Application | Tu Shanshu | Éponine Thénardier

[knowsherway]

Player Information:

Name: Kelly.

Age: 25.

Contact: kellysings23 @ AIM, PMs to my character journal, or crashtheclouds

Game Cast: N/A.

Character Information:

Name: Éponine Thénardier.

Canon: Les Miserables | Novel.

Canon Point: At the barricades, just after she's died taking a bullet for Marius.

Age: I believe that her age in the book is around sixteen or seventeen.

Reference:

Eponine at the Les Miserables wiki.

Setting: The social and political climate in the France that is depicted in Victor Hugo's novel, Les Miserables is one of instability, volatility, and general discontent, particularly among the lower and middle classes.

While the main events of the novel are said to have started around 1815, it isn't at all farfetched to say that they were nevertheless influenced by the French Revolution which began around 1789 and lasted about ten years. The revolution itself was responsible for the overthrowing of an absolutist monarchy under King Louis XVI to a constitutional monarchy, and eventually, a republic. The novel itself coincides with two events referred to as the Bourbon Restoration (1815-1830) and the start of the July Monarchy (1830-1848) under Louis Philippe d'Orleans (Louis Philippe I).

The social climate at the time was becoming increasingly unstable, and the people of the lower and middle classes were becoming more and more upset with the way things were being handled, particularly by members of the upper class. There was a general lack of money due to economic hardship, food was scarce, and those who were wealthy and well-off were more or less indifferent to the problems of the poor.

But I should mention that while the lower classes were concerned because of how difficult it was becoming to even survive from day to day, the middle class had a different sort of agenda. There were some newer, more radical ideas circulating around, and it was these new ideas that inspired members of the middle class to rise up and seek reform, an overthrowing of the state, so to speak.

The spark that lit the flame of revolution occurred on approximately July 14, 1789 with the storming of Bastille Prison. There were some very public killings and assassinations, and while all of that was going on, the revolutionaries managed to barricade themselves in the streets and surrounding buildings, thus forcing the hand of the King, Louis XVI, and he and his military leaders decided it was best to withdraw in order to temporarily appease the people.

But that wasn't the only significant event from this time. Around 1792 and 1793, the killings continue, including the reigning king and queen, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. They are removed from their positions as rulers and are eventually executed. Seven years go by, and the man in charge of what is known as the Reign of Terror, Maximilien Robespierre was responsible for sending well over a thousand people to their deaths. It seemed as though Robespierre's main philosophy was that sweeping down on people committing crimes with justice that was swift and terrifying would result in virtue in French citizens.

There was a period after this in which Napoleon Bonaparte rose to some measure of power and after a lot of fighting, Napoleon declared himself the Emperor of France. But it was short-lived, as he lost a major battle (the Battle of Waterloo) and was exiled to an island. Interestingly enough, Napoleon was hardly a fitting ruler, but some people viewed Napoleon as someone who helped bring liberation to France. But either way, Napoleon was out of the picture, and eventually, the monarchy was re-established, and a new king came to the throne: Louis XVIII.

So, as I was saying earlier, the poor people of the lower class were finding out that their lives were quite turbulent between all the wars and fighting, the economic uncertainty, the famines, and the sicknesses. And even with all the change going on, one thing that did not change was that the poor still had no voice, were ignored by the nobility, and their living situations were still unimproved.

There were still more changes in leadership over the next fifteen years; the king Louis died and was succeeded by Charles X. But his reign wasn't very long either, and by the time the year 1830 rolled around, he had been exiled during the July Revolution. A new king, Louis Philippe d'Orleans (Louis Philippe I) came to power, beginning a time known as the July Monarchy. The events that follow roughly coincide with the timeline as presented in the novel, though some of the details are glossed over.

Now, when Louis Philippe initially came to power, he was quite popular among the people. Although he seemed to have some promising ideals at the start, eventually, his opinions shifted and he expressed an interest in increasing the power of monarchs. Naturally, it can be assumed that this did not sit well with many people, nor did the fact that, under his rule, both the working and living conditions of the lower classes deteriorated even further.

