The great French writer Victor Hugo entered the history of world literature as a poet, playwright, and prose writer. He was at the origin French romanticism, immortalized his name as a true fighter for freedom, for humanistic ideals. Maxim Gorky wrote about Hugo:"A tribune and a poet, he thundered over the world like a hurricane, bringing to life everything that is beautiful in the human soul" . On February 26, on the occasion of the 212th anniversary of the writer's birth, we will scroll through his creative path.
Victor Hugo was born in the family of General Joseph Hugo of the Napoleonic army in 1802, the mother of the future writer Sophia adhered to royalist views. Victor was the youngest in the family, besides him there were also two sons Abel (b. 1798) and Eugene (b. 1800).
Previously, Victor spent his childhood in Marseille, then in Corsica, then on the Elba, in Italy and Madrid - at his father's place of work. Relations between the spouses finally went wrong, and in 1813 they parted. Victor stays with his mother, who has settled in Paris. From 1814 to 1818 Hugo studied at the Lyceum, and the first literary experiments refer to adolescence. Victor wrote his first poems dedicated to his mother at the age of 14, then the tragedies “Irtamena” and “Athelie ou les scan” come out from under his pen.
At the age of 17, Victor receives two prizes in the competition for the poems “The Maidens of Verdun” and the ode “On the restoration of the statue of Henry IV”, which marked the beginning of his “Legend of the Ages”, and the satire “Telegraph” was published in print, which first drew the attention of readers to the young writer . Criticism immediately characterized his manner: "Prose, in which poetry has been wormed", newspapers publish articles one after another about a miracle child with literary talent. And how the mother rejoiced that her child had an excellent command of the literary style! In 1819, Hugo wrote the ode "The Fate of the Vendée", dedicating it to Chateaubriand. They started talking about the young writer even more.
In 1822, Hugo married his admirer Adele Fouche, to whom he dedicated the poem First Breaths. Brought up in strict morals, a 17-year-old girl even considered love correspondence a sin. The young people got married in 1922. The couple had five children: sons Leopold (1823, died in infancy), Charles (1826), François-Fictor (1828) and daughters Leopoldina (1824) and Adele (1830).
The young husband writes the novel "Gan the Icelander", trying to publish it in a thousand copies. However, the publisher not only deceived him with a fee, but also slandered him. The novel was published in four issues, with a gray cover, on rough paper, and without the name of the author."This is a kind of writing. - according to the publisher, -is the first prose work young writer, already known for his brilliant success in poetry" .
From 1826 to 1829, Hugo wrote Odes and Ballads (end of 1826), the drama Cromwell (1827), and the poetry collection Oriental Motives (1829). From the pen of Victor Hugo come novels, such as The Last Day of the Condemned to Death (1829), The Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris"(1831)," Claude Gay "(1934).
Hugo devoted 13 years of his work to theater and lyrics: “ Autumn leaves"(1831), "Songs of Twilight" (1835), " Inner voices"(1837), "Rays and Shadows" (1840). The favorite plot of the drama was for Hugo the defense of the disadvantaged from the oppressors. And the theater for him is a platform from which bold ideas can be said publicly. The first play staged at the theatre, The King Amuses himself (1832), was coolly received by the public. Especially the Parisian beau monde did not like the frivolous statements of the jester about morality:“Didn’t your mother give birth to you? Or did she lie in bed with the groom? Answer, freaks! The drama was banned from showing.
However, the failure of the drama did not prevent Hugo from becoming a member of the French Academy (1841), and in 1845 to receive a peerage.
Victor Hugo was opposed to the coup d'état of 1851, trampling french freedoms and ideals. After the accession of Napoleon III, Hugo left for Brussels. And although Victor wrote encouraging letters to his wife in Paris, next to him was the beauty Juliette, who showed miracles heroic devotion, bringing his beloved all his manuscripts.
