Cosette Fauchelevent (1815-) was the illegitimate daughter of Fantine Thibault and Felix Tholomyes, the adoptive daughter of Jean Valjean, and the wife of Marius Pontmercy.
Biography[]
Cosette with the Thenardiers, 1823
Cosette Fauchelevent was born in Paris, France in 1815, the illegitimate daughter of the student Felix Tholomyes and his one-time lover Fantine Thibault. Her single mother arranged for the Montfermeil innkeeper Alain Thenardier and his wife Helene Thenardier to care for Cosette in exchange for sending them money to take care of her, while Fantine herself returned to her hometown of Montreuil-sur-Mer to work at a garment factory. Cosette was abused by the Thenardiers, who spoiled their daughters Eponine and Azelma while forcing Cosette to carry out menial tasks such as sweeping the floors of their inn and gathering water from the well in the woods.
On 24 December 1823, the 8-year-old Cosette was approached by Jean Valjean as she gathered water in the woods, and Valjean - shocked at the sight of a young girl being left alone in the cold - escorted her back to the inn, where he found out that she was Fantine's daughter. Valjean showed the Thenardiers that Fantine had requested that he retrieve her daughter and raise her, and, while the Thenardiers protested the loss of their cheap labor by feigning affection for Cosette, Valjean paid them 1,500 francs to part ways with Cosette.
Valjean took a liking to the young and innocent Cosette, caring for her as if she was his own daughter. As Valjean was a fugitive on the run from police inspector Etienne Javert, Valjean raised Cosette at a convent in Paris until 1828, when the groundskeeper Fauchelevent - who had given them sanctuary - died. Valjean then purchased three houses in Paris and gave Cosette a luxurious upbringing, becoming locally known as the philanthropist "Ultime Fauchelevent". By 1832, the 17-year-old Cosette wished to have a life of her own, and she fell in love with the revolutionary student Marius Pontmercy at first sight, later meeting him in the garden of her home before her cautious father called her inside and warned her about talking to strangers. That same evening, after the Patron-Minette gang's robbery of the home was foiled by the scream of their member Eponine, Valjean mistook the scream as a sign that Javert was near, and he made plans for himself and Cosette to leave Paris for England. However, a day later, the June Rebellion broke out, and, when Valjean was handed a love letter from Marius to Cosette by Marius' fellow revolutionary Gavroche, Valjean decided to stay in Paris and protect Marius from harm. While Cosette remained at home, Valjean saved Marius' life and brought him home to his family, and, over the next six months, Marius recuperated from his wounds, with Cosette visiting him to comfort him.
In early 1833, Marius asked for Valjean's permission to marry Cosette, and, while Valjean agreed, he privately told Marius that he could not attend the wedding and would instead be going away, as he did not wish for Cosette to discover his criminal past. Marius and Cosette married on 16 February 1833, and, that evening, they found that Valjean had gone to the convent, where he was succumbing to his old age. There, a despondent Cosette asked Valjean why he had gone away, and Valjean apologized and, in his last breaths, gave his written last confession to Cosette, explaining their past. He then died as Cosette and Marius knelt by his side, and Cosette and Marius had Valjean buried in an unmarked grave as per his last request.