Fantine Timeline and Summary

Fantine starts the book as the naïve young girlfriend of an older guy named Tholomyès. She thinks that they'll be together 4eva.
No such luck. Tholomyès leaves her and they never see each other again. Unfortunately, Fantine is pregnant with his child and has no clue what she's going to do now.
Next time we see Fantine, she's given birth to a daughter she calls Cosette. Fantine knows she'll never get a job to support Cosette if people know she's an unwed mother, so she leaves Cosette with a family of strangers while she travels in search of work.
At first, Fantine finds a decent job in a factory owned by Jean Valjean. But she gets fired when her manager finds out she's an unwed mother.
Fantine struggles to make ends meet by sewing for fourteen hours a day. But it's no use. She can't make enough money. She sells her hair, then her teeth. Eventually, she becomes a prostitute.
One evening, Fantine nearly goes to jail for attacking a man. At the last minute, heroic Jean Valjean steps in and says he'll take care of her and her daughter.
She collapses in his arms and dies of illness soon afterward. She never gets to see her daughter again before dying.