Hugo's novel Les Misérables was written in 1862 in exile (for about thirty years the writer hatched plans, made sketches of characters, collected documentary materials and built chapters and storylines). Hugo revived historical events: the era of the empire, the Restoration, the revolution of 1830, his heroes will fight for the republic, against poverty and violence.
“Depict the ascension of the soul ... to show in all tragic reality the social bottom from which it rises, so that society realizes what kind of hell it is based on, and so that it finally understands that it is time to kindle the dawn over this darkness; to warn, which is the humblest form of advice, is the purpose of this book." , - writes Hugo in one of the preliminary drafts of the preface. An overwhelming task, at first glance, - to reconcile the irreconcilable and combine the incompatible, was solved with a bang, otherwise, how to explain the wild success of the novel. Despite enthusiastic responses, censorship banned the novel for publication.
next novel written in exile was The Man Who Laughs (1869). He continues the theme of protecting the disadvantaged. The hero of the novel, Gwynplaine, disfigured in childhood by comprachicos by order of the king, is a symbol of a suffering, persecuted, mutilated people. But an ugly shell hides an almost holy soul:"You think I'm a freak! No. I am a symbol. O all-powerful fools, open your eyes! I embody everything. I represent mankind, mutilated by the rulers. The man is crippled. What has been done to me has been done to the whole human race: they have mutilated its right, justice, truth, reason, thinking, just as they have mutilated my eyes, nostrils and ears ... "
Only in 1870 did Hugo return to France. In 1874, he published the novel "The Ninety-Third Year" about the defeat of the Paris Commune, about the problems of revolutionary violence, about the moral rebirth of man.
In 1876 she returned to Hugo former glory. He becomes a senator, but Victor is already seriously ill. In 1878 he suffers a stroke. On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the writer, his play "Ernani" was staged with applause in the theater. In May 1885 great writer died.
Funeral of a great writer
France was declared national mourning. Hugo is buried in the Pantheon.
The whole world knows such works of his as Notre Dame Cathedral, The Man Who Laughs, Les Miserables, but for some reason not everyone is interested in the biography of Victor Hugo. And it is no less interesting than his masterpieces. After all, it is impossible to fully penetrate and understand the creation of a great man if you do not know what was happening in his life at that moment. Of course, it is impossible to fit in a couple of pages full biography Victor Hugo, because for this you need to place the memoirs of his contemporaries, personal letters, various diary entries. Therefore, the history of his life in a generalized version will be presented below. The biography and work of Victor Hugo will be considered together, because important events that took place in the life of the writer, were reflected in his works.
Childhood and youth of the writer
The biography of Victor Marie Hugo should begin with the date of his birth. It was February 26, 1802. The parents of the future writer held opposing political convictions, which could not but affect family relationships. During the reign of Napoleon, Victor's father received the rank of general. The boy's mother was a staunch royalist who vehemently hated Bonaparte and supported the Bourbon dynasty.
Hugo Sr. was appointed to the post of governor of Madrid, and in this city the writer's parents separated. The mother, taking the children with her, returned to Paris. Thanks to his mother's upbringing, Hugo grew up to be the same staunch royalist. In his earliest poems, he glorifies the Bourbons. IN youth he is close to the classical direction and the influence of aristocratic romanticism.
The beginning of a creative path and reform in French poetry
An important place in the biography of the writer Victor Hugo takes part in the transformation of poetry. By 1820, the young poet had already written a sufficient number of poems in his favorite direction of classicism. But he reads the collection of Lamartine, and his works produce strong impression. Victor Hugo, admired by Chateaubriand and Lamartine, becomes an adherent of romanticism.
And in 1820 the writer tries to transform poetry. What is the essence of his reform? Now the hero of the works becomes an active hero who participates in the world where events take place, regardless of the desires of a person. Hugo liked to use bright dynamic natural landscapes, the writer seeks to find conflict in themselves natural phenomena, and not only between the characters, as was the case with Lamartine before.
