"Among all these passionate hearts and all these undoubting minds there was one skeptic. How did he happen to be there? from juxtaposition. The name of this skeptic was Grantaire, and he usually signed with the rebus: R. Grantaire was a man who took good care not to believe anything.... All these words: rights of the people, rights of man, social contract, French Revolution, republic, democracy, humanity, civilization, religion, progress, were, to Grantaire, very nearly meaningless. He smiled at them. Skepticism... had not left one entire idea in his mind. He lived in irony.... Grantaire, a true satellite of Enjolras, lived in this circle of young people; he dwelt in it; he took pleasure only in it; he followed them everywhere. His delight was to see these forms coming and going in the fumes of the wine. He was tolerated for his good-humour." The GSS was originally created by members of the Les Miserables mailing list, in honor of that story's most disreputably endearing character. He's shiftless, cynical, rude, annoying, and frequently drunk, but we love him anyway. Care to find out why? Besides being a place to keep track of the Society's gradually but steadily increasing membership, this page also serves as a guide to all things Grantaire: art, fiction, dramatic interpretations, and obscure references. Because Grantaire is not just a plot device; he's a (somewhat warped) state of mind. For all his faults, he's a good guy, and he's one of the reasons Les Miz touches us... because we know people like him in our own lives; some of those people are ourselves. <-- :: ? :: Les Amis de l'ABC :: # :: -->