In the creative career of the romantic writer Hugo, there is such a special work, it is "The Smiley Man".
It does not have the grandeur of "Les Misérables", does not have the tragic atmosphere of "Notre Dame de Paris", and is once unacceptable to readers because the plot is too grotesque.
However, for more than 200 years, as "The Smiley Man" slowly approached the public, people realized that the book was underestimated.
He seems to be telling the absurd story of the lord's son turning into a smiling weirdo, but he pours out the darkness of human nature and the sadness of the world.
A "Smiley Man", written about the hidden evil of human nature a hundred years ago.
Don't bet on providence, don't guess people's hearts.
Because Hugo has long said:
"It is the human heart that releases infinite light, and it is also the human heart that creates boundless darkness."
No matter how ruthless the wolf is, no matter how venomous the snake is, it is not as dangerous as the evil people
The protagonist, Gwynplain, is the son of a lord and comes from a noble background.
However, since the Lord offended King James II, the family was forced into exile.
Life in a foreign land was hard, and Gwenplan's father could not stand the blow and unfortunately passed away.
The narrow-minded king refused to give up and extended his claws to the 2-year-old Gwunplain, selling him secretly to human traffickers for £10.
The child traffickers were cruel and used narcotics to destroy Gwynplain's memories and make him forget who he really was.
He also cut his mouth with a sharp blade, turning him into a deformity with the corners of his mouth split to the base of his ears, always with a face of a wild smile.
They then wandered around with Gwynplain and forced him to sell his skills as a clown to earn himself a lot of money.
When Gwynplain was 10 years old, Queen Anne came to power to crack down on the growing tide of human traffickers.
In order to destroy the evidence of the crime, the black traffickers fled for their lives, deliberately leaving Gwynplain on a deserted island and leaving it to fend for itself.
Poor Gwynplain had to endure the hunger of the broken intestines against the biting cold wind, and trekked through the snow step by step to find a way to survive.
On the extremely difficult way to survive, he also rescued a blind baby girl named Ti from the arms of a scavenger woman who froze to death on the side of the road.
It wasn't until daylight was bright and Gwynplain walked with blood on the soles of his feet that he and the blind girl Ti met a kind man Yusse, and fortunately saved their lives.
Yu Susi is an isolated jianghu artist, accompanied by a lone wolf, and calls the world home.
He was moved by Gwenplan's kindness in saving the baby girl, and was even more shocked by the terrible experience he experienced.
He couldn't help but look at his wolf friend who was dependent on him, and admonished:
"You, don't fall into adulthood."
The world is known as a fierce beast, but everyone knows that no matter how venomous the snake is, no matter how cruel the wolf is, it has never shown its fangs to its companions.
However, some people can do all the bad things in order to satisfy their own selfishness, ignore the judgment of the soul, and destroy their conscience, and take human form, which is a little more despicable than animals and beasts.
Newton lamented:
"I can calculate the orbits of celestial bodies, but I can't calculate the madness of human nature."
In this world, the abyss has a bottom, and the human heart is immeasurable.
Don't have the luxury of insight into people's hearts, a mess under the skin;
Let alone try to pry into human nature, which cannot withstand any gaze and scrutiny.
Source: Panorama Vision
No matter how good the life is, no matter how thick the blessing, the enemy cannot be jealous
Fifteen years passed, and under the care of Yusus, Gwynplain and the blind girl grew up slowly.
Gwynplain is depressed because of his strange appearance, but the blind girl can find his inner beauty through his ugly appearance.
In the middle of the day, Gwynplain falls in love with the innocent blind girl.
At the same time, he also became a well-known jianghu artist with a funny "smiley face".
Even those who have just lost their loved ones, the executioners who have returned from the execution ground, know that it only costs a copper to find happiness in Gwynplain.
However, while he received applause, he was also isolated.
The other jugglers in the bazaar saw him as a thorn in the eye.
Some of them broke into the theater and cursed and cheered;
Some people spread rumors and slandered him as a witch and demanded that the government arrest him;
Some people pointed at Gwynplain, whipped their beautiful children in a huff, and pointed at Sang and scolded:
"It's a shame you don't have his beastly smile!"
Jealousy is a poison, and anyone who tastes it will inevitably make the soul dust and become an abomination.
Even Queen Anne, who stands tall and calls for wind and rain, is no exception.
She reigned for many years, paid little attention to political affairs, and single-mindedly framed her sister Miss Josephanna.
Just because my sister is younger and more beautiful than herself, and she is more likable.
One day, the Queen's men picked up a drifting bottle on the seashore, thus uncovering the mystery of the descendants of Lord Gwynplain.
It turned out that the traffickers who abandoned Gwynplain were on the run when they encountered a storm at sea.
Before dying, their conscience found that in order to atone for their sins, they wrote down the true identity of Gwynplain in a drifting bottle.
When she learned the news, the queen trembled with excitement, and she planned to restore Gwynplain to the title and arrange for the ugly him to marry his sister.
As for whether Gwynplain was up to the job and whether her sister agreed, the Queen didn't care at all.
