Grantaire

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Grantaire
Enjolras fuzilado.jpg
The deaths of Enjolras and Grantaire
Created byVictor Hugo
In-universe information
AliasR, Pylades[1]
OccupationStudent
NationalityFrench

Grantaire (French pronunciation: ​[Grɑ̃-tər]) is a fictional character from the 1862 novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. He is a student from the South of France and is one of the principal characters of the revolutionary group known as the Friends of the ABC. According to the novel, the Friends of the ABC only tolerate him because of his good humour. He often signs with his rebus: R and, at one point, Bossuet calls him "Capital R." He is a gambler and often drunk.

Description[]

Physical appearance[]

Grantaire is not physically attractive; he is described as "particularly ugly" or "inordinately homely,"[1] Contrastingly, Enjolras is described as having "...long fair lashes, blue eyes, that hair flying in the wind, rosy cheeks, pure lips, exquisite teeth".[1]

Morality[]

Grantaire is a skeptic, believing in nothing, claiming to know nothing, with no values or goals.[1] He takes little interest in the cause of the revolutionary students and is described in the novel as someone who was able to go along without any particular belief. His veneration, love, and admiration for Enjolras is the main reason that Grantaire spends time with Friends of the ABC, despite Enjolras's scorn for his scepticism. Grantaire is the one in the group who knows the best places for everything in Paris and also about boxing, foot-fencing, and some dances.

All those words- rights of the people, rights of man, humanity, civilization, religion, progress- are very near meaningless to Grantaire. He smiled at them. Skepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, has left not one entire idea in his mind. He lives in irony. This is his one axiom: The one certainly is a full glass. He ridicules all dedication under all circumstances...[1]

Narrative[]

Grantaire plays a very small role in planning the fictitious June Rebellion. He is not an official member of the Friends of the ABC but is always present, usually intoxicated. He stays because of his admiration, love, and veneration for Enjolras. Enjolras and Grantaire are compared to Orestes and Pylades as one cannot not come without the other. However, this is not an indication of any particular friendship or admiration from Enjolras' perspective. Enjolras is offended by Grantaire's nonchalance to their cause, on one occasion telling him not to "meddle in [the L'ABC's] affairs".[1] Grantaire is used as the narrative foil of Enjolras. On the day of the rebellion, Grantaire is unconscious from drink and wakes up only when Enjolras is about to be executed. Grantaire walked in front of the firing squad calling, "Vive la République," or "Long Live the Republic," and dies hand in hand with him.[2]

Adaptions[]

Main article: Adaptations of Les Misérables

Grantaire appears in many adaptions of Les Misérables, including the musical.

In the 2012 film version of the musical, the character is played by George Blagden.[3][4]

He is played by Turlough Convery in the 2018 BBC miniseries[5][6]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Hugo, Victor (1862). Les Misérables (Unabridged English Translation ed.). Penguin Books. pp. 649–659.
  2. ^ Hugo, Victor (1862). Les Misérables (Unabridged English Translation ed.). Penguin Books. p. 1252.
  3. ^ "George Blagden Joins Les Miserables Film as Grantaire". www.broadway.com. Broadway.com. Jan 31, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  4. ^ Cheesman, Neil (27 September 2011). "Interview with Adam Linstead: The Bishop of Digne and Grantaire in Les Miserables". www.londontheatre1.com. London Theatre One. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  5. ^ Hale-Stern, Kaila (4 December 2018). "Watch the BBC's Les Misérables Series Trailer and Cry With Me". www.themarysue.com. The Mary Sue. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  6. ^ "Les Misérables (2018– )Full Cast & Crew". www.imdb.com. Internet Movie Database. 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
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