Cosette
Sign in to saveAlso known as Euphrasie, Mademoiselle Lanoire, Cosette Pontmercy, Cosette Fauchelevent, The Lark
Cosette () is a fictional character in the 1862 novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo and in the many adaptations of the story for stage, film, and television. Her birth name, Euphrasie, is only mentioned briefly. As the orphaned child of an unmarried mother deserted by her father, Hugo never gives her a surname. In the course of the novel, she is mistakenly identified as Ursule, Lark, or Mademoiselle Lanoire.
Key facts
- Character.name
- Cosette Pontmercy
- Character.series
- Les Misérables
- Character.image
- Cosette-sweeping-les-miserables-emile-bayard-1862.jpg
- Character.image_size
- 250px
- Character.caption
- Illustration of Cosette in the Thénardiers' inn at Montfermeil depicted by Émile Bayard (1837–1891).
- Character.creator
- Victor Hugo
- Character.full_name
- Euphrasie
- Character.nickname
- Cosette, Alouette
- Character.gender
- Female
- Character.spouse
- Marius Pontmercy
- Character.religion
- Roman Catholic
- Character.nationality
- French
- Character.lbl21
- Born
- Character.data21
- 1816
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Cosette-sweeping-les-miserables-emile-bayard-1862.jpg
Show 3 more facts
- Commons category
- Cosette
- name in native language
- Cosette
- birth name
- Euphrasie
via Wikidata · CC0
~13 min read
Article
12 sectionsContents
- In the novel
- Early life
- Paris
- Relationship with Marius Pontmercy
- Wedding and afterwards
- Character role
- Adaptations
- In the musical
- See also
- Footnotes
- References
- External links
Cosette () is a fictional character in the 1862 novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo and in the many adaptations of the story for stage, film, and television. Her birth name, Euphrasie, is only mentioned briefly. As the orphaned child of an unmarried mother deserted by her father, Hugo never gives her a surname. In the course of the novel, she is mistakenly identified as Ursule, Lark, or Mademoiselle Lanoire.
She is the daughter of Fantine, a working woman who leaves her to be looked after by the Thénardiers, who exploit and victimise her. Rescued by Jean Valjean, who raises Cosette as if she were his own, she grows up in a convent school. She falls in love with Marius Pontmercy, a young lawyer. Valjean's struggle to protect her while disguising his past drives much of the plot until he recognizes "that this child had a right to know life before renouncing it"—and he must allow her romantic attachment to Marius to blossom.