Victor Hugo called for abandoning the strict language of classicism and writing in the language human feelings. He boldly entered colloquial vocabulary, various terms, obsolete words which greatly enriched the poems.
Theorizing romanticism
The pinnacle of the era of French romanticism was his Preface to Cromwell. Shakespeare's drama Cromwell was innovative in that era, but still remained insufficiently suitable for the stage. But the Preface turned the tide in the struggle between two directions. In the work, Victor Hugo tells about his point of view of the development of literature.In his opinion, there are three eras: the time when a person creates odes, hymns, that is, lyrics; in the ancient era, epics appear; the third period is the formation of Christianity.
Exactly at last period When the struggle between good and evil is shown, the emergence of a new genre - drama - is natural. In our time, of course, this view of literary development seems simplistic and naive. But at that time it was of great importance. This theory proved that the emergence of romanticism is a natural phenomenon that can show all the contrasts of modern times.
Creation of the grotesque
In opposition to classicism, which strove for everything sublime, the writer created a new direction - the grotesque. This is a special, excessive strengthening of everything terrible, ugly on the one hand, and on the other - comic. The new direction was as diverse as life itself, and its main task was an intensification of beauty.
All the trends that were laid down by Hugo became the basic principles for French novelists at the end of the 20-30s. in the 19th century. In the dramas written by him, all the main positions of romanticism are laid, which will be considered the standard for French dramaturgy.
"Notre Dame Cathedral"
1831 is important date biography of Victor Hugo. This date is associated with the writing of his great work "Notre Dame Cathedral". The novel raises the theme of a person's transition from asceticism (rejection of all human joys) to humanism. Esmeralda is a reflection of a humane society, which is not alien to the delights of earthly life. To create the image of a beautiful gypsy, the writer uses the grotesque, placing the heroine in a lower society, against which she stood out for her beauty and kindness.
The representative of asceticism in the novel was Claude Frollo. He despised all feelings, did not like people, nevertheless he could not control his passion for Esmeralda. But this passion was destructive, and did not bring them happiness. To create the image of Quasimodo, the grotesque was used on a large scale. In the work, he is described as a real freak, similar to a chimera that adorn the cathedral.
Quasimodo is the soul of this place, and in the novel "Notre Dame Cathedral" is a symbol of the people. The end of this story is quite predictable - Esmeralda and Quasimodo die. And with this denouement, the writer wanted to show that despite all the resistance of asceticism, the era of humanism will come in its place.
Exile from France
In 1848, Victor Hugo participates in the February Revolution and refuses to support the coup d'état of Louis Bonaparte, who proclaimed himself Napoleon III. In connection with these events, Hugo is forced to leave France. Now in his works one can feel more and more political orientation, accusatory speeches are heard more and more often. Now he seeks to reflect modern reality in his work, while remaining true to the direction of romanticism.
Exposure of the new emperor in creativity
In Belgium, Hugo writes a pamphlet directed against Napoleon III. In the understanding of the writer, this is a person who does not deserve the social position that he occupies. The new emperor in the eyes of Hugo was an empty, limited and even vulgar person. Of course, following all the canons of romanticism, Victor Hugo exaggerated historical meaning Napoleon III. Which created the impression that the new ruler is remaking history as he pleases.
While on the island of Jersey, the novelist continues to denounce Louis Bonaparte in his writings in his collection Retribution. Prior to this, Hugo was famous for his delightful poems about nature. But at that time, everything annoyed him, including nature, everyone seemed to him to be accomplices of Napoleon III. But at the same time, the poet gives quite accurate and accurate characteristics. politicians that time.
"Les Misérables"
Of great importance in the biography of Victor Hugo is the pinnacle of his work - this is the novel Les Misérables. This literary masterpiece was created over 20 years. He saw the light only in 1862. In his epic novel, Hugo tried to reflect all the reality surrounding him. Exploitation of man by man, unfair trial, political catastrophes, revolutions - all this is present in Les Misérables.