So, opposition from the lower classes increased, as did anti-monarchy sentiments and general unrest and threats of instability. Now, it is interesting to note that the individual Jean Maximilien Lamarque started out as one of Louis Philippe's biggest supporters. But once Louis Philippe began to clarify his platforms, Lamarque's allegiance fell through, and he became an opponent instead of a supporter. It seemed as though Lamarque thought that Louis Philippe's constitutional monarchy was a threat to civil rights and liberty.

Because Lamarque was so much in the public eye and rather popular as well, when he contracted cholera in 1832, this only served to increase the fears of the populace due to the continued threats to their ability to survive. Many riots and protests occurred in the streets around this time, and during Lamarque's funeral, another protest occurred. Groups of students (similar to the fictional Les Amis de l'abaisse, the Friends of the ABC) gathered there as well, and one particular group commandeered the carriage that bore Lamarque's coffin. Said carriage was redirected to Place de la Bastille where many speeches were made supporting the creation of a republic. This gathering didn't end very well, as it triggered a conflict between those participating in the protests and government soldiers. Shots were fired and disorder and rioting continued to grow. This was the start of the June Rebellion, which largely was a disaster and a failure, given that approximately 800 lives were lost on both sides, and the uprising was short-lived and did not spread outside of Paris.

Now, returning to Éponine's story, she is first introduced when she is still fairly young and her family is reasonably equipped to live a comfortable life. Her parents, Monsieur and Madame Thénardier run an inn in a town called Montfermeil, and they take great pleasure in spoiling their daughters Azelma and Éponine, while also mistreating Cosette, the other child that they reluctantly took in.

At this time, it could be said that Éponine has an easy life. She has everything she needs and a little bit more, usually in the form of fancy dresses and dolls to play with. But this comfortable life is short-lived, as the Thénardiers' inn eventually goes bankrupt over a period of eight years, and they are forced to relocate to Paris. There, they live in a dirty apartment that is referred to as Gorbeau House, and they live there under the assumed name of Jondrette. Éponine is now older, but less pampered and less attractive.

Gone are her pretty clothes and her passable appearance, replaced now by a haggard look, ragged clothes, and no small amount of premature aging caused by a life lived in poverty. Her voice is now hoarse and harsh because she has taken to drinking, and it can be gathered that she's become a rather hard individual. She and her sister help their father in his efforts to commit crimes of varying degrees, and at first, her life seems to be a rather meaningless one, until one day, she meets a young man who lives in the same apartment building as her and her family.

This young man's name is Marius Pontmercy, and Éponine finds herself quickly falling in love with him. They first meet when she shows up at his apartment, intending to beg for money. During the course of their conversation, the young Marius asks Éponine if she can read, and she proves her skill by reading from one of his books and writing upon a piece of paper, "The police are here."

She takes this opportunity to compliment Marius, saying that he is handsome, and that she has seen him several times before. But Marius is distracted and changes the subject, giving her a package of letters that he had found dropped in the street the previous day. Éponine is delighted to receive the letters once more, and her response is to tell Marius a little more about herself. We learn from Éponine that she had once contemplated drowning herself, and that sometimes, she experiences hallucinations. This causes Marius to show some sympathy for Éponine, and he gives her five francs. She takes the money, thanks him, and leaves.

After she has left Marius, Éponine heads to a nearby church where she intends to ask a philanthropist and his daughter if they wouldn't mind paying a visit to her family. This philanthropist turns out to be Valjean, and Cosette is, of course, with him. When they come to the Thénardier residence, Marius, who is nearby spots Cosette and thinks he recognizes her. He asks a favor from Éponine, wanting her to find out Cosette's address. This disappoints Éponine, as she realizes that Marius has fallen in love with Cosette, but she agrees, after making Marius promise to give to her anything that she asks for in exchange.

Shortly after this, Éponine finds herself under arrest and thrown into prison because of the part she played in an ambush against Valjean. She and her sister Azelma were supposed to watch for the police and warn those who were actually doing the ambushing, but it didn't really go as planned, and Javert, the police inspector, comes along and arrests everyone who was present. But fortunately for Éponine, she is released after a short time because of a lack of condemning evidence against her.

