Undoubtedly the masterpiece of all of Victor Hugo's masterpieces, Les Misérables remains an epic fresco of its time, populated with characters that became iconic: Gavroche, Jean Valjean, Cosette... and of course, Fantine. Through her heartwrenching destiny, from a beautiful lively young woman to a poor destitute wreck, Fantine is the embodiment of the cruelty and harshness of her times. But more than that, it's her absolute devotion to her child Cosette that made her a literary heroine, as you'll (re)discover as part of our series "Les Héroïnes de la Littérature Française", in our article below.
After listening to the audio, click any word for the English translation and links to related grammar lessons.
Note: The tenses in this French article and its English translation don't match! In French, we use the present tense to describe historical stories like this to evoke a sense of immediacy, whereas in English, we commonly use the past tense - learn more about historical French tenses.
Part 1:
Part 2:
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- More French reading practice