Each significant event is considered from the point of view common people, and it should be noted that the main characters are not noble people or prominent public figures. These are representatives of the lower strata of society, who are usually rejected and not noticed. All character designs are taken from Hugo real life, some had real prototypes.
In the novel, the author takes the side social revolution. One of the important components of the "Les Miserables" is the provision of the same rights to the lower members of society on an equal footing with wealthy citizens. But at the same time, no less important was the spiritual revolution. According to Hugo, one bright event, which will become a revelation, can turn a villain into good man. In "Les Misérables", as in "Notre Dame Cathedral", the struggle of man with fate is shown. In the struggle against the unjust law, the moral law of good triumphs.
Return to France
September 4, 1870, the day France was proclaimed a Republic, Victor Hugo returns. In the capital, society accepts him as folk hero. During this period, he takes an active part in resisting the Prussian invaders.
In 1872, Victor Hugo published a collection of poems "The Terrible Year", which is a diary written in verse. In it, in addition to works in which the emperor is exposed, lyrical poems also appear. In 1885, at the very zenith of his fame, the great French poet and writer Victor Hugo passed away.
The writer's contribution to literature
The writer's contribution to the development of literature was enormous - he created not only beautiful works, but also worked theoretical questions. He sought to bring French poetry dramaturgy to a completely different level. Literary principles created by him long years became canons for other writers.
But why do you need short biography Victor Hugo for children? Of course, the political background in his work and a deeper study social problems children are not yet available. But in his creations there are principles of a humane attitude of man to all living things, there is a moral principle and the victory of good.
Victor Hugo is one of the greatest personalities that have been in French and world literature. He not only actively developed poetry and drama, but also participated in public life. And until the end, Hugo remained true to the principles that put above all the freedom of man and the victory of a good beginning.
The great French writer Victor Hugo entered the history of world literature as a poet, playwright, and prose writer. He stood at the origins of French romanticism, immortalized his name as a true fighter for freedom, for humanistic ideals. Maxim Gorky wrote about Hugo:"A tribune and a poet, he thundered over the world like a hurricane, bringing to life everything that is beautiful in the human soul" . On February 26, on the occasion of the 212th anniversary of the writer's birth, we will scroll through his creative path.
Victor Hugo was born in the family of General Joseph Hugo of the Napoleonic army in 1802, the mother of the future writer Sophia adhered to royalist views. Victor was the youngest in the family, besides him there were also two sons Abel (b. 1798) and Eugene (b. 1800).
Previously, Victor spent his childhood in Marseille, then in Corsica, then on the Elba, in Italy and Madrid - at his father's place of work. Relations between the spouses finally went wrong, and in 1813 they parted. Victor stays with his mother, who has settled in Paris. From 1814 to 1818 Hugo studied at the lyceum, and the first literary experiences belong to adolescence. Victor wrote his first poems dedicated to his mother at the age of 14, then the tragedies “Irtamena” and “Athelie ou les scan” come out from under his pen.
At the age of 17, Victor receives two prizes in the competition for the poems “The Maidens of Verdun” and the ode “On the restoration of the statue of Henry IV”, which marked the beginning of his “Legend of the Ages”, and the satire “Telegraph” was published in print, which first drew the attention of readers to the young writer . Criticism immediately characterized his style: "Prose, in which poetry has been wormed", newspapers publish articles one after another about a miracle child with literary talent. And how the mother rejoiced that her child had an excellent command of the literary style! In 1819, Hugo wrote the ode "The Fate of the Vendée", dedicating it to Chateaubriand. They started talking about the young writer even more.
In 1822, Hugo married his admirer Adele Fouche, to whom he dedicated the poem First Breaths. Brought up in strict morals, a 17-year-old girl even considered love correspondence a sin. The young people got married in 1922. The couple had five children: sons Leopold (1823, died in infancy), Charles (1826), François-Fictor (1828) and daughters Leopoldina (1824) and Adele (1830).
