Victor Hugo | "Guai a chi avrà amato solo corpi.." | Tutt'Art@

From: Victor Hugo, Les Misérables, 1862

"Guai a chi avrà amato solo corpi,

forme, apparenze. La morte gli

toglierà tutto. Cercate di amare

le anime. Le ritroverete".

I miserabili (Les Misérables) è un romanzo storico di Victor Hugo, pubblicato nel 1862 e considerato uno dei più eccelsi romanzi del XIX secolo europeo, fra i più popolari e letti dell'epoca.

Suddiviso in 5 volumi, il libro è ambientato in un arco temporale che va dal 1815-1832, dalla Francia della Restaurazione post-napoleonica alla rivolta antimonarchica del giugno 1832.

L'opera narra le vicende di numerosi personaggi: in particolare la vita dell'ex galeotto Jean Valjean e le sue lotte per la redenzione durante 20 anni di storia francese, con digressioni sulle vicende della Rivoluzione francese, sulle Guerre napoleoniche - in particolare la battaglia di Waterloo - fino alla Monarchia di luglio.

"Woe, alas, to those who have loved only bodies,

forms, appearances!

Death will rob them of everything.

Try to love souls, you will find them again".

Les Misérables is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.

In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original French title. However, several alternatives have been used, including The Miserables, The Wretched, The Miserable Ones, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, The Victims, and The Dispossessed.

Beginning in 1815 and culminating in the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris, the novel follows the lives and interactions of several characters, particularly the struggles of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his experience of redemption.

Examining the nature of law and grace, the novel elaborates upon the history of France, the architecture and urban design of Paris, politics, moral philosophy, antimonarchism, justice, religion, and the types and nature of romantic and familial love.

Les Misérables has been popularized through numerous adaptations for film, television and the stage, including a musical.

Léon Bonnat | Portrait of Victor Hugo, 1879

"What Is Love?

I have met in the streets a very poor young man who was in love. His hat was old, his coat worn, the water passed through his shoes and the stars through his soul".

"Che cos'è l'amore?

Ho incontrato per le strade un giovane molto povero che era innamorato. Il suo cappello era vecchio, il suo cappotto logoro, l'acqua scorreva attraverso le sue scarpe e le stelle attraverso la sua anima".

Victor Hugo, Les Misérables, 1862