The Importance of Setting to Les Miserables

(Question 4)
The setting of the book Les Miserables is absolutely essential to the novel, which takes place in France during the years leading up to the Uprising of 1832. This was a very turbulent and troubled time for the French, especially the French working class, and the plot is made up of characters who each struggle in different ways to survive. France holds huge importance in the book, as it deals with themes of its history, politics and the importance of nationalism to all Frenchmen. As the revoltionary Enjolras says to Marius, "Citizen, my mother is the republic" (Hugo 667).
One of the major themes of the novel is poverty, and the treatment and condition of the poor. Although this is a universal theme, it is especially poignant during the era in which Les Miserables is set because of the political and social atmosphere. The plight of poor Fantine, for instance, is impacted by the time period in many ways. She is a grisette in Paris, abandoned by her lover despite her pregnancy, who must find work. She is forced to leave her daughter Cosette with the Thenardiers so that her reputation will not be sullied, and she can get a job. When it is discovered that she has a child, she is fired and must resort to prostitution to pay her daughter's room and board. In modern times this social stigma regarding unwed mothers does not exist (to the same degree), and the plot simply wouldn't work. There are countless other incidents which require the time period in which the novel is set in order to be plausible.
Paris plays an important role in the novel, and the plot doubtless would not have held the same impact were it set in any other city. The city was undergoing what is referred to in the book as "the process of moulting" (Hugo 640), and this is reflected in the characters in the book - Marius sheds his grandfather's conservative ideals for republican fever, the other members of the Friends of the ABC debate and deliberate the ideas of the time. Paris' cafes/revolutionary-gathering-spots are the scene for the coming revolution, its tangled streets serve to conceal Jean Valjean from Javert, and its bright gardens bear witness to Cosette and Marius' young love. Its varied and diverse population is a key element in the story.
Finally, Les Miserables is a piece of historical fiction which relies heavily on factual events which serve as a base to the story. One of the most important events in the plot is the Student Uprising of 1832, in which Jean Valjean performs his most selfless act- saving the life of a man who will take his daughter away from him- which simply could not have occured in any other time or place. The plot could not function without the extensive history of France which is intrinsically linked to each of the characters.
Though the themes of this novel are universal, the setting plays an extremely important role, and it would not hold the same historical and social importance, nor the same emotional appeal, if the setting was altered.