Anne Hathaway as Fantine
A few years back, a college friend of mine came to visit. He and I hadn't seen each other in awhile, but as old dear friends are want to do, the re-connection was instant and as if no time had passed. We spent time at a local pub, enjoying yummy eats and drink, laughing and being merry. When I went to pay, the waiter, a young college student himself, marveled at our joy and when I explained that we had known each other since college, he said he hoped that he had as much fun as we were when he graduated. Inside myself, I thought, 'First, have every sense of your idealism shattered..."
It would seem strange, perhaps, that Fantine would follow after Eponine in our study, for if we follow the story of Les Misérables, she is the eldest of the three, being the mother of Cosette. Yet, I see the relevance of her story as following the natural course of the young naïve soul who after falling into infatuation finds herself sinking into the heartbreak of loss, the dark night of soul.
Such is the life story of Fantine.
Victor Hugo, it is said, created the character of Fantine, who falls for a man only to be betrayed and left by him with child, then to be repeatedly beat up upon by the external society, as an analogy of how the French government took advantage of the weaker for its own gain (Sound familiar, America?). For the purpose of this entry, I view her saga as that of the second journey into human relationship that helps deepen soul evolution through the darkness of suffering.
In the start of the play or film, we meet Fantine, first getting fired from the factory she works, that which she relies upon for her child's welfare, leaving her destitute, despairing, turning to whatever means possible for survival of herself and Cosette. This tragedy swiftly leads to Fantine falling ill, resulting in her last breath. As she lays dying, Fantine looks back, pondering how she got to where she is in that moment.
There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft
And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time
Then it all went wrong
As we listen to the first few lines of her song, we realize that Fantine, like Eponine, lived for others, seeking validation and self worth from others approval, without truly finding herself or caring for her own needs. In others departure and absence, this brought on her dark night of the soul suffering. She, succumbing to the emptiness within, spiraled downwards into the void of her own aching heart...
But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
As they turn your dream to shame
He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came
The quest for love outwards will always lead to dissatisfaction if the soul is not secure within. However, the soul can find solace even in the depths of despair in knowing that in surrender the way of release is discovered. By walking through the darkest of inner valleys, we discover a true strength within that never could have been imagined had we not traveled there. In that, it is revealed to us the power of our own resilience, and as the light dawns we find true peace remains.
Fantine finds this peace at the end of her dark night resting in the arms of Jean Valjean, who has promised to rear her daughter, Cosette, and thus she breathes her last. At the end of the story, when Valjean himself prepares to depart life, she returns alongside Eponine to help usher him to the next life and we find that Fantine has truly learned her valuable lesson that:
"To Love Another Human Is To See The Face Of God".
In my life, I have experienced the dark nights of the soul, and still have times of hardship, yet due to those days when the darkness seemed so dire, the hard times now are not so daunting or frightening. From being diagnosed with Bipolar at age 26, marriage to an abusive man, multiple abusive boyfriends and friends, a church that mis-used scripture for its own power, I have had to find my way through my own darkness, my own times as Fantine. Like Fantine, I discovered resilience in the perseverance, in the reality that the darkness has fallen, so I might as endure. Like Fantine, who discovers the dawn's light of peace at the end of the long dark night of the soul, so have I. If Eponine lives in the abundance of naïve idealism, then it is Fantine who faces the reality that when the rose-tint is struck away, true joy of life is, at last, found.
A few years back, a college friend of mine came to visit. He and I hadn't seen each other in awhile, but as old dear friends are wont to do, the re-connection was instant and as if no time had passed. We spent time at a local pub, enjoying yummy eats and drink, laughing and being merry. When I went to pay, the waiter, a young college student himself, marveled at our joy and when I explained that we had known each other since college, he said he hoped that he was as fun as we were when he graduated. Inside myself, I thought, 'First, have every sense of your idealism shattered..."
What are your thoughts on Fantine? Experiencing your own dark night of the soul or have already? Please share below!
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