In this second to last “official” episode for Les Misérables, the HEE team discusses the idealistic joy of Marius and Cosette’s wedding as it compares to the realistic struggle of Jean Valjean’s decision to take up his real name.

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The payoff of the novel is upon us! In this episode we discuss two magnificent scenes: the profound conclusion of Javert’s story and the reconciliation of Marius and his grandfather.

**Due to 2/3 members of the HEE crew being on the road and the fact that our talented audio editor is on paternity leave, the sound quality of this episode is not up to our usual standards. Please accept our apologies, our assurance that quality will return for future episodes, and our opinion that the thematic content we discuss in this episode is still WORTH IT!!

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At long last the HEE crew ventures into the Paris sewers! They do their best to navigate its powerful, metaphorical layers while avoiding junior high humor.

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The HEE crew is back! We’re discussing Book One of Jean Valjean – it’s the beginning of the end. Topics include Hugo’s philosophy of history, the tension between ideal and real in the story, and Cosette’s strange interlude in this passage about the barricades.

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We continue our discussion of the barricades with a special emphasis on the dynamics between Marius and Eponine.

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In this very musical edition of How to Eat an Elephant, the team compares the various attitudes toward revolution that we see in this section as they are expressed by Grantaire, Enjolras, Gavroche, and Marius.

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Megan and Emily shoulder the burden of distinguishing between Hugo’s definition of an “uprising” and an “insurrection.” Along the way, they they wrestle with moral quandaries and vent their spleen about the edition of Les Mis we are reading.

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Ian, Emily, and Megan explore the world of “argot” and compare this broken language to Marius and Cosette’s budding language of love.

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This week we wrestle through Hugo’s philosophy of love and follow Gavroche into the nooks and crannies of Paris.

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In this episode, we talk about the Edenic imagery of Cosette’s garden on the Rue Plumet and Jean Valjean’s reaction to her sudden beauty.

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