A compliment is something like a kiss through a veil

To “pay compliments” to the loved person is the first step on the way to caresses, tentative audacity trying out its wings. A compliment is something like a kiss through a veil. Physical fulfillment makes its presence known, while still remaining hidden. The heart draws back from this fulfillment in order to love more. Marius’s wooing, pervaded as it was with fantasy, was, so to speak, ethereal. The birds when they fly aloft in company with the angels must understand words such as he spoke. Yet there was life in them, manliness, all that was positive in Marius. They were words spoken in the grotto, the foreshadowing of those to be spoken in the alcove, lyrical effusions of mingled prose and poetry, soft flatteries, all love’s most delicate refinements arranged in a scented and subtle bouquet, the ineffable murmur of heart to heart.

by Victor Hugo (26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885)
from Les Miserables, 1862
chapter – Enchantment and Despair
image – stacy michelle

Vocabulary Alert

Words, how I love thee! Let me count the ways! Just look at all those cool words. It’s almost poetry. No wonder – Victor Hugo was a poet.

But, what do those words mean? What do they do?

Is tentative audacity like jumbo shrimp? Is it possible to be hesitant and bold at the same time? Well…. yes. Tentative audacity could describe being careful in a dangerous situation – the jittery joy of a new love “trying out its wings,” or me, putting on a bathing suit for the first time in years. Guerrilla warfare might fit, but I haven’t been there, so that’d be a guess.

Marius’s wooing, pervaded as it was with fantasy, was, so to speak, ethereal.

Here’s another seemingly contradictory pair: pervaded and ethereal. Ethereal is a word for otherworldly mists and mysterious elf queens. Pervaded is more like being soaked to the skin – permeated, solidly saturated. “Permeated” would be hard to miss. “Ethereal” is more like fairy twinkles or ghosts – things seen by believers, out of the corners of their eyes. Apply “pervaded” to the magical realism of new romance, and “ethereal” becomes natural.

“Words spoken in the grotto” is a fun phrase. When’s the last time you hopped on down to the local grotto? I have nooks and knicknacks at my house, but no grottos. I want one. With foreshadowing of nice things to come. Or at least an alcove with nice curtains.

“Lyrical effusions of mingled prose and poetry” made me look twice. “Lyrical” is like song lyrics, with harps and lutes and stuff, before Sid Vicious. But “effusions?” I confess to confusions about “effusions.” Are effusions ephemeral? The sounds seem related. Not so! An effusion is an excess that has to go somewhere. A pleural effusion is excess liquid that accumulates around the lungs that can make breathing difficult. Emotional effusion is about unrestrained flow.

The “ineffable murmur of heart to heart” has a nice rhythm to it. “Ineffable” is another intense term. Ineffable is a word for what can’t be adequately described in words. An “indescribable murmur” wouldn’t have the same rhythmic flow. Say it: ineffable, indescribable, ineffable murmur, indescribable murmur. The “scr” in indescribable has a crisper feel. In the mouth, ineffable has a softer, more self-contained feeling, and, like “murmur,” an even number of beats.

Now, I think I have a pretty good vocabulary, but I absolutely had to look up one word, and I looked up a couple more just for fun. I’m like that. If I didn’t want to stop and look it up, I’d hold onto it, planning to get more information from context. Give me a lot of words like that, and I’ll start glazing over.

Consider that Les Miserables is one of the greatest novels of the 19th century, enjoying popular success when first published, though critics were not so sure. This richness of vocabulary occurs throughout. These are complex words used masterfully, not sprinkled around like salt and pepper, and this is not the sort of writing you could read while multitasking. So… I’ve got to wonder – did more people have big vocabularies then? When people weren’t struggling for survival, were they more dedicated to getting cultured and educated? Or is the key an expectation of having a courtship with, well, life – “The heart draws back from this fulfillment in order to love more.”

Tags: Kissing, Les Miserables, Love
Posted in Victor Hugo

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