Les Misérables Family Quotes

Pro tip: the quickest way to a parent's heart is to compliment their kids. Even nasty old Madame Thénardier get all squishy inside when Fantine compliments her daughters. It looks like Mme. Thénardier does have some family feeling—at least while her girls are young and cute. (By the time Gavroche comes around, though, it's nowhere to be found.)

Here's the thing: no matter how loving of a mom you are, it's not going to do your children any good if they're starving in the streets. Fantine has to find work and knows she never will if she's travelling as an unwed mother. For Hugo, this is one of the worst things about poverty—how it destroys families.

You tell him, Marius. Here, Marius isn't afraid to defend his father in front of his grandfather—and this moment of family pride is a turning point for the guy, who leaves his life of luxury to fend for himself and, eventually, the revolution.