Les Misérables: Essential Edition

Fantine returned to Montreuil-sur-mer. No one recognized her. Fortunately, she thought, since she had left the place when she was almost a child, and was now a woman. The town had grown during the fifteen years she had been away; Monsieur Madeleine had extended his factories, the population had nearly doubled, new streets had been laid out. Fantine had suffered too much to preserve any vanity; she put on her simple gray dress and wooden shoes, and sought employment. But everywhere she went, doors closed to her. The foreman at Madeleine's factory looked at her papers. 'You have a child?' he asked. When she admitted it, shame coloring her face, he shook his head. 'We do not employ women with children born out of wedlock. It sets a bad example for our other workers.' Fantine felt the world crumble beneath her feet. She had hoped that by returning to her birthplace, she might find some mercy, some understanding. Instead, she found only judgment. Day after day, she walked the streets, her small savings dwindling, her hope fading. The letters from the Thénardiers grew more demanding - Cosette needed medicine, warmer clothes, better food. Each request came with a higher price.