The young husband writes the novel "Gan the Icelander", trying to publish it in a thousand copies. However, the publisher not only deceived him with a fee, but also slandered him. The novel was published in four issues, with a gray cover, on rough paper, and without the name of the author."This is a kind of writing. - according to the publisher, -is the first prose work of a young writer, already known for his brilliant success in poetry. .
From 1826 to 1829, Hugo wrote Odes and Ballads (end of 1826), the drama Cromwell (1827), and the poetry collection Oriental Motives (1829). From the pen of Victor Hugo come novels, such as The Last Day of the Condemned to Death (1829), Notre Dame Cathedral (1831), Claude Gay (1934).
Hugo devoted 13 years of his work to theater and lyrics: Autumn Leaves (1831), Twilight Songs (1835), Inner Voices (1837), Rays and Shadows (1840). The favorite plot of the drama was for Hugo the defense of the disadvantaged from the oppressors. And the theater for him is a platform from which bold ideas can be said publicly. The first play staged at the theatre, The King Amuses himself (1832), was coolly received by the public. Especially the Parisian beau monde did not like the frivolous statements of the jester about morality:“Didn’t your mother give birth to you? Or did she lie in bed with the groom? Answer, freaks! The drama was banned from showing.
However, the failure of the drama did not prevent Hugo from becoming a member of the French Academy (1841), and in 1845 to receive a peerage.
Victor Hugo was opposed to the coup d'état of 1851, trampling on French freedoms and ideals. After the accession of Napoleon III, Hugo left for Brussels. And although Victor wrote encouraging letters to his wife in Paris, the beauty Juliette was next to him, who showed miracles of heroic devotion, bringing all his manuscripts to her lover.
Hugo's novel Les Misérables was written in 1862 in exile (for about thirty years the writer hatched plans, made sketches of characters, collected documentary materials and built chapters and storylines). Hugo revived historical events: the era of the empire, the Restoration, the revolution of 1830, his heroes will fight for the republic, against poverty and violence.
“Depict the ascension of the soul ... to show in all tragic reality the social bottom from which it rises, so that society realizes what kind of hell it is based on, and so that it finally understands that it is time to kindle the dawn over this darkness; to warn, which is the humblest form of advice, is the purpose of this book." , - writes Hugo in one of the preliminary drafts of the preface. An overwhelming task, at first glance, - to reconcile the irreconcilable and combine the incompatible, was solved with a bang, otherwise, how to explain the wild success of the novel. Despite enthusiastic responses, censorship banned the novel for publication.
The next novel written in exile was The Man Who Laughs (1869). He continues the theme of protecting the disadvantaged. The hero of the novel, Gwynplaine, disfigured in childhood by comprachicos by order of the king, is a symbol of a suffering, persecuted, mutilated people. But an ugly shell hides an almost holy soul:"You think I'm a freak! No. I am a symbol. O all-powerful fools, open your eyes! I embody everything. I represent mankind, mutilated by the rulers. The man is crippled. What has been done to me has been done to the whole human race: they have mutilated its right, justice, truth, reason, thinking, just as they have mutilated my eyes, nostrils and ears ... "
Only in 1870 did Hugo return to France. In 1874, he published the novel "The Ninety-Third Year" about the defeat of the Paris Commune, about the problems of revolutionary violence, about the moral rebirth of man.
In 1876, Hugo returned to his former glory. He becomes a senator, but Victor is already seriously ill. In 1878 he suffers a stroke. On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the writer, his play "Ernani" was staged with applause in the theater. In May 1885, the great writer died.
Funeral of a great writer
France was declared national mourning. Hugo is buried in the Pantheon.
