How we cite our quotes: (Part.Book.Chapter.Line)
Quote #4
That aged forehead had none of the vertical wrinkles that betoken malice or stupidity. (2.8.1.6)
When Jean Valjean becomes Monsieur Madeleine, takes on a completely new appearance. Now that he's doing well, Valjean's face looks old, but not bitter, with none of those nasty vertical lines which everyone knows indicate that you're mean and stupid. Gee, this is starting to sound like a really good argument for botox.
Quote #5
For she learned to laugh, and as she did so her whole appearance changed, its darkness was dispelled. (2.8.9.9)
The longer Cosette is free from the Thénardiers, the more beautiful she becomes. Are you clear on this yet? Suffering means ugliness; happiness means beauty. That's why all beautiful people are happy, obviously.
Quote #6
Marius at this time was a handsome young man with thick, very dark hair, a high, intelligent forehead, wide, sensitive nostrils, a frank, composed bearing and an expression that was at once high-minded, thoughtful, and ingenious. (3.6.1.1)
If you ask us, Hugo is going a little overboard in some of these descriptions, saying that Marius' wide nostrils mean that he is sensitive or his high forehead means he's intelligent. Rather than saying you shouldn't judge people by their appearances, he seems to be suggesting that you can actually know everything about people from their appearances. This was a common view in the nineteenth century, and there's even a name for it: physiognomy, or the idea that you can read character through the shape of the skull and face.