Personality: Eponine Thenardier is not an easy girl to describe. Though she's quite young, she's gone through more hardships than most people in their lives should ever have gone through. Though she was raised by a rather aristocratic-for-the-small-town family in Montfermiel, France, very early on in life, she lost everything she'd had, and was forced to leave the comfortable life her family had, in favor of the slums of Paris. It's there that Eponine changed from the spoiled, bratty girl to the damaged, bright young woman that exists today.
Eponine has no sense of morals, understandably, given that she'd been raised at her father's knee, learning to charge the patrons of the inn for absolutely everything. This then translated to proper theft in Paris, when her father fell in with a gang of layabouts, the Patron-Minette. Eponine, as the eldest Thenardier child, came in quite often to do their work, playing distraction, look-out, or even taking part in their schemes. Eponine is fearless, for she's seen the worst of people, and the worst side of life, and knows she can take it. This is something she's quite proud of, and has no qualms about sharing. She's proud, in a strange sort of way, of who she is, just as much as she is ashamed of herself. The shame, however, comes in from comparing herself to the wealthy people around her, and daydreaming about lives she will never have, but could have once belonged to her. Within all of this, she has grown to hate herself, and her lot in life. Shortly before her death, when she was called an angel, she corrected the man, informing him that she was indeed a devil. And she believes it. She sees no reason to live most days, and has even spoken openly about the desire to kill herself. This has turned her into a bold young woman, who will not let anything stand in her way.
She's seen the way the other half lives, and she hates it. She envies them, but somewhere within all of that, she loathes these people for having what she can't have. Not because she's never had it, but because she once had dolls and kittens and fine woolen petticoats, and now, she remains dressed in threadbare rags with no shoes to call her own. While her parents have made part of their living soliciting wealthy aristocrats for money, Eponine, if left to her own devices, will refuse it. She'd rather steal then have someone give something to her, because it implies that she needs help and that only they can help her. Eponine is extremely capable of helping herself. If she was in a bad position that she didn't want to be in, she would leave. She'd fight her way out, tooth and nail, and refuse to play the victim. She's poor, and terrible, but she has some pride left over.
Living in such poor conditions, Eponine spent the majority of her life alone. She had no one to relate to, save her mother and younger sister, and longs for someone she can call a companion. When she finds someone that will speak to her, she'll prattle on for hours and hours, dogging their steps to simply be near them. She creates relationships in her head that aren't truly there, desperate for friendship and companionship. And for those that she gives these roles, she loves dearly. She's a strange woman, with no decent way to express these emotions, and subsequently, comes off as too strong, or even delusional.
She is, of course, delusional in some ways. Living in poverty, Eponine hasn't seen a proper meal since she can remember. The hunger often effects her by giving her hallucinations. In order to starve off the hunger, she turns to drink, which only, in the end, makes everything worse and causes Eponine to be extremely mentally unstable.
Having gone from having so much to having nothing at all, Eponine has turned into a very selfish young woman. If she wants something, she will not let anything stand in her way until she gets it. The reason she went to the barricade, in the first place, after all, was to die alongside the man she loved, believing that if she couldn't have him, no one else will. In order to do this, she hid the letter that his beloved had given to her to give to him, and manipulated him into going to the barricade, too, with suicide in mind. The only reason Eponine even attempted to stop the bullet from killing him was because she didn't want to live in a world without him, and knew he would die shortly after she fell.
And yet, Eponine is friendly, for all her quirks. She likes to speak to people, even if it oversteps boundaries. Having been conversing with men since she was younger, she finds it easiest to flirt with them in order to achieve conversation (or whatever ends it is she wants). She's been around, to put it politely, which, in 19th century France, was rather frowned upon. But she is under no illusion that she's beautiful. She isn't. She's skinny and starved, but, like everything else, Eponine refuses to let that hold her down.
Though much of her personality seems to be contradictory, this in and of itself is very characteristic of Eponine herself. She's hard to predict, and is often subject to the whims of her emotions at any given time. She will scream and yell at you, or sing in the middle of a robbery or in public with no shame at all, but then she'll blush to be seen without a shawl at the same time. It's been hypothesized that, had Eponine been alive in modern times, she would be a strong candidate for borderline personality disorder. Eponine is wild, Eponine is free, and Eponine is as terrible as she is loving. And she will never make any excuses for it.