As long as she can see her sister being ridiculed for marrying a deformed person, she is satisfied.
Source: Panorama Vision
Seeing this, I can't help but think of a quote from Russell:
"Jealousy is probably the most unfortunate of all human natures."
Once people are vinegar, it is easy to turn a blind eye to what they have, even if they sit on mountains and rivers, they cannot feel the slightest happiness.
When man is better than himself, he is jealous; When people have losses, they rejoice.
The terrible behavior of the people in the book because of jealousy of the mad demon is not staged today, a hundred years later.
In reality, there will always be people who are mediocre and ignorant, but regard the excellence and happiness of others as original sin.
Hate you, laugh at you nothing; I think you are poor, I am afraid that you are rich.
Some people envy and worship strangers, but they can't tolerate the sudden improvement of those around them.
The most twisted side of human nature is this.
No matter how true the love is, no matter how much you want, you can't stop people's greed
Miss Joseanna, who is keen on fun, does not know that she has encountered the queen's calculation, and continues to play the world.
In order to pass the emptiness, she deliberately teased Gwynplain and asked him to be her lover.
Although Gwynplain is deeply in love with the blind girl, Miss Duke's confession still makes his blood roll and his imagination fly.
At this time, he was brought into the palace by the queen's men, and learned that he was no longer a contemptuous trickster, but a noble lord.
Gwynplain was almost intoxicated, with the pleasure of raising his eyebrows and sitting on everything.
At this moment, the queen's marriage arrived.
When Miss Duke learned that the deformed man she was playing with had become her future husband, she was so ashamed that she roared and threw Gwynplain out of the room.
Gwynplain turned away disappointed, and was brought into Parliament by the Queen as soon as he left the gate, where he was asked to participate in the discussion of the Queen's husband's proposal to increase the age of £100,000.
Gwynplain was shocked by the extravagant desires of the aristocracy, and he raised his voice against it from the standpoint of ordinary people.
But no one in the room listened, and they just saw Gwynplain as a beam-jumping clown in the juggling class, sending a burst of ridicule and rolling eyes.
The blow of reality made Gwynplain wake up from the fog of desire, and it turned out that even if he changed his appearance, he could not squeeze into the so-called high society.
Source: Panorama Vision
Grief-stricken, he took off his costume and went to find his true relatives, Yusus, and the blind girl.
However, Yusus and the blind girl Ti had already been expelled from the city by the queen's men and disappeared.
After searching for no avail, Gwynplain fell into a deep self-blame.
He could have refused to step into Vanity Fair, but let his desire spread and half pushed and half jumped in.
He mistakenly thought that he could reap love, but as a result, he lost someone who truly loved him and eventually became the plaything of others.
He wanted to wear a noble title and speak up for the toiling masses, but he did not expect to live as a joke in the eyes of others and become a tool for the queen to abuse her sister.
At first, Gwynplain seemed to eat a bite of the golden apple, but just swallowed it, but spit out a mouth full of ash.
In life, we may have had enough to get as Gwynplain did, but still crave more.
With white roses, remember red roses, have money and power, and more importantly, fame and fortune.
The sadness of life often lies in thinking that if you keep your original intention, you can act recklessly in the flower world.
As everyone knows, desire is like a vine, once there is a breeding soil, it will grow wildly; Greed is like a wild horse, once out of the reins, it is difficult to control it in your hands.
There is a good saying:
"Stupid desires will eventually cool down in the wind and frost of life."
Desire is like a charcoal fire, and if it is not cooled, it will burn the mind and breed troubles.
Those who become prisoners of desire have to accept endless increases for a lifetime, and they have to suffer the backlash of fate.
At the end of the story, Gwynplain is finally guided by his wolf friend and is lucky enough to find his family on a boat.
Unfortunately, the blind girl is left with only her last breath.
It turned out that after Gwynplain was taken away by the queen's men, everyone once thought that he had suffered and died.
Ti, who was already weak, could not withstand the blow and could not afford to get sick.
Eventually, Tie fell into Gwynplain's arms, vomiting blood and dying.
Gwenplan, who was full of thoughts, resolutely threw himself into the water and followed his lover.
Left alone, the elderly Yusus cried bitterly against the dark night sky and tumbling waters.
The tragedy of the world came to an end, but the reasons for the tragedy were the tricks of fate, and there was also a human nature that was darker than the night and more complicated than the puzzle behind the deep and peaceful life.
The human heart is unpredictable and human nature is complex.
Human natures such as desire, jealousy, and greed are the original sins that lead to unfair fate.
Psychologist Adler said:
"Maturity is not about understanding things, it's about understanding human nature."
When you've seen the unpredictable, you don't overestimate relationships.
When you see human nature clearly, you will not easily fall and sink.
May you and I wave through the shadows to find the light, see through humanity, and move towards maturity.
Author: South Wind. Source: One book per night (ID: JYXZ89896), there is poetry and self-esteem in the belly, no matter how busy you are, don't forget to recharge yourself, welcome to pay attention to one book per night.