Claude Gueux

Victor Hugo

Claude Gueux, a poor Parisian worker, steals to feed his family and is sentenced to five years in Clairvaux prison. There he forms a deep bond with the prisoner Albin, but the workshop director separates them without reason, and repeated cruelty leads to murder, trial, and execution. Victor Hugo turns the case into an indictment of poverty, the prison system, and capital punishment, arguing for education and compassion instead of the guillotine.