Laughing man

This novel remained obscure for a long time, and it was Victor Hugo's least known work. It was said that the reason was because Hugo greatly exaggerated his description of the English aristocracy during the reign of Queen Anne, but he talked about the oppressed classes in society, the control of the bourgeoisie, and the terrible class disparity between people. But later the novel gained the fame and attention it deserved, competing with "Les Misérables" and surpassing "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and other famous novels by Hugo.
"The Laughing Man", despite its title referring to a laughing man, is considered one of Hugo's most tragic novels. If the hero of the novel appears from its title to be a laughing person, then his laughter is the result of the fact that his mouth has been split since his youth, becoming a horizontal wound extending between his ears. Meaning that if the shape of his mouth suggests constant laughter, then behind this laughing appearance is a blatant tragedy and a repulsive, terrifying distortion.