Victor Hugo is a French writer whose works have gone down in history and become immortal monuments of literary heritage. A lover of Gothic and a representative of romanticism, all his life he despised the laws of society and opposed human inequality. most popular book"Les Misérables" Hugo wrote at the moment creative crisis, but, nevertheless, this novel has become a favorite work of the author's fans around the world.
Childhood and youth
The beginning of the 19th century: the great revolution passed in France, the Old Order and the absolute monarchy were destroyed in the country, which were replaced by the First French Republic. The slogan “Freedom, equality, fraternity” flourished in the country, and the young commander inspired hope for a brighter future.
It was at the time when the ancient foundations were destroyed, and sprouts from the seeds of the revolution grew in France, that the third son was born to the captain of the Napoleonic army, Leopold Sizhisber Hugo. This event took place on February 26, 1802 in the east of the country, in the city of Besancon. The boy, who was given the name Victor, was sickly and weak, according to the recollections of his mother Sophie Trebuchet, the baby was "no bigger than a table knife."
The family was rich and lived in a large three-story house. Leopold came from a peasant family, but the French Revolution allowed the man to prove himself. The father of the future writer went from an officer of the Republican army to a supporter of Bonaparte and, finally, became a general. Hugo Sr. often traveled due to duty, so the family moved to Italy, Spain, Marseille, as well as to the islands in the Mediterranean and Tuscany. Travel has left a lasting impression on little Victor which will later find an echo in the works of the writer.
From the biography of Hugo's mother, it is only known that she was the daughter of a shipowner.
Sophie and Leopold tried to raise three boys (Victor, Abel and Eugene) in love, but the worldviews of the spouses diverged, which is why they often quarreled. Trebuchet adhered to royalist and Voltairian views and french revolution was a supporter of the Bourbon dynasty, while Hugo the elder was a devoted supporter of Napoleon. Not only political strife forced the parents of the future writer to disperse: Sophie had love on the side with General Victor Lagori.
Due to parental quarrels, the three brothers lived either with Sophie or with Leopold, and in 1813 Victor Hugo's mother and father divorced, and the woman moved to the capital of France, taking with her younger son. In the future, Sophie regretted more than once and tried to reconcile with her husband, but he did not want to forget old grievances.
Mother provided significant influence on Victor: she managed to inspire the child that the Bourbons are adherents of freedom, and the image of the ideal monarch developed in the boy due to the books he read.
Literature
Leopold dreamed that youngest child joined exact sciences, besides, the boy had a talent for mathematics, he perfectly counted and coped with complex equations. Perhaps the general's son would have developed the career of Michel Roll or, but Victor chose a different path and ended up from entering Politechnical University.
The future author of immortal novels preferred Latin verses and books to figures, reading great works with avidity. However, Hugo began to write odes and poems as a child, studying at the Lyceum of Louis the Great, from 1812. The young man was often the author of plays at impromptu school performances: shifted tables served as theater stages, and stage costumes were cut out by inept children's hands from colored paper and cardboard.
When the boy was 14 years old, he was inspired by the first representative of romanticism, Francois Chateaubriand, and dreamed of being like a French poet. In his autobiographical diary, the future author of Notre Dame Cathedral wrote 10 notebooks with translations of Virgil's works: then the boy was in hospital due to a wound in his leg.
Later, the self-critical young man found manuscripts carefully collected by his mother and burned his works, believing that he was capable of a more elegant and literary style. On the last notebook, Victor writes that this is nonsense and draws a picture of an egg with a chick inside.
When Victor was 15 years old, he showed himself as a clear supporter of royalism and an adherent of an entrenched literary classicism.
In 1813, young Hugo participates in a literary competition, where he presents an ode to the benefits of science, Les avantages des tudes, to the jury, for which he receives praise and rave reviews. Some judges did not believe that the author of the poem was 15, because in the work Victor spoke like an adult with a formed worldview.
