1.2.5-Takethewatch

Quatrevingt-treize, 1.2.5, Vis et vir
Wow, things certainly picked up in this chapter! And for the first time I cared about somebody on this dang ship. The Cannonier (God, I wish Hugo would give these people names) is my new favorite character in this book; that was so brave and excellent. (Even if he didn’t really succeed on his own and would have been squashed without the intervention of the Paysan—who of course is annoyingly stalwart and emotionless about the whole thing.)

But wow, all the contrasts in the description of that fight! It’s “la bataille de la matière et de l’intelligence, le duel de la chose contre l’homme.” And then, later,

Le fragile se colletant avec l’invulnérable. Le belluaire de chair attaquant la bête d’airain. D’un côté une force, de l’autre une âme. The fragile grapling with the invulnerable. The gladiator of flesh attacking the beast of bronze. On one side, force; on the other, a soul.

What a description! It’s gorgeous, and it brings home the bravery of this very breakable man going up against this unfeeling, unbreakable, unpredictable iron monster—later described as an ant taking down a mastadon. (Which is why I prefer the Cannonier to the Paysan. Both of them fought the thing, and really the Paysan was the one who actually took it down.  But the Cannonier was more human about the whole thing; he’s dripping with sweat at the end of it.  The Paysan is unmoved as one more iron machine.)

Let’s not forget to talk about the title, too! Vir (according to my extensive research i.e. 30 seconds with an online dictionary) is Latin for man (/also can be used for hero), and Vis can be translated as “violence,” “force,” or “might.” (A great title regardless of the translation you pick!) But vis is also a French word meaning “screw”—and in fact this word is used a few times in the chapter, talking about the screw that the chain of the canon gets caught on. It’s more of a coincidence than an actual pun, but I thought it was fun nonetheless.

Commentary
Shirley-keeldar I, too, got super invested in the gunner in a hurry.

''But the Cannonier was more human about the whole thing; he’s dripping with sweat at the end of it. The Paysan is unmoved as one more iron ''machine.

OH, this is really good, that’s the quantification of my reaction I was looking for!!

Takethewatch (reply to Shirley-keeldar)I thought I saw a kindred spirit when I read your post! I too was extremely invested in the fight—until the moment the Paysan stepped in, and then I lost interest in it entirely.

I didn’t say anything about this in my post but I also loved the bit you mentioned where the Captain and the First Mate talk about God—“Do you believe in God?” “Yes—No—Sometimes.” It was the first moment I actually liked either of them.

Pilferingapples It’s Hugo, it’s NEVER a coincidence when there’s a chance for it to be a pun. :P Thank you so much for the extra translation notation!