I’m glad you like my blog! And I’ve been learning French since I was 13, but I’m not fluent in it (yet) haha.
I can’t say that enjoltaire was real, because the only person who could really say that was Victor Hugo haha. I do ship them together but all I can tell you is which parts of Les Miserables show that there could have been something.
Actually I already talked about it a while ago in THIS ASK. But I’ll give you some more details!!!
Just, about the gay rights in the 19th century France – after 1791 gay sex was no more a capital crime in France. It still wouldn’t really let two gay men to be out and be in a relationship, but it’s important to remember that it was completely normal for two men/two women to live together, “just as friends” back then. It was normal for them to cuddle and sleep in the same bed. LGBT history is more complex than most people think it is!
But now back to Les Mis – when describing Enjolras, Hugo compares him to many maaaaany well known gay characters/people.
“He was a savage Antinous.” – Antinous was a lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian. He died when he was in his early twenties and in the 19th century he replaced Ganymede as a western gay icon. Oscar Wilde often talked about him.
“the bare throat of Evadne would have moved him no more than it would have moved Aristogeiton; he, like Harmodius, thought flowers good for nothing except to conceal the sword” – both Aristogeiton and Harmodius were lovers who killed the tyrant of Athens.
And while talking about Grantaire and Enjolras’ relationship he mentions not only gay people but gay people who were in relationships.
“They are Pollux, Patrocles, Nisus, Eudamidas, Ephestion, Pechmeja.”
Patroclus – a character from Homer’s Iliad. He was a close friend and probably a lover of Achilles.
Nisus – Nisus and Euryalus were lovers from Virgil’s Aeneid.
Ephestion, Hephaestion – was a very close friend of Alexander the Great. They both compared themselves to Achilles and Patroclus and many believe that they were lovers.
Pechmeja – Pechmeja was a writer in the 18th century. He was a friend of
Dubrueil, a doctor. When the writer got sick, his friend stayed with him until he was healthy again, but even then he didn’t move out and soon both men started living together. A few years later it was
Dubrueil
who fell sick and this time the illness was both contagious and terminal, but his friend refused to leave him alone.
Dubrueil
died in April 1785 and Pechmeja died a month later.
“In the series O and P are inseparable. You can, at will, pronounce O and P or Orestes and Pylades.” – Orestes and Pylades avenged Orestes’ father, Agamemnon after the man had been killed by his wife. Their relationship is sometimes interpreted as romantic.
I hope it helps just a bit with understanding their relationship and I totally encourage everyone to study all comparisons etc Hugo made because they are very interesting!
Hiiiii!!!! I love your blog and can I ask do you think enjoltaire was real? And how do you not get sad from what happened and stuff. I’m new to the fandom and it’s really made me go into depressive episodes again but it’s so good I love it and I am confused whether enjoltaire was real? I get that grantaire liked enjolras but did he back do you think?? And he didn’t act on it because of the revolution and how it was back then with gay rights. Also are you able to read french? That’s amazing !!
Published
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