第二十九章 第二章 四对四人组
这些巴黎青年中，一位来自图卢兹，一位来自利摩日，第三位来自卡奥尔，第四位来自蒙托邦；但他们是大学生，而说到大学生，便意味着巴黎人：在巴黎求学就是成为巴黎人。
这些年轻人毫不起眼，人人都见过这样的面孔：四个随意挑选的人，不好不坏，不智不愚，非天才亦非蠢材；相貌俊朗，带着二十岁那迷人的四月年华。他们是四个奥斯卡——因为在那个年代，亚瑟们尚未出现。"为他燃起阿拉伯的香料吧！"传奇故事这样感叹，"奥斯卡前来，我将见到他！"人们刚从奥西恩的传说中走出，优雅是斯堪的纳维亚和苏格兰式的；纯粹的英国风尚要到后来才盛行，而第一位亚瑟——威灵顿，刚刚赢得滑铁卢战役。
这四位奥斯卡的名字分别是：图卢兹的费利克斯·托洛米埃，卡奥尔的里斯托利埃，利摩日的法梅伊，蒙托邦的布拉什维尔。自然，每人都有自己的情妇。布拉什维尔钟情于"宠儿"——她因去过英国而得此绰号；里斯托利埃崇拜"大丽花"，她以花名为化名；法梅伊迷恋"泽菲娜"，那是约瑟芬的简称；托洛米埃拥有"金发芳汀"，因她美丽的金色秀发而得名。
宠儿、大丽花、泽菲娜和芳汀是四位迷人的年轻女子，芬芳四溢，光彩照人，还略带女工的气息，尚未完全摆脱她们的针线活；虽为情事所扰，但脸上仍存着劳作时的宁静，灵魂中保留着那种——在女子初坠红尘后依然存续的——纯真之花。四人中有一位被称为"小妹"，因为她最年幼；另一位被称为"大姐"，大姐二十三岁。毫不掩饰地说，前三位比金发芳汀更老练、更轻率、更放纵于生活的喧嚣，而芳汀仍沉浸在她最初的幻梦中。
大丽花、泽菲娜，尤其是宠儿，却说不出这般话。她们的浪漫故事虽然才刚刚开始，却已有了不止一段插曲：第一章中名叫阿道夫的情人，到第二章变成了阿尔封斯，第三章又成了居斯塔夫。贫穷与卖俏是两个致命的劝诱者：一个责备，一个奉承；平民百姓的美丽女儿们，耳朵两侧低语不绝。这些缺乏守护的灵魂侧耳倾听，于是有了她们所犯的失足，以及投掷向她们的飞石。她们被那无瑕而不可企及的光芒压得喘不过气。唉！倘若少女也会饥饿呢？
宠儿去过英国，因此受大丽花和泽菲娜钦佩。她很小就有了自己的住处。她的父亲是一位年迈的未婚数学教授，粗鲁而自吹自擂，虽上年纪仍出门授课。这位教授年轻时，一天看见女佣的裙子钩在炉栏上，便因此事故坠入情网。宠儿便是这桩情事的产物。她偶尔遇见父亲，父亲会向她点头致意。一天早上，一位貌似虔诚的老妇走进她的房间说："您不认识我，小姐？""不认识。""我是您的母亲。"随即，老妇打开食橱，又吃又喝，叫人搬来自己的床垫，便住了下来。这位脾气乖戾而信神的老母亲从不与宠儿说话，几小时一言不发，早餐、午餐、晚餐都吃四人份，还下楼到门房那里闲聊，说她女儿的坏话。
大丽花之所以投向里斯托利埃——或许还有别人——和慵懒，正是因为她那过于粉嫩的指甲。这样的指甲如何能做活儿？想要保持贞洁的女子，不能怜惜自己的双手。至于泽菲娜，她用那种调皮而娇嗔的"是的，先生"征服了法梅伊。
青年们是伙伴，姑娘们是朋友。这样的爱情常伴随着这样的友谊。
善良与哲学是两回事：证据在于，尽管对这些不规则的男女同居有所谅解，宠儿、泽菲娜和大丽花仍是哲学性的年轻女子，而芳汀则是个善良的姑娘。
善良！有人会惊呼：那托洛米埃呢？所罗门会回答：爱是智慧的一部分。我们只说：芳汀的爱是第一回的爱、唯一的爱、忠贞的爱。
在四人中，只有她不曾被任何人以"你"称呼。
芳汀是那种——可以说——从民众的底层绽放出来的人。尽管她出身于社会阴影最深不可测的深渊，她额头上却带着无名与未知的印记。她生于滨海蒙特勒伊。父母是谁？谁能知道？她从未见过父亲或母亲。她叫芳汀。为什么叫芳汀？她从未有过其他名字。她出生时，督政府尚存。她没有姓氏，没有家庭，没有洗礼名——教会已不复存在。她这个名字，是某个偶然路过的人给她的，那人遇见她时，她还是个光着脚在街上跑的小女孩。她接受这个名字，就像下雨时接受云水洒在额头上一样。她被称为小芳汀。没有人知道更多了。这个人类生灵就是这样进入了生活。十岁时，芳汀离开小城，去附近农家帮佣。十五岁，她来到巴黎"寻前程"。芳汀很美，她尽可能保持纯洁。她是个可爱的金发姑娘，牙齿整齐。她的嫁妆是金子和珍珠，但金子在头上，珍珠在口中。
她为生计工作；后来，仍然为了生存——因为心也有它的饥渴——她恋爱了。
她爱托洛米埃。
他是一时逢场作戏，她是一往情深。拉丁区的小巷，挤满了大学生和女工的身影，见证了他们梦想的开端。在先贤祠山丘的迷宫里——那里有无数萍水相逢的情缘——芳汀曾久久避开托洛米埃，却总又与他相遇。有一种躲避的方式，恰似寻觅。总之，田园牧歌上演了。
布拉什维尔、里斯托利埃和法梅伊组成了一群，托洛米埃是首领。他最有才华。
托洛米埃是个古老而放荡的学生；他富有，有四千法郎的年收入！四千法郎！在圣日内维埃芙山上这是件了不起的丑闻。托洛米埃是个三十岁的浪荡子，保养不善。他满脸皱纹，牙齿脱落，前额已开始谢顶，他悲哀地自嘲："三十岁秃头，四十岁膝盖不济。"他消化欠佳，一只眼睛还害着多泪的毛病。但随着青春消逝，他却愈发快活起来；他用插科打诨替代牙齿，用欢笑替代头发，用嘲讽替代健康，他那流泪的眼睛总是笑个不停。他虽破败，却仍在开花。他的青春早在时限之前就打点行装，撤退时秩序井然，爆发出笑声，人们只看到火光。他在歌舞剧剧院遭过一次退稿。偶尔还写几句诗。此外，他对一切都怀疑到极致——这在弱者眼中是一种巨大的力量。如此尖刻而秃顶，他成了领袖。"Iron"（铁）是个英文词。难道"irony"（讽刺）就从它而来？
一天，托洛米埃将另外三人拉到一旁，用预言家般的姿态说：
"芳汀、大丽花、泽菲娜和宠儿缠了我们将近一年，要我们给她们一个惊喜。我们郑重地答应过她们。她们一直唠叨这事，特别对我唠叨，就像那不勒斯的老妇们对圣雅努阿里乌斯哭喊：'黄脸圣人，显显奇迹吧！'我们的美人们也不断对我说：'托洛米埃，你什么时候给我们惊喜？'与此同时，家里又不断来信。两边都有压力。我觉得时候到了，我们来讨论一下吧。"
于是，托洛米埃压低声音，说了些极为风趣的事，四张嘴同时咧开，爆出狂喜的笑容，布拉什维尔喊道："这主意太妙了！"
一间烟雾缭绕的酒吧出现了；他们走了进去，接下来的密谈便消隐在昏暗之中。
这昏暗的结果，是下一个星期天举行了一场令人眼花缭乱的欢乐聚会——四位青年邀请了四位姑娘。
These Parisians came, one from Toulouse, another from Limoges, the
third from Cahors, and the fourth from Montauban; but they were
students; and when one says student, one says Parisian: to study in
Paris is to be born in Paris.
These young men were insignificant; every one has seen such faces; four
specimens of humanity taken at random; neither good nor bad, neither
wise nor ignorant, neither geniuses nor fools; handsome, with that
charming April which is called twenty years. They were four Oscars;
for, at that epoch, Arthurs did not yet exist. _Burn for him the