After she is released from prison, Babet, one of the Patron-Minette (her father's gang), gives Éponine a task, telling her to inspect a house. The house in question belongs to Valjean, and so Éponine tells Babet that it has no worth. After this, she attempts to locate Marius, but she does not find him until six weeks have passed. When she sees him again, it is in the Field of the Lark, and after a bit of conversation between the two, in which Éponine expresses reluctance to inform Marius of Cosette's address. Marius then asks that Éponine swear not to tell her father Thénardier what she knows about Cosette and the address. She agrees, but then asks for the payment that he promised her. Marius gives her a coin worth five francs, but then, Éponine lets the coin fall to the ground, saying she doesn't want his money.

Eventually, she directs Marius to Cosette's house, and for several days, he watches it. Soon enough, Marius and Cosette actually meet, and continue to meet for several weeks. Éponine has taken to sitting by the gates of the house, until one night, she spots her father and the other members of the Patron-Minette about to break in and rob the house. Éponine gets in the way, threatening to scream, thus alerting the police and waking up anyone who happens to be within earshot. This dissuades Éponine's father and his men from following through with their plan, and they leave.

The next day, Éponine sheds her normal clothes and disguises herself as a boy. She goes in search of Valjean, and when she finds him, she tosses a note in his direction warning him that he needs to move away. With that piece of business done, she manages to intercept a letter from Cosette to Marius, because this letter contains inside it Cosette's new temporary address and the news that she and Valjean will be leaving France.

The following day, which turns out to be the first day of the students' uprising, Éponine hears of the plans and comes up with a rather morbid plan. She plans on going to the barricade, where she and Marius will die. She means to die before him, of course, and so, armed with this most fatal of ideas, she follows one of the Friends of the ABC (Courfeyrac) to the barricades in order to learn its location, and once that has been accomplished, she returns to the house in which Valjean and Cosette stayed and waits there.

Now, a brief tangent is required concerning the Friends of the ABC, or as they are called in the French, Les Amis de l'ABC. This is a pun of sorts, because actually, the term should be Les Amis de l'abaisse, or the Friends of the Abased. The word "abaisse" sounds similar in pronunciation to ABC in the French language. In any case, the Friends of the ABC is a group of students with strong ideals and a grand vision for the future of France. They would rather see France become a republic and cease to be a monarchy, and it is hinted that most of them hold disdain for the way the poorer members of society live.

They support General Lamarque as someone whose ideals are similar to theirs, and as was mentioned earlier, his death becomes their rallying point. Enjolras is one of the leaders of the Friends, and his visions of a new France spur him on. His goal is to achieve change in terms of the social and political climate, and he would gladly do anything and everything to make that goal a reality. Though the others might be less zealous than Enjolras (though only slightly), they fight for the same goal, and I think that in the end as they face their death, there are no doubts in any of their minds that the sacrifice is worth it, if it means bringing about a new and brighter future for their homeland.

Returning to the actual story, at this point, Marius shows up and learns to his dismay that the house is empty. While still hidden and still in disguise, Éponine tells Marius that his friends are waiting for him at the barricades. This is part of her plan for the two of them to die together. This news, combined with the fact that Cosette is gone, does not sit well with Marius, who goes to the barricades, followed by Éponine. Clearly, without Cosette, there is no reason for Marius to want to live.

Later on that evening, something happens to alter Éponine's plans. She wished for them to die, but when she spotted one of the soldiers taking aim at Marius, she acts quickly, putting her hand over the muzzle of the gun, thus taking the shot that was meant for him. She drags herself away from that location, but no one sees her or helps her, so she resigns herself to wait for Marius. At first, it seems as though he was not coming, but then she spots him nearby and calls out to him.

At first, he does not recognize her as Éponine, thinking only that she is just someone who is injured and dragging herself along the pavement towards him. But when he realizes who she is, and realizes that she is dying, he lingers beside her. The two talk briefly, with Éponine relating to him how she came to be there. She talks about many other things, some of which sound like the ramblings of a dying person.

