Victor Hugo's "Les Misérables and the Novels of the Grotesque

The Author: Karen Master-Wicks received her Ph.D. in French Literature from New York University. She is Director of Curriculum and Instructional Development at the College Board. Her research interests include multimedia language methodologies and interdisciplinary approaches to nineteenth-century French literature. She has previously published in scholarly journals.

"The grotesque is not a hidden configuration in Hugo's universe; he himself foregrounds it. Karen Master-Wicks renews our interest in this essential component of his work through her ingenous and relentless examination of its implications." (Charles Affron, New York University)
"Master-Wick's study of Hugo's early novels ... shows very convincingly that the 'grotesque esthetic' which was expressed in his 'Préface de Cromwell' (1827) was at the very heart of the narrative and thematic structure of all his early novels. 'Harmonie des contraires' (grotesque vs. sublime) notes Masters-Wicks in her chapter on 'Notre Dame de Paris' is at the center of Hugo's novels. This scholarly work leaves no doubt, in the readers mind, that Hugo's fascination for the grotesque (central to his novels) is linked to his fascination for the spectacle: each of Master-Wicks's chapters is a meticulous recording of the manifestations of the grotesque ... culminating, in 'Les Misérables', with slang as the linguistic expression of the grotesque. Based on a solid foundation of contemporary theoretical works relating to both the theater and the novel, this well-written study contributes to Hugolian criticism, bringing to light an important unifying thread between his novels and his theatrical works". (Danielle Mihram, University of Southern California)