on the whole, I think the translations/adaptations of the Big Ballads in Les Mis are really strong, or at least understandable, but I will say that revisiting French On My Own/Mon Histoire– it does a much better job of conveying that Eponine…. isn’t really talking about Marius, and knows it
To explain… If anyone hasn’t heard it, it’s here (with lyrics).
I think it’s great throughout, but the key difference is really the setup:
Mon histoire C’est un rêve qui commence
Dans les pages
D’un conte de mon enfance
Les yeux fermés
Mon prince enfin m’enlace…
(my story is a dream that begins in the pages of a tale from my childhood eyes closed, my prince finally takes me in his arms…)
Having these as the opening lines makes it so much clearer that it’s not really Marius she’s fantasizing about, as such. Obviously “On My Own” never says his name, but there’s no other person or idea introduced for us to associate the song’s “him” with. But by introducing the idea of the prince, that’s what the rest of the fantasy gets linked to– that becomes who we picture when she refers to the unnamed “him”– and that makes it clearer that the point is the fantasy, not the man it’s about. The idea of a prince, of someone to hold her and walk with her, a role that even she recognizes she has assigned to Marius only because he’s the person she’s got to hand.
….Okay, most of the choices look good, but I am not entirely comfortable that the most morally reprehensible character in the novel (Thenardier) will be played by a Muslim man.
Everyone in fandom knows the story of Jean Valjean, and the story of his lengthy incarceration for a minor crime and his life-changing meeting with a bishop after his release has been hugely important for us. This holiday season, keep a poor person charged with a misdemeanor out of jail, and contribute to changing a society that ostracizes prisoners by lending a helping hand,
The Bronx Freedom Fund posts bail for poor New Yorkers who are charged with misdemeanors (minor crimes), helping avoid the situation where they plead guilty simply because they are stuck in jail. Even if a person is later found innocent, time in jail can be a terrible setback in their life.
I propose that this holiday season, we in the Les Miserables fan community contribute to this fund (and other community bail funds) to put the message of this story we all love into action by not turning away from some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
I also would like to organize a fandom auction to benefit this fund, with fanworks on offer for people who donate to the cause. However, even a tiny bit helps, and so I encourage all to give what they can. Please contact me if you’re interested so we can organize the auction, and please, please boost. The tag is “bishopmyrielfundraiser”.
Okay, I’m setting up a sideblog open to submissions so we can do this auction thing! the url is bishopmyrielfundraiser.
