LES MISÉRABLES
VOLUME III: MARIUS


Book Eighth: The Wicked Poor Man


I. Marius, While Seeking A Girl In a Bonnet...

Sceaux
Affluent suburb of Paris, next to the Parc de Sceux. (Is there any reference here to Honore de Balzac's 1829 story "Le Bal de Sceaux" ("The Ball at Sceaux")?)

Boulevard des Invalides
Napoléon I's ashes are entombed at the Hôtel des Invalides, which is on this street.


II. Treasure Trove

Candlemas day
February second, day of celebration of the Purification of the Virgin Mary.

Mathieu Laensberg


III. Quadrifrons

quadrifrons
(Lat.) "Four-faced." For instance, Janus Quadrifrons, the four-faced early version of the Latin god Janus.

Chamber of Deputies
One of two branches of the legislative assembly of France, whose members are elected.


VI. A Rose in Misery

General Bauduin
Maréchal de Camp (commander) of 2nd Army Corps, 6th Division, 1st Brigade (under Lieutenant Général Prince Jérome Napoléon) at the Battle of Waterloo.

chateau of Hougomont
Hugo describes this battle in Vol. II, Book I, Chapter II.


VII. A Providential Peep-Hole


VI. The Wild Man in His Lair

Maringo/Austerlits/Iena/Wagramme/Elot
All are Napoleonic battles. Marengo. Austerlitz. Iena (or Jena). Wagram. Battle of Eylau, Feb. 7-8. 1807, against the Russians in Poland, indecisive outcome. The painter's spelling obviously leaves something to be desired.

Lavater
Johanna Casper Lavater (1741-1801), Swiss physiognomist (one who studies facial features in order to determine the character of the individual), author of Essays on Physiognomy.

12mo
Short for duodecimo, a medium-sized book, 7-8 inches tall.

Ducray Duminil
François Guillaume Ducray-Duminil, French Gothic novelist.

Pere Lachaise
Large cemetery in Paris, estabilished 1804. Many famous people rest there, including Frederic Chopin, Jim Morrison, and Oscar Wilde.

Solomon's exclamation
Biblical: Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, believed to have been written by Solomon. Ecclesiastes 1:2 reads, "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity."

VII. Strategy and Tactics

church of Saint-Jacques
Church of Saint-Jacques-du-Haut-Pas in Paris. (Not the church Saint-Jacques-la-Boucherie in Paris, of which only the tower remains (the remainder was destroyed in 1797)).

a Rothschild
A member of the Rothschild family, a wealthy and influential European dynasty.

VIII. The Ray of Light in the Hovel

IX. Jondrette Comes Near Weeping

Talma
François-Joseph Talma (1763-1826),  famous French stage actor.

Célimène
Character in Moliere's 1666 play Le Misanthrope, a young widow with many suitors. (I am assuming the reference here since Jondrette is passing himself off as a dramatist.)

Elmire/Belisaire