Justice and Mercy
It's not exactly a symbol, Shmoopers, but this is the big one: you can basically sum up the whole of Les Misérables as a stand-off between justice and mercy. On one side, you have Bishop Myriel (a...
The Yellow Ticket
When Jean Valjean finally gets out of jail, he's handed a yellow ticket. Woohoo! Ticket to freedom!Or not. It's more like a ticket to even more misery. That's because the Yellow Ticket is a symbol...
Silver Candlesticks
These two candlesticks are two of the only valuable things that Bishop Myriel has in his entire house, apart from his fancy set of silverware. We hear about these candlesticks early on, as the book...
Cosette's Doll
When Jean Valjean first visits Cosette in the Thénardier house, he is shocked to find what a terrible life Cosette has been living. One of the first things he does is give her an expensive doll as...
The Lark
As a child, Cosette becomes known in her neighborhood as "The Lark," but not for the reasons you might think (like freedom and beauty). In Cosette's case, "The Lark" refers to the fact that, like a...