series of sublime actions which his hero, Jean Valjean, has accomplished and grotesque, comic, ludicrous actions carried out by other antagonists. The novelist is never satisfied with making his heroism conspicuous, but he also endeavors to present a whole variety and a whole panel of contradictions such as the ones the human race actually shows in everyday life. Finally, in the drama of Les Mis��rables, the converted hero facing the infinity agrees to carry out the most difficult tasks entrusted to his own conscience. His inflexible conviction and the incredible strength of his will allow Valjean to fulfil his own sublimity as he moves away from his own monstrosity. That is how he discovers the ���infinite��� being within himself and understands the divine will that saved him from the abyss of evil. Here is an example of the Hugolean theodicy interpreted in the style of romanticism