At one point, she even says that she is happy that everyone is going to die. But not all of what she says is incoherent ramblings. She confesses that she has kept a letter from Cosette from him, and asks him to take it. Then, knowing that her time is short, she asks Marius to promise to do something, for her trouble. She wants him to kiss her upon the forehead after she has died, assuring him that she will still feel it. Before she dies, she makes one more confession, saying that she was just a little bit in love with him. And then, with that, she expires.

Personality:

From the start, I think that Éponine is primarily driven by selfishness but also by necessity, and in part by love. I know that sounds terrible, but when you stop to think about why she got involved in the fight at the barricades, it makes sense. The book mentions how she was determined, at least at first, for her and Marius to die together, but that at the last minute, she took the bullet that was meant for him. That action was selfless, but they were there at the barricades mainly as a result of her orchestrations and because of her own agenda concerning the two of them.

I don't mean to say that Marius was a mere puppet who let himself be manipulated by Éponine; he had other reasons for wanting to die (Cosette's departure being the main one), but it was because Éponine informed him that his friends were waiting for him at the barricade that he went there. Who's to say that if Éponine hadn't gotten involved, Marius wouldn't have gone to the barricades and been injured and that she wouldn't have died? He probably would have gone anyway, as driven to despair as he was by the thought of being parted from Cosette. But in the end, she didn't achieve anything for her trouble, with the exception of a sympathetic kiss on the forehead.

For me, that hints at a certain impulsiveness on Éponine's part. Yes, she was driven in part by despair of her own, but to me, it speaks volumes that she thought dying before Marius was a desirable outcome. Maybe she thought it through, and clearly, it was her final conclusion, but was it a sound one? I don't think so.

But a lack of sound judgment might not be entirely Éponine's fault. Some people believe that we are a product of our circumstances and our environments, and I don't think it can be said that Éponine's circumstances and living environment were ideal. Éponine is clearly a character with flaws, but she has her redeeming qualities as well.

Take for example her devotion to Marius. Is it misguided? Most definitely. But I believe she truly was in love with him and would have done anything for him. What did she gain from finding out Cosette's location for her? Nothing too grand, that's for sure. She could have refused out of selfishness, and I'm sure the thought crossed her mind. But she didn't; she promised she would do something for him, and she did, even if the benefits for her were minimal at best.

And of course, I have to mention her relationship with her father. Monsieur Thénardier doesn't seem to value his children very much, unless they can be useful to him somehow. Gavroche doesn't have much to do with his father, since he basically is on his own, running around with Les Amis de l'ABC. Éponine, on the other hand, still hangs around him, for reasons of her own. Does she like being around him and being at his beck and call? No, decidedly not. Thénardier has no affection for Éponine, choosing instead to use her as something of a watchdog when he's out robbing houses. Most of the time, she stands by, watching for signs of the police, and warning her father and his gang, the Patron-Minette when the police do show up. But other than that, Éponine isn't much use to the older man.

I don't think she hangs around him because she wants to or because she expects to benefit from it. It's just that it's all she's known since she was younger, and habits are hard to break. It's what's familiar to her, but I think she's strong-willed enough that if she had ever wanted to break free of the family, she would have. It certainly wouldn't have fazed her parents very much if she had.

Also, just as a side note, Éponine may be a girl, and she may not be the healthiest person alive, but that's no reason to underestimate her. As someone who's lived most of her life on the streets, she's no stranger to having to defend herself, and I'm pretty sure that growing up with parents like the ones that she had taught her a few lessons such as how to steal a wallet or food, if needed. She's resourceful in a pinch, and knows her way around the streets, so if anyone were to need someone street-smart and tough as well, Éponine would be a good choice, though it would be in their best interest to keep a sharp eye on their belongings.

Now, concerning the knowledge that she will have entered into a limbo of sorts, in between life, dreaming, and death, I think she'll take that in stride. She'll know that she's died, and while she might be a bit iffy on the concept of heaven, I think she'll be quick to embrace life on the turtle. After all, how bad can any place be, in which she's given her own room, and a decent one, at that? No, I think that life in Tu Shanshu will be a welcome change for Éponine, because she won't have to worry about the likes of her father, and she can basically make her own decisions without having to factor him or anyone else that she doesn't want to into the equation.

