Cosette

Cosette is a fictional character in the novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and in the many adaptations of the story for stage, film, and television. Her given name, Euphrasie, is only mentioned briefly. As the orphaned child of an unwed mother deserted by her father, Hugo never labels her with a surname. In the course of the novel, she either presents herself or is mistakenly identified asUrsule, the Lark, or Mademoiselle Lanoire. She is the daughter of Fantine. After her mother leaves her to be looked after by the Thenardiers, she becomes an exploited and victimised child. Rescued by Jean Valjean, who raises her as if she were his own family, she grows up in a convent school to become a radiant and innocent young beauty. She falls in love with Marius Pontmercy, a young lawyer. Valjean's struggle to protect her while disguising his past drives much of the plot until Valjean recognizes he must allow Cosette her own life-"that this child had a right to know life before renouncing it" and must surrender to her romantic attachment to Marius."