Young Writer praised the Bourbon dynasty in his works: for the ode “On the restoration of the statue of Henry IV”, the young man received the attention and favor of the French authorities, who paid young talent salary. The encouragement with money came in handy, since Leopold refused to help his son financially because of the latter's disagreement to enter the Polytechnic School.
When the boy was 17 years old, he, together with his brother Abel, began publishing a magazine with the catchy title "Literary Conservative", and the collection "Odes", published in 1822, made Victor a recognized poet in the literary public.
Hugo's books embodied the course of romanticism, and the author's writings often hid a social or political aspect, while Byron's English romanticism was a work, mainly actor which was a human person.
The inhabitants of France had to observe social inequality, dirty nooks and crannies, begging, slavery, dissolute behavior of women and other life phenomena, although Paris was considered a city of love. Hugo, like any writer, was an observant person who was worried about surrounding reality. Moreover, in his works, Victor did not delve into the essence of social strife, trying to prove to readers that public problems will be resolved only when a person learns to value morality and morality.
Often works French author carried political overtones, in the first serious novel, The Last Day of the Condemned to Death (1829), the writer metaphorically explains his position on the abolition of death penalty fixing thoughts and anguish literary hero doomed to perish.
Also, the philosophical concept is carried by the work of Victor Hugo "The Man Who Laughs" (previously Victor wanted to call the work "By the Order of the King"), written by the writer in adulthood. The novel describes the horrors of social violence, which was committed by the supreme nobility. The work tells about Lord Gwynplaine, whose face was mutilated in childhood in order to deprive the heir to the throne and status. Due to external inferiority, the boy was treated as a second-rate person, not paying attention to his positive aspects.
"Les Misérables"
The novel "Les Misérables", written by Hugo in 1862 - the pinnacle of creativity French writer which was later made into a film. In concept literary plot there are acute problems of the surrounding life, such as hunger and poverty, the fall of girls into prostitution for the sake of a piece of bread, as well as the arbitrariness of the upper class, which was power.
The protagonist of the work is Jean Valjean, who stole a loaf from a bakery for the sake of a starving family. Due to a frivolous crime, a man received total 19 years in prison, and after his release he became an outcast, who was deprived of the right to a quiet life.
Cosette. Illustration for the book by Victor Hugo "Les Misérables" Despite the deplorable position in society, the hero of the novel has a goal - to make the homeless girl Cosette happy.
According to biographers of the French writer, the book is based on real events: in 1846, Hugo personally saw how a man was arrested because of a piece of loaf.
Gavroche. Illustration for the book by Victor Hugo "Les Misérables" Victor also describes the life of a fervent boy - the orphan Gavroche, who dies during the June uprising, which took place in 1831.
"Notre Dame Cathedral"
The idea of "Notre Dame Cathedral" arises from Victor Hugo in 1828, and the book itself is published in 1831. After the publication of the novel, Hugo becomes an innovator: the writer became the first Frenchman who wrote a work with historical overtones.
Victor relied on the experience of the world famous writer-historian. "Notre Dame Cathedral" had a political motive: during his lifetime, the author of the novel advocated the reconstruction of cultural monuments.
Illustration for the book of Victor Hugo "Notre Dame Cathedral" Therefore, the Gothic cathedral in Paris, which the authorities were going to demolish, became the main character of the work. The novel tells about human cruelty and the eternal confrontation between good and evil. This book is dramatic and tells about the unfortunate ugly Quasimodo, in love with the beautiful Esmeralda - the only inhabitant of Paris who did not mock the poor servant of the temple. After Hugo's death, the work was filmed: the famous "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1996) was filmed on its basis.
Personal life
The personal life of Victor Hugo was distinguished by the fact that he had a peculiar relationship with the opposite sex. In his youth, the writer falls in love with Adele Fouche, a typical representative of the bourgeoisie. In 1822, the lovers get married. The couple had five children (the first child died in infancy), but the beautiful Adele began to disdain Hugo: she did not consider her husband a talented writer and did not read a single line from his works. But the woman cheated on her husband with his friend Sainte-Beva, denying Victor carnal pleasure, any touch of the writer irritated the obstinate girl, but she preferred to remain silent about betrayals.
