Her fiancé, David Dirry-Moir, to whom she has been engaged since infancy, tells Josiana that the only cure for her boredom is Gwynplaine. The spoiled and jaded Duchess Josiana, the illegitimate daughter of King James II, is bored by the dull routine of court. In each town, Gwynplaine gives a stage performance in which the crowds are provoked to laughter when Gwynplaine reveals his grotesque face. Gwynplaine keeps the lower half of his face concealed. Ursus and his surrogate children earn a meagre living in the fairs of southern England. By touching his face, Dea concludes that Gwynplaine is perpetually happy. The girl, now named Dea, is blind, and has grown into a beautiful and innocent young woman. 15 years later, Gwynplaine has grown into a strong young man, attractive except for his distorted visage. Gwynplaine's mouth has been mutilated into a perpetual grin Ursus is initially horrified, then moved to pity, and he takes them in. They meet an itinerant carnival vendor who calls himself Ursus, and his pet wolf, Homo (whose name is a pun on the Latin saying "Homo homini lupus"). In late 17th-century England, a homeless boy named Gwynplaine rescues an infant girl during a snowstorm, her mother having frozen to death. Left|thumb|Le phare des Casquets (Hugo) 1866 The novel is divided into two parts: La mer et la nuit (The sea and the night) and Par ordre du roi (On the king's command).
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