The Man Who Laughs

A 1869 Victor Hugo novel.

The eponymous protagonist, Gwynplaine, bears a face disfigured by torture into a permanent smile. As a child, it was done to him in order to punish him for his nobleman father's offense to the king. One night, after being abandoned in the snow, Gwynplaine wanders aimlessly, seeking shelter. He comes across the corpse of a woman who had frozen to death underneath a dead man hanging from a gibbet. In her arms, he finds a still living, blind baby girl. Eventually, Gwynplaine comes to the home of the charlatan Ursus and his wolf companion Homo. Ursus has pity upon the two orphan children and takes them in.

Several years later, we see that the group have been making a living traveling from place to place performing plays which all showcase Gwynplaine revealing his disfigured, smiling face to the crowd. The blind child has also survived, growing up to be the virtuous, graceful beauty known as Dea. Dea is in love with Gwynplaine who, though he reciprocates, feels unworthy of her because of his disfigurement.

Upon doing a show at a village fair, Gwynplaine attracts the attention of the bored, sexy duchess Josiana. He soon gains even more attention from the Queen Anne as it is found out that Gwynplaine is the son and heir to Lord Linnaeus Clancharlie's position and estate.

The original novel follows a path similar to many of Hugo's other novels, ending in a depressing Downer Ending. Though not the author's most well-known work, there have been several film versions of the story (only one of which is in sound). The most well-known and best remembered adaptation is the heart-wrenchingly beautiful 1928 movie. It featured Conrad Veidt as the main character, whose freakish grin and clown-like appearance was the primary inspiration for The Joker, which came full circle in 2005 with Batman: The Man Who Laughs, the sequel to Batman: Year One.


 * Aristocrats Are Evil: And how.
 * Betty and Veronica: Saintly Dea who loves Gwynplaine in spite of his deformity, or glamorous Josiana who wants him because of his deformity?
 * Blind and the Beast
 * Break the Cutie: Dea and Gwynplaine's idealism.
 * The Cutie: The helpless and innocent Dea.
 * Disabled Love Interest: Dea
 * Downer Ending: . . This is not the case, however, in the movie, which has a much more upbeat ending.
 * Freaky Is Cool: Gwynplaine is understandably unhappy with his freakish appearance, but Dea loves that no matter how bad things are, he is always smiling when she "sees" his face.
 * Also, Josiana thinks he's sexy.
 * Glasgow Grin: Gwynplaine's smile likely applies.
 * The Grotesque: Gwynplaine, obviously.
 * Happily Ever Before: Invoked in the movie.
 * Have a Gay Old Time: Meet my wolf, Homo.
 * : Implied at the end of the book.
 * Meaningful Name: "Dea" (Goddess), "Ursus" (Bear), "Homo" (Stop snickering, it means Human).
 * Also a Punny Name with Homo (who's a wolf): "Man is a wolf to man".
 * Non-Human Sidekick: Homo the wolf.
 * Slasher Smile: Although Gwynplaine's not a bad guy, he sports a permanent one.
 * Snicket Warning Label: If you want a happy ending, just stop reading when Dea proclaims her love to Gwynplaine. Trust me.
 * In fact, that's where the movie ends.
 * Star-Crossed Lovers: Dea and Gwynplaine. At least in the novel...
 * Team Dad: Ursus.