I didn't read the original, unabridged version but had read the simplified version, it is said that Marius was completely aware of Thenadier enough "to send you the galleys". I did not quite understand this part at all, could someone enlighten me on this particular part.
shareMarius' father used to serve in the army as a Colonel and married Marius' mother, against the wishes of her father. The Father-in-law estranges the Colonel due to him being poor (after the death of Marius' mother) and prevents him from seeing his son, while telling Marius lies about him, specifically, that he's a dishonorable man, which Marius believes, being young and impressionable. The father is unable to do anything, being destitute and under threat that his son would be abandoned by his grandpa, who is the only one who can take care of him financially.
Marius' dad adores him and watches him from afar in Church, which fact is observed by a man of the cloth who becomes his friend and learns the story. A few years later, Marius' father dies and Marius gets told the truth by the father's friend about how his father was actually a noble person who loved him very much. Marius reads a letter his dying father wrote him, in which he says that he owes his life to Thenadier, who saved him when he was wounded in battle.
Marius then bitterly realizes he was robbed of the love and companionship of his father by his grandfather, at which point he breaks things off with the old man and leaves the house (that he'd been living in and provided for). He then tries to find Thenadier to somehow repay him for the helping his father. He only finds Thenadier at a later point in the story, when he has fallen in love with Cosette (who was terribly abused by Thenadier and his wife, until Jean Valjean rescues her years earlier) and temporarily loses track of her.
But then she and her "father" Jean Valjean unexpectedly show up at Thenadier's place (without knowing who he is) to help his family with money and clothes. Cosette and JV don't recognize Thenadier or his family, but Thenadier realizes who they are. Marius happens to be neighbors with Thenadier at that point without knowing who he is and witnesses the whole scene above through a hole in the wall, as well as the ensuing scene, where Thenadier tells his wife that he'll hurt JV (who promised to come back later with more stuff & money the family needs) when he shows up again for more money.
At the same time, Marius also comes to learn Thenadier's identity. So he is very conflicted because he owes Thenadier and has finally found him, only to realize the man's a villain and a scoundrel, who wants to hurt the father of the woman he loves. A bunch of things happen and the attempt at hurting JV gets foiled. Towards the end, Marius meets Thenadir again, who has come to warn him that he's got a murderer in his house (and get paid for the info). Thenadier refers to JV, whom he saw in the sewers earlier carrying what seemed like a dead man, who is actually Marius being rescued. Marius then realizes it was JV who'd saved him by carrying him through the sewers (which man he'd been looking for since then to thank) and so, gives Thenadir money to leave for America while admonishing him with the words in your post.
Long post, but hope that clears it up. Amazing novel, though I could've done without all the extra fluff in there that easily added up to around 300 pages or more.
Ugh. The original novel is TERRIBLE. This is what happens when novels are serialized for publication. The author goes on and on and on and becomes utterly undisciplined.
I cannot recommend reading an abridged version enough. Otherwise, 1/3 of what you read, in what is already a VERY long novel, is USELESS filler about religion, Waterloo, slang (?!!?!), politics, sewers (??????!?), and so on.
Better yet, just watch the movie. I will never read Victor Hugo again. Don’t know if I’m missing anything, but after Les Miserables the novel, I don’t care.
You aren't wrong, the novel was both great and tedious. The story itself is very well told with amazing characterization and insights - it keeps you hooked all the way to the end. But yes, like you say, there's literally hundreds of pages of historical facts that serves as the background info for various aspects of the novel that are very hard to read, due to being dry and honestly, boring.
Those parts are no doubt interesting for students of history, but I think it takes away from the quality of the reading experience. I don't think movies can do justice to novels most times, although they do add their own strengths if adapted properly.
I've read a few more of Hugo's works - The man who laughs, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Ninety three. They all suffer from the same fate - the story and characters are awesome, but just when it gets to an interesting point, Hugo stops narrating the story and goes into 80 pages about the building of the cathedral and the conditions of the workers back in those days and so on, in so much detail that it's mind numbing. I can't see a novel like LM being published today without the editor just lopping off all the fluff before publication.