pilferingapples:

enjolratis:

living an enjolras appreciation life and you: the self-help post

let’s talk about enjolras.

it really upsets me when i see enjolras being depicted as “heartless” and “cold”, because he cares so fiercely for his people; his patria (keep in mind, patria is not so much a literal symbol as a euphemism for the french people- enjolras is not literally in love with a country), that to dehumanize him is unfathomable for me. he puts the people of france’s interests and well-being ahead of his own, and he never once complains or thinks of himself. enjolras understood full well the risks of his cause, but neither he nor the amis cared. they were all there to support the cause (save for grantaire), and knew that their chances of survival were slim, especially by the time the barricades were erected (some more than others; like enjolras, there were a fair share of idealists in the group). but they continued to fight, even though their opponent was far better trained and well-equipped, because they understood that their sacrifice was a small price to pay for liberty and equality. enjolras led the amis into battle only after seriously contemplating the “price they might pay”. the amis are not naiive, and to say that they blindly followed enjolras into battle and to their deaths not only demonizes enjolras but diminishes the amis’ sacrifices as “accidental” or insignificant, neither of which are true. sure, enjolras isn’t one that recites poetry regularly or sings about his love for his friends, but he doesn’t do that because he can’t do that. he is the amis’ “chief”, their “fearless leader”, and their guiding light. he has to remain firm and unflinching for the sake of his friends (he isn’t compared to a marble statue just because of his god-like appearance).

his passion is the catalyst for his development, it is the defining point of his character, and it is the driving force for the amis’ fight for freedom. enjolras’ passion is described as being contagious: it rallied people (who previously were apathetic to his cause) to action. passion and patriotism are probably the strongest emotions, both of which enjolras is filled to the brim of.

he is brilliant; he is brave; he is fierce; he is strong; he is wise beyond his years; he is a burning flame of idealism and optimism- anything but unfeeling and cold. hugo spends pages describing the beauty and respectability of enjolras’ character to avoid him being miscontstrued as any of the aforementioned adjectives (i.e. “cold”, “harsh”, “rigid”, etc.) and by ignoring that not only demonizes enjolras but it is a blatant lack of acknowledgement to hugo’s development of enjolras’ character.

“it is a thing unheard of that a man can be as cold as ice and as bold as fire”.

if anything, the ice is melted by the fire of his ardour.

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