[FANDOM] ÉPONINE THÉNARDIER || Les Misérables || reserve || 2 of 4
Eponine has no sense of morals, understandably, given that she'd been raised at her father's knee, learning to charge the patrons of the inn for absolutely everything. This then translated to proper theft in Paris, when her father fell in with a gang of layabouts, the Patron-Minette. Eponine, as the eldest Thenardier child, came in quite often to do their work, playing distraction, look-out, or even taking part in their schemes. Eponine is fearless, for she's seen the worst of people, and the worst side of life, and knows she can take it. This is something she's quite proud of, and has no qualms about sharing. She's proud, in a strange sort of way, of who she is, just as much as she is ashamed of herself. The shame, however, comes in from comparing herself to the wealthy people around her, and daydreaming about lives she will never have, but could have once belonged to her. Within all of this, she has grown to hate herself, and her lot in life. Shortly before her death, when she was called an angel, she corrected the man, informing him that she was indeed a devil. And she believes it. She sees no reason to live most days, and has even spoken openly about the desire to kill herself. This has turned her into a bold young woman, who will not let anything stand in her way.
She's seen the way the other half lives, and she hates it. She envies them, but somewhere within all of that, she loathes these people for having what she can't have. Not because she's never had it, but because she once had dolls and kittens and fine woolen petticoats, and now, she remains dressed in threadbare rags with no shoes to call her own. While her parents have made part of their living soliciting wealthy aristocrats for money, Eponine, if left to her own devices, will refuse it. She'd rather steal then have someone give something to her, because it implies that she needs help and that only they can help her. Eponine is extremely capable of helping herself. If she was in a bad position that she didn't want to be in, she would leave. She'd fight her way out, tooth and nail, and refuse to play the victim. She's poor, and terrible, but she has some pride left over.
Living in such poor conditions, Eponine spent the majority of her life alone. She had no one to relate to, save her mother and younger sister, and longs for someone she can call a companion. When she finds someone that will speak to her, she'll prattle on for hours and hours, dogging their steps to simply be near them. She creates relationships in her head that aren't truly there, desperate for friendship and companionship. And for those that she gives these roles, she loves dearly. She's a strange woman, with no decent way to express these emotions, and subsequently, comes off as too strong, or even delusional.
She is, of course, delusional in some ways. Living in poverty, Eponine hasn't seen a proper meal since she can remember. The hunger often effects her by giving her hallucinations. In order to starve off the hunger, she turns to drink, which only, in the end, makes everything worse and causes Eponine to be extremely mentally unstable.
Having gone from having so much to having nothing at all, Eponine has turned into a very selfish young woman. If she wants something, she will not let anything stand in her way until she gets it. The reason she went to the barricade, in the first place, after all, was to die alongside the man she loved, believing that if she couldn't have him, no one else will. In order to do this, she hid the letter that his beloved had given to her to give to him, and manipulated him into going to the barricade, too, with suicide in mind. The only reason Eponine even attempted to stop the bullet from killing him was because she didn't want to live in a world without him, and knew he would die shortly after she fell.
And yet, Eponine is friendly, for all her quirks. She likes to speak to people, even if it oversteps boundaries. Having been conversing with men since she was younger, she finds it easiest to flirt with them in order to achieve conversation (or whatever ends it is she wants). She's been around, to put it politely, which, in 19th century France, was rather frowned upon. But she is under no illusion that she's beautiful. She isn't. She's skinny and starved, but, like everything else, Eponine refuses to let that hold her down.
Though much of her personality seems to be contradictory, this in and of itself is very characteristic of Eponine herself. She's hard to predict, and is often subject to the whims of her emotions at any given time. She will scream and yell at you, or sing in the middle of a robbery or in public with no shame at all, but then she'll blush to be seen without a shawl at the same time. It's been hypothesized that, had Eponine been alive in modern times, she would be a strong candidate for borderline personality disorder. Eponine is wild, Eponine is free, and Eponine is as terrible as she is loving. And she will never make any excuses for it.