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The Les Miserables Bracelet tells Victor Hugo's story through meaningful beads and charms. It makes a meaningful gift for those who connect deeply with this book or play.
When the story begins, Valjean is a petty criminal hardened by an unjust jail sentence. Compassion shown to him by Bishop Myriel changes the course of his existence. Valjean's resulting acts of kindness and heroism in turn change the lives of others, until again he is shown compassion by those he has helped. The romantic relationship of Marius and Cosette, along with the sacrifice of love struck Éponine further weaves Les Miserables into people's hearts.
Each bead and charm of the Les Miserables Bracelet represents a character or moment from the work. Some of the most important beads and charms are described below and you can see all of the symbolic descriptions on the spiral chart photo above or to the left. Also, a story chart explaining the symbolism of the beads and charms accompanies every bracelet. Click here to see the chart.
- Valjean is a grey glass bead that becomes a silver glass bead. This represents the "purchasing of his soul for God" with the Bishop's silver candle sticks. Tiny silver hearts indicate his acts of compassion throughout the story.
- Bishop Myriel, the only one to see the potential of Valjean to live an honest life, is symbolized by a white cat's eye.
- Javert is an opaque blue cube representing his role as a policeman, yet opaque to indicate his refusal to see beyond the letter of the law. Eventually this inability to reconcile the law with Valjean's heroic actions lead him to suicide... symbolized by a black disc.
- Formerly beautiful blonde, Fantine, is a gold fluted round bead. Her despair at her destitute fate is a watery heart and tear drop. Her daughter Cosette is at first a tiny fluted pink bead; later a larger fluted pink bead indicates she has grown up.
- Humble Éponine is a plain pink bead while Longed for Marius , the only character to have connections to the aristocracy, is a purple crystal.
Charms on the bracelet include:
- The Bishop's silverware and candlesticks
- The doll Valjean buys for young Cosette
- A cameo representing the adult Cosette
- A hand with a heart shaped hole symbolizing Éponine's fatal shot through the hand to protect Marius
- Finally entwined hearts indicate the wedding of Marius and Cosette.
"My Les Miz bracelet arrived and I simply want to let you know that I am much more than pleased. It is absolutely awesome. I am working on learning by heart the meaning that goes along with the beads so I can share with everyone who asks about my bracelet!"- Sara
