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Enjolras
Tumblr mfhecvqSQr1qlrrbto1 1280
Biographical information
Gender

Male

Eye Color

Blue

Hair color

Blonde

Born

1806

Died

June 6, 1832 (age 26)

Cause of Death

Executed by the soldiers alongside Grantaire taking eight bullets to the torso (novel, 2012 film, 2019 BBC miniseries)
Shot at the barricades (musical)

Family

Only son of rich parents

Job
Behind the scenes
Portrayer

See list

Enjolras (pronounced: [ɑ̃ʒolʁas]) is a character in the novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. He is the youthful, handsome, and charming, though "capable of being terrible," leader of Les Amis de l'ABC. A "priest of the ideal", Enjolras is devoted to the revolution and his republican ideals. He is a skilled combatant during the June Rebellion, facing a battalion of the National Guard alone, but he sustains no wounds or injuries prior to his death. Enjolras is killed by a firing squad alongside Grantaire when the barricade is taken.

Novel[]

About[]

Enjolras was born into a wealthy family around 1806 and is an only son. Like the other Amis (except Bossuet) he is from southern France. Hugo tells the reader that Enjolras is a charming young man who is also capable of being terrible. He is described as having blond hair and blue eyes and appearing exceptionally youthful. Despite his good looks, however, he has no interest in women, as he "chastely dropped his eyes before everything but the Republic."

Enjolras devotes himself to the ideals of the French Revolution and is an ardent republican, described as being "of that epic and redoubtable school that is summed in the words: 'Ninety-three'". He believes in the necessity of violent revolution and is compared to the revolutionary Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, who also died at twenty-six and was later dubbed the "Angel of Death" for his role in the Reign of Terror. Enjolras, an adept strategist on the barricade, is said to represent the logic of the Revolution, whereas Combeferre represents its philosophy.

However, by the time of his death, Combeferre's influence has led him to expand his vision of a French republic to a greater "immense human republic." He describes his vision of a utopian future for humanity shortly before the last assault on the barricade, saying "A revolution is a toll. [...] Brothers, he who dies here dies in the radiance of the future, and we are entering a tomb all flooded with dawn."

After the death of General Lamarque, Enjolras and his friends take part in the June Rebellion that breaks out after soldiers fire on civilians during General Lamarque's funeral convoy. Victor Hugo writes: “Within less than an hour twenty-seven barricades had sprung up in the quarter of Les Halles alone. At the centre was the famous house no. 50 [should be 30] which became the fortress of the workers’ leader, Charles Jeanne, and his 106 followers.” The rebellion is unsuccessful. On Enjolras's barricade, all but two people are killed (excluding the five insurgents that are able to escape using National Guard uniforms). Enjolras and the others refuse to abandon the barricade even after it is clear there is no hope, instead choosing to die for their ideals.

Les Amis l'ABC[]

Enjolras is the leader of Les Amis de l'ABC, a small republican secret society. Enjolras devoutly believes in democratic freedom and disparages Napoleon as a usurper, which shocks the then-Bonapartist Marius Pontmercy. Enjolras strives to realize democracy and equality. He declares "Patria" or "fatherland" to be his mistress and only has eyes for his cause. This makes him a foil of the character Grantaire, who is skeptical and believes in nothing (besides Enjolras himself). Grantaire, who lacks faith, admires Enjolras for his passionate faith.

June 5, 1832[]

Enjolras

Enjolras, as he appears in the novel

In the spring of 1832, a cholera epidemic ravages Paris, killing nearly 20,000 people in the city and stirring up popular unrest. Jean Maximilien Lamarque, a Napoleonic war hero and leading critic of the July Monarchy is one of those killed by the epidemic on June 1. Republicans view his funeral as an opportunity to express discontent with the government of Louis-Philippe I, who they see as having "stolen" the July Revolution of 1830 in order to claim the throne.

During the funeral of Lamarque, the government dispatches troops to keep the peace. As shots are fired, Enjolras and the rest of the Amis de l'ABC spring up and build a barricade outside of the Corinthe wine shop in the Rue Mondetour. They build the barricade out of paving stones, arm themselves and prepare for the coming fight. Gavroche points out that Javert, posing as a revolutionary, is actually a spy for the army. The men take Javert prisoner and tie him to a pole in the Corinth. After a revolutionary called Le Cabuc shoots an innocent porter for not allowing them into a building, Enjolras promptly executes him as penalty. It is mentioned that Le Cabuc was not only Claquesous, one of the four heads of Patron-Minette, but also a police plant. The students mourn the death of Mabeuf, who was shot attempting to return the red flag of the revolution to its post, having volunteered to do this task. Enjolras gives Mabeuf a kiss on the forehead, and later on the hand: Victor Hugo states that those are the only two kisses Enjolras has bestowed in his entire life. He then erects Mabeuf's coat in place of the flag to honor his courage.

Enjolras, Combeferre, and Marius convince five men who support families to leave the barricade, realizing that those at the barricade will die. Valjean arrives at the barricade. Enjolras orders Javert's execution following the execution of Jean Prouvaire at the hands of the National Guard; Valjean leads Javert away with permission to do this task and sets him free instead.

Death[]

Enjolras 2012

2012 movie musical

The barricades fall and as the army presses onwards, Enjolras retreats into the wine shop. He alone is left untouched by bullets and wounds, but with no other weapon in hand except for the barrel of his carbine. Cornered by the National Guard, Enjolras himself orders them to shoot him. He throws away the stump of his carbine, folding his arms and presenting his breast. In the final moment as the guardsmen are about to shoot him, Grantaire wakes from his drunken stupor and asks to be shot with Enjolras, saying: "Vive la république! I'm one of them." Grantaire asks Enjolras's permission to die beside him. Enjolras takes Grantaire's hand as a reply and smiles at him, and the soldiers execute both of them together. Enjolras, pierced by eight bullets, remains backed against the wall, as if the bullets have nailed him there. The only difference in his posture is that his head hangs down.

In 1828 he is mentioned to be 22 years old, which would make him around 26 years old at the time of his death in 1832.

(In the 2012 film, his body is flung back out of the window, except for his foot which is caught inside the room. The final image of him that we see is his body sprawling upside-down from the window, a fallen flag over the ruin of his barricade.)

Trivia[]

  • It is possible that "Enjolras" is derived from an Occitan surname "Enjeura", meaning to terrify. It also could be a pun of French "ange" meaning angel, making Enjolras a terrifying angel.
  • Despite being one of the musical’s most iconic characters, Enjolras’ name is never said in the original libretto of the musical. However, it is traditionally ad-libbed by Combeferre at the beginning of ABC Café/Red and Black.
  • The prominent anarchist Louise Michel, an associate of Théophile Ferré and Louis-Auguste Blanqui who fought in the Paris Commune of 1871, sometimes used "Enjolras" as a pseudonym in honor of Victor Hugo, whom she corresponded with.

Musical[]

Songs[]

Act I[]

Act II[]

Gallery[]

Musical[]

Films[]

To see more photos, click here.

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