Les Misérables Marriage Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Part.Book.Chapter.Line)

Quote #4

"And so you want to get married – at the age of twenty-one. You've arranged it all except for one trifling formality – my consent. (4.8.7.58)

Marius loves Cosette and Cosette loves Marius. Happily ever after, right? The only problem is that in the world of nineteenth-century France, this isn't enough. Marius also needs the consent of his grandfather for the marriage to go forward properly. And after years of estrangement, his grandfather isn't really in the mood to pat him benignly on the head. (To be fair, a lot of parents these days might suggest you wait a few more years after achieving legal drinking age.)

Quote #5

"I beg of you, I beseech you in Heaven's name on my bended knees, to allow me to marry her!" (4.8.7.80)

Marius has his pride, but he want Cosette even more. He'll even get down on his hands and knees and beg his grandfather, a man who has manipulated him his whole life and who robbed Marius of a chance to know his father. Problem is, he has to learn to stand up for Cosette, not kneel.

Quote #6

"Two hundred pistols. Have your fun, and what could be better? That's how it should be. You don't marry, but that needn't stop you – you understand? (4.8.7.95)

When things warm up between Monsieur Gillenormand and Marius, Gillenormand suggests that Marius should take this Cosette girl as a mistress and not throw his life away by marrying her. Gee, Grandpa. That's someone's little girl—and it's exactly the kind of thinking that destroyed Fantine's life.