somuchbetterthanthat:

I know I said this the last time I read the book, but it gets me, every time, that Hugo takes the time to show us how scared Cosette is, how everything around her is utterly terrifying, how she fears the shadows of the wood, and she fears the hand of Madame Thénardier, and then, then –

“Il y a des instincts pour toutes les rencontres de la vie. L’enfant n’eut pas peur.”

Look. It’s so important. It’s not like Valjean isn’t scary, that huge dark man, suddenly here besides her when she was alone a moment ago. But Cosette isn’t scared of him a single moment. It takes one question of him, one hint of interest, for her to babble about her home life, eager for more sympathy.

God, this makes me want to cry.