![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
theobverse
“There are men who seem to be born to be the reverse, the obverse, the wrong side. They are Pollux, Patrocles, Nisus, Eudamidas, Ephestion (...) Grantaire was one of these men.”
HeadingGrantaire is a contradiction in terms. Though often morose and cynical, even cruel when voicing his skepticism, he is usually ready with a pun, or a joke at his own expense to lighten his friends' moods. Traditional schooling hasn’t resulted in any passion or enterprise, and he can seem lazy with his love for wine and apathetic attitude. However, he is as well read as any of his friends -- Grantaire is constantly describing life in historical or classical analogy -- and potentially even more culturally well rounded, an expert in the best places to eat, drink, enjoy a show, meet someone attractive or get a bargain.
This is in part because, though Grantaire is cynical about humanity, he loves people. He longs for friendship and companionship and spends very little time alone if he can help it. He adores his friends wholeheartedly, happy simply to watch them, and willing to go to great lengths for those he cares about. He’s also not someone who cuts people out of his life: he believes himself generally deserving of insult and soaks up the companionship of even people who barely tolerate him. He’ll accept negative attention if positive isn’t available: this results in a loud, reckless nature with very few limits. Those who get to know him better may notice his swings into solitude, or his insecurity, but he tends to cover his feelings with a brash front, drinking away his melancholy and proclaiming himself desirable or turning any conversation absurd.
"You don't believe in anything." | "I believe in you".Grantaire doesn't have much inclination toward self-preservation, so his instinct is to do whatever feels good at any particular moment in time. He's impulsive, he has little fear of negative consequences, and even less hope for positive ones. He has no faith that there is such a thing as a pay off for effort. The world has proven itself to be awful, and believing that Justice will eventually prevail or that love conquers all is ridiculous. Why depress yourself by trying to change a world that won't budge, when you could be kissing someone or at least enjoying some absinthe?
The exception to this is his faith in people. Historically, Enjolras; the reason Grantaire becomes a fixture alongside the rest of the Amis is his admiration for Enjolras, who is practically Grantaire’s opposite. He isn’t able to commit to their ideals, but he would do practically anything for Enjolras, who he believes in wholly and is drawn to. This carries over to other people he finds worthy of respect and loves. Grantaire’s tendency to worship those he cares about, even at his own expense, can be a flaw but it also mobilizes him to action.
He's slowly getting to a point where he can see people he loves as humans (and humanity as worthwhile): for better and for worse. And to see himself that way, but that may always be a struggle.
Character Background;Grantaire is (nominally) a student in Paris when his story begins, in 1832. He originates from the south of France, privileged enough that he can afford to be relatively idle, but not old money or nobility.
While in Paris, he befriends the group of student revolutionaries known as Les Amis de l'ABC. He doesn't share their beliefs; 'R', as he self-styles, doesn't think much of mankind, much less the flux of governments, and is generally uninvolved in politics. But he loves the company of the group. He wants to soak in being around them -- even though his attempts to enter conversation are often laughable or irritating. But more than anything else, he's entranced by their leader, Enjolras.
Enjolras is in every conceivable way the opposite of Grantaire: he is beautiful, sober, a charismatic optimist, and passionately dedicated to his people and equality. Grantaire doesn't believe in revolution -- but Enjolras, he believes in. He's the embodiment of everything Grantaire could be, if only he weren't so much himself. Though Enjolras doesn't have the patience for a drunk pessimist, to Grantaire he is a sun he can't help but orbit. Grantaire finds himself trying to prove himself worthy of notice, usually failing. Passed over when his friends are asked to recruit others to the cause, he argues with Enjolras, protesting that he will do anything he is asked. Enjolras is finally convinced, but of course when he later curiously checks in, Grantaire has gotten distracted.
After the death of General Lamarque, who is one of the only defenders of the working-class left in the aristocracy, the city erupts into violence, and Grantaire's friends erect a barricade to settle into revolt. Grantaire's friends are summoned to the barricade, but he is not; he arrives with them anyway, declaring himself master of ceremonies, and later, as the violence erupts, asking what the purpose of their lives will even be. When Enjolras protests that he's dishonoring the barricade, he asks to be allowed to stay -- to just sleep there with them until he dies. Enjolras refuses, telling him he can't even die properly, and Grantaire leaves, passing out in the nearby wine shop and sleeping through most of the fighting.
Grantaire wakes up to silence as all but a few of his friends have been slaughtered. As the world comes back to him, he realizes that Enjolras, one of the only ones left, has been backed into a corner by the Guard and is about to be executed. He makes a decision at this moment to stand up for something and declare his allegiance with Revolution. Having made a target of himself, he asks Enjolras' permission to die with him. Enjolras takes his hand, and the two are shot.
Except then he wakes up...