Appearance:

Éponine's dress, Éponine's disguise 1, and Éponine's disguise 2.

Abilities:

Éponine is about as normal as you come. She has no supernatural abilities nor superhuman strength or anything that would set her apart from the people of her time. But, with that being said, if we're talking more normal, standard abilities, she knows her way around the streets back home, which might translate over to other locations as well. With a bit of time and close examination, it probably wouldn’t take too long for her to figure out where to go and how to get there while avoiding any unnecessary trouble.

She's also not much of a skilled orator, because there hasn't really been a need for such things, but she could probably talk her way out of a tense situation, or at least slip away quickly enough to shake off anyone who was chasing her.

She is also more intelligent and resourceful than most people would think from looking at her, and she even knows how to read and write to a certain extent, although she hasn't had much use for those skills.

As for languages, she can speak French, but she also knows what Hugo refers to as argot, which is a secret language commonly used by thieves and other criminals, usually as a way of keeping other people from deciphering their conversations. It's not much of an accomplishment, but for someone like Éponine, it probably came in handy at least once in her life.

Inventory:
• A plain blouse with a tear through it that is stained with blood
• Torn trousers made from a tan-colored material
• A belt
• A brown/tan trenchcoat
• A scarf, also bloodstained
• A brown hat

Suite: Wood Sector, WO-3C, mainly because Éponine is no stranger to being poor, and I'd also like to keep her close to her castmates, if possible.

In-Character Samples:

Third Person:

Éponine tried her hardest to identify a word, just one single word, that would describe this place. Keeliai, they had said the city was called. They being those odd-looking individuals who accompanied her on the uncomfortably long cart ride. It would have been uncomfortable anyway, as it seemed the road was covered with an uncountable number of bumps and holes.

But for every jarring motion, there had been a dull twinge of pain in Éponine's chest. It was not unbearable, and she could breathe again, at least, but the sensitivity and the tightness still remained.

She guessed it was to be expected. That bullet that she had taken had cruelly pierced her hand before continuing along its deadly path, and one did not recover from such wounds so quickly, if they did so at all.

"Curious," she said aloud. Yes, that was it. This place was curious. It was neither heaven nor hell, but some sort of in-between spot. But if anyone were to ask for Éponine's opinion, she would say that it was a fine enough place, for all its curiousness.

The coin she had been handed had been cause enough to smile, and so had the news that she would have a room of her own while she was here. And what a room it was. Éponine had never seen one like it before in her life, and she was so excited that it was all she could do to not spin around in a circle, taking in everything that could be seen, and laughing at the fineness of it all.

The feeling of giddiness that overtook her was curious too, but she did not question it too much. Here, she had money that no one could take from her and a fine room. What more did she need? What more could she ever ask for?

She clutched the money tightly in her hands, continuing to glance around her, eyes widened with wonder. "Oh! How lucky I am to be here!"

For now, she would enjoy herself and be glad, for so long as she was allowed. After all, such things did not happen every day.

Network:

[A young woman with tangled brown hair coming down past her shoulders may be seen peering inquisitively at the strange box. It is not something she has seen before, and so she is groping rather blindly at it with one hand. Her brow furrows in mild consternation as she realizes something is happening.

A few brief moments pass before she realizes she is now being recorded. So strange, really. She tilts her head to one side, still looking at the odd box, before taking a seat in front of it.]

How curious this is!

[She exclaims, seeming to ignore what is unmistakably blood on the front of her shirt and staining the scarf tied around her neck. A smile comes to her face and she claps her hands together once. Everything about this place is new and exciting, and Éponine is eating it all up with eagerness.]

Oh? What's this?

[Éponine has finally noticed the state of the clothes she is wearing. How strange this must appear to those who may be watching. She looks quizzically back at the camera.]

I had forgotten about that. But don't you fret, it is something easily fixed, I'm sure!

[She says, speaking mostly to herself. Perhaps the coin she was given can be used on new clothes, if she can find a suitable merchant or tailor.]