“He had discontinued his work, and nothing is more dangerous than discontinued labor; it is a habit lost. A habit easy to abandon, difficult to resume.”
Saint Denis, Book Two: Eponine – Chapter One

Victor Hugo’s novel Les Miserables does not only relate to us the street tales of France that we, readers, may vicariously experience in this magical journey. It does not only reveal the brutality of poverty to human and societal life. It does not only herald the revolution that pervaded the literary scene during Hugo’s era. It does not only attack the errs of mankind and laud the splendor of the divine. It does not only depict how both blessings and tribulations are transmitted in endless cycles, from one creature to another. It does not only talk about the “degradation of man by poverty, the ruin of woman by starvation, and the dwarfing of childhood by physical and spiritual night,” however, it also advocates the transfiguration of the human soul, from an uncivilized monster to an upright man. Hugo intimates this crusade by embedding his novel with vestiges of values, an example of which is inscribed above. We, people of the modern civilization, should demonstrate the value of hardwork and perseverance, so that others can emulate and the whole society may progress as well.

Marius discontinues his labor. If we look at the background, we see that the main reason of Marius’ lack of interest in work is his obsession to Cosette. All had vanished, except love, the novel dictates. His ideals of progress seem to have dissipated in the air – these include his enthusiasm for work.

Marius’ neglect for work has assured him of grave consequences. Of course, because of his action, or I mean lack of action, he experiences an even slower growth of character in this part of the novel, which intensifies both his ignorance and innocence, making him blind of others – blind to Eponine’s love, blind to Father Gillenormand’s longing of him, blind to Jean Valjean’s interests. We see that Marius continued to search for Cosette instead of pursuing his clerical works or law practice, hindering his performance in profession. All his helpful habits have vanished during these times. We observe that his dislike for work delayed the total development of his liberal mind, contrary to what we have witnessed in Enjolras and the other members of the Friends of the ABC in this period. There are also indirect “punishments” for his indolence and obsession. At first, F. Gillenormand contradicts his marriage plans, and then Valjean plans to flee to England to free Cosette from him. These two consequences, along with many others, act as constant reminders for Marius regarding his behavior. Discontinued labor is indeed dangerous – it impedes his moral and spiritual maturity, affecting not only his personal undertakings but also the aims of and the events during the insurrection as shown in his absence at the barricades.

Literally, Marius has left his vocations. Figuratively, he has abandoned his passions, his sentiments, his ideals, the “works” of his heart and mind. He has easily ignored them because of obsession, infatuation. His nonappearance in the societal arena made him dull, uninteresting. His desertion of labor has given him the difficulty to return to the normalcy of his acts. This gave him epochal moments of indecision. This made complicated his return to his original character and inherent actions – loving, accepting, and appreciating - as shown in his rejection of Valjean upon hearing the dark truth in the later part.

The line is portentous of the realities that occur not only to the French society but also to the global civilization as a whole. Every citizen who discontinues labor is an obstacle to progress. His ideals for change are lost; his character is difficult to wear again. The habits of hard work, nationalism, and responsibility are forsaken, impeding the hope of achieving “social prosperity – man happy, the citizen free, and the nation great (Book One – A Few Pages in History).” The lethargy of the people surely will have its prizes – crisis, corruption, calamity. After suffering the consequences, it will be hard not only for the individual but for the entire civilization to rise again and return to the forward-thinking nation it used to be.

Again, Victor Hugo promotes the motion to transformation. Through Marius, he reminds us to pursue our goals, continue our actions, and incessantly hope for us to achieve progress. Labor is a gift which promises us with more countless blessings to be showered from heaven. Discontinued labor is a disease. If it can be healed, it may take time, maybe years. Maybe centuries. Maybe eons. Or maybe, it is incurable. To prevent it, we should avoid the impediments to work, and tread on the right path where progress awaits our grand arrival.