‚The Man Who Laughs‘ is a novel by French writer Victor Hugo that was first published in April 1869 under the French title ‚
L’Homme qui rit‘, just two years before the establishment of the Paris Commune. It was adapted into a popular 1928 film, directed by Paul Leni.
‚The Man Who Laughs‘ tells the story of young man named Gwynplaine, whose mouth is horribly deformed. When he is a child, he rescues a little girl from a snowstorm, and the two fall in love when they grow older. Gwynplaine is the embodiment of the people; he represents all those who are oppressed by the powerful and can do nothing about it.
Every issue, including social inequality, the corruption of power, the political responsibility to intervene, the crushing of the individual by the system, is latent and is masterfully revealed through a plot in which love is a driving force.