Later, Hugo falls in love with the beautiful courtesan Juliet, who was kept by Prince Anatoly Demidov, without denying the girl luxury. The new passion fell passionately in love with the writer, who demanded to end the affair with a rich man. But in relations, Hugo turned out to be extremely stingy: from an elegantly dressed young lady new bride Victora turned into a lady who wore rags: the author of the novels gave Juliet a small amount for expenses and controlled every coin spent.
At new sweetheart Victor had a dream of becoming an actress, but the writer made no effort to get the girl a theatrical role.
Later, the writer’s passion for the aged Zhulte cooled down, and he was not against having fun with girls for one night, for which he organized a separate office in his house.
Death
The great writer died in the spring of 1885 from pneumonia. The news of the death of Victor Hugo instantly spread throughout France, millions of people mourned and participated in the funeral of the author of immortal novels.
One of the favorite places of Hugo's fans was the island of Jersey, where Victor spent 3 happy years and revealed himself as a poet.
Bibliography
- "Les Misérables"
- "Notre Dame Cathedral"
- "The Man Who Laughs"
- "The last day of the condemned to death"
- "Ninety-Third Year"
- "Cosette"
- "Toilers of the Sea"
- "Gavroche"
- "Claude Gue"
- "Ernani"
Quotes
- "Fill up the abyss of ignorance, and you will destroy the den of crimes";
- "Great people rarely appear alone";
- “Ideas are a rare game in the forest of words”;
- “A donkey who knows the way is worth more than a soothsayer who guesses at random”;
- “It doesn't matter to me which side the power is on; what matters is which side is right”;
- “A man is enslaved not only by the soul of a woman, but also by her body, and more often the body than the soul. The soul is the beloved, the body is the mistress.
In May 1885, the people of Paris saw off last way famous writer, playwright and poet. Along the way of the funeral procession, starting from Arc de Triomphe and to the Pantheon, crowds of people lined up. They came to say goodbye to the legendary man who created Quasimodo, Jean Valjean, Cosette, Guimplain, author with noble soul, with oratorical pathos and with old-fashioned manners, Victor Marie Hugo.
Novels of Victor Hugo
In 1831, the first full-fledged work of Victor Hugo was published, which turned out to be incredibly successful and very quickly scattered around the world. One of the techniques used by the author was to draw attention to the cathedral, forgotten at that time. After the publication of the book, the memo became very popular among tourists.
The best books of Victor Hugo online:
The writer brought many new details to French literature, he was able to combine romantic and realistic elements. Soon this approach was adopted by many writers, which led to the creation of a new trend in literature. Critics noted his influence on literature as "limitless" and considered Hugo a teacher for future generations.
Brief biography of Victor Hugo
The writer was born in 1802 in the city of Bezason, France in a military family. In his early years, his family moved constantly from city to city. Educated at the Lyceum of Louis the Great. He wrote his first story at the age of 14, from that time he began to participate in literary competitions where he won prizes. In 1822 he married.
Hugo's first book, The Icelander, was published in 1823. At that time, he founded a literary circle and began publishing his own magazine. In 1824, a collection of poems, New Odes, was published. A year later, the writer was awarded the Order of the Stream Legion and became a member of the circle of romantics. In 1841 he became a member of the French Academy.
In 1845, for loyalty to the king, Hugo received the title of count and became a peer. In 1848 he joined the National Assembly, but after Napoleon's coup he moved to Brussels, where he began to publish anti-Napoleonic stories. After traveling, he lived on the island of Jersey (English Channel). In 1870 he returned to France. Last years devoted his life to creativity, gave his last strength novel "The Ninety-Third Year", where he described in detail great revolution and its implications for France. Victor Hugo passed away in 1885.