perfumes of Araby!_ exclaimed romance. _Oscar advances. Oscar, I shall
behold him!_ People had just emerged from Ossian; elegance was
Scandinavian and Caledonian; the pure English style was only to prevail
later, and the first of the Arthurs, Wellington, had but just won the
battle of Waterloo.
These Oscars bore the names, one of Félix Tholomyès, of Toulouse; the
second, Listolier, of Cahors; the next, Fameuil, of Limoges; the last,
Blachevelle, of Montauban. Naturally, each of them had his mistress.
Blachevelle loved Favourite, so named because she had been in England;
Listolier adored Dahlia, who had taken for her nickname the name of a
flower; Fameuil idolized Zéphine, an abridgment of Joséphine; Tholomyès
had Fantine, called the Blonde, because of her beautiful, sunny hair.
Favourite, Dahlia, Zéphine, and Fantine were four ravishing young
women, perfumed and radiant, still a little like working-women, and not
yet entirely divorced from their needles; somewhat disturbed by
intrigues, but still retaining on their faces something of the serenity
of toil, and in their souls that flower of honesty which survives the
first fall in woman. One of the four was called the young, because she
was the youngest of them, and one was called the old; the old one was
twenty-three. Not to conceal anything, the three first were more
experienced, more heedless, and more emancipated into the tumult of
life than Fantine the Blonde, who was still in her first illusions.
Dahlia, Zéphine, and especially Favourite, could not have said as much.
There had already been more than one episode in their romance, though
hardly begun; and the lover who had borne the name of Adolph in the
first chapter had turned out to be Alphonse in the second, and Gustave
in the third. Poverty and coquetry are two fatal counsellors; one
scolds and the other flatters, and the beautiful daughters of the
people have both of them whispering in their ear, each on its own side.
These badly guarded souls listen. Hence the falls which they
accomplish, and the stones which are thrown at them. They are
overwhelmed with splendor of all that is immaculate and inaccessible.
Alas! what if the Jungfrau were hungry?
Favourite having been in England, was admired by Dahlia and Zéphine.
She had had an establishment of her own very early in life. Her father
was an old unmarried professor of mathematics, a brutal man and a
braggart, who went out to give lessons in spite of his age. This
professor, when he was a young man, had one day seen a chambermaid’s
gown catch on a fender; he had fallen in love in consequence of this
accident. The result had been Favourite. She met her father from time
to time, and he bowed to her. One morning an old woman with the air of
a devotee, had entered her apartments, and had said to her, “You do not
know me, Mamemoiselle?” “No.” “I am your mother.” Then the old woman
opened the sideboard, and ate and drank, had a mattress which she owned
brought in, and installed herself. This cross and pious old mother
never spoke to Favourite, remained hours without uttering a word,
breakfasted, dined, and supped for four, and went down to the porter’s
quarters for company, where she spoke ill of her daughter.
