Chapter 2:
Enjolras Point of View
Enjolras since he had learned to read always had a book in his hands. He loved to read books about politics, law, and classic literature. Growing up he received a formal education. Enjolras came from a wealthy bourgeois family.
His father was a respectable lawyer how was known for his back room dealing. His father would help other wealthy bourgeois cheat the less fortunate in real estate deals, contracts, and other legal matters. He saw how cruel his father was to the poor people of France. Enjolras remembered a young woman named Fantine coming to him with her daughter Cossette begging to legally force the girls father to pay child support so that Cossette would be able to live a better life. Enjolras remembered the case since he was sitting in his father's office on summer day since his mother was sick. His father laughed in Fantine's face, and had them removed from his office. Enjolras knew that his father could be cruel, but he never thought his father was that inhumane. At the age of ten Enjolras swore that he would fight for the rights of the poor. His mother encouraged him, and wanted him to use his formal education, to help the poor and create a better France.
Enjolras remember how his mother motivated him growing up, and the incident with Fantine and Cossette. Shortly after Enjolras started attending University in Paris, his mother passed away, leaving him to be a cold marble figure of a man. His father never mourned his mother's death, and began fooling around with other women. This did not surprise Enjolras since he had suspected that his father had been cheating on his mother for years. Enjolras never understood why his mother did not leave his father, but Enjolras knew that his mother always had her reasons.
After his mother died, Enjolras received a letter from his mother's lawyer that entitled him to all of his mother's money and property. Money that she kept separate from her husband, that she did not what The letter instructed him to renounce his father, and to use these resources that she left to him to help France, and to fight for the poor. His mother wanted him to start a revolution that would change France.
Enjolras was determined to fight and start a Revolution. He would study for hours, and would plan ways to create a successful revolution. When he started school he and his friends Marius, Bahroel, Bossuet, Combeferre, Courfeyrac, Feuilly, Grantaire, Joly, and Jean (Jehan). Then students became fast friends, and formed a group known as the Les Amis de ABC's, that wanted to fight for the rights of the poor and change France. The men would spend hours trying to raise awareness about the condition of France. They were making some progress, but more people would need to join the Cause in order for it to be a success.
Enjolras was the leader of the Cause, who planned the rallies, and wrote the speeches. Marius would try and recruit people who were Bonapartist, and who came from the upper Bourgeois. Courfeyrac and Jean who were both easily approachable worked with the people from San Michel, especially children; (which is how they meet Gavroche when he used to live in the elephant). Combeferre and Joly would preach about the sickness in the city, and how it was affecting people. Bahroel and Bossuet worked with women who trying to escape life on the streets, by setting up homes for abused women. Feuilly worked with immigrants from other parts of Europe who wanted to create a better Paris. Grantaire, well, lets put it this way he was sarcastic but kept he group entertained by his antics.
While Enjolras' friends would be drinking at the Café Musian, he would still be planning the revolution. Marius is the one who showed them the place. They started going there when he said that his friend, whatever her name is, worked there to support her family. Marius told them about the girl, and what her life was like and how she escaped her parents, and life on the streets. Marius said the girl was like a phoenix that always rose from the ashes. Although whenever they went to the Musian the girl was never there, because her shift was over, sometimes she would work late nights, but it never seemed like she was working when he came. He usually arrived at the Musian much later than the rest of the group; he was always trying to get ahead on his studies, and plotting for the revolution. He supposed that this friend of Marius's working there during the day was the reason why started going there but they stayed for the atmosphere, food, and since Joly's girlfriend Musichetta worked there.
Enjolras thought about this as he saw a figure who wasn't Musichetta behind the counter of Café Musian as he walked in. This girl had long brown wavy hair. She was thin, and tiny. She looked about eighteen or nineteen, but he could not tell since her back was towards him. She was walking away from the counter, when Musichetta walked in. He then realized that the brown haired girl was now talking to Marius. Enjolras realized that he needed to talk to Marius about he money he was supposed to be raising. He started to walk towards the counter where Marius and the girl were talking.
"Mari-" Enjolras started to stay but he became speechless. The girl that Marius was talking to was incredible beautiful. She had large brown eyes that were warm even they felt like they lit his soul on fire. He felt like he had know her forever, even if that was not true. Enjolras went to say something to the girl, such as to ask her name but he couldn't. Enjolras felt his mouth run dry. He had never been one to be at a lost for words. He was supposed to be a law student, and a great public speaker. Now he could not remember what words he needed to ask this girl what her name was?
Enjolras thought of the book Romeo and Juliet he read as a teenager, as he started at the beautiful women in front of him. He knew that his life had changed in that moment. He felt that turned from a man of marble to a man with his soul on fire. Her soul pierced his soul and mind like the daggers that killed Juliet, and the poison that killed Romeo, but Enjolras knew that this girl would not kill physically, but that she would kill the man he was and turn him to a phoenix who could make him rise from the ashes, like Marius said she was. Enjolras did not know this girls name, but he knew it was the girl Éponine that Marius talked about because he now had the urge to rise from the ashes. There was something about this girl that made him feel like a new man with his heart and soul on fire.