"Yellow ticket of leave"
2007-11-30 08:34:22 · 3 answers · asked by chimpsky_clone 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
I'd like to know about the phrase "yellow ticket of leave" from the musical.
2007-11-30 08:44:13 · update #1
"leave" refers to being on parole. parolees had to display these tickets to inform those around them of their status. To not do so would be a violation of the terms of parole.
As the play is based on the book by Victor Hugo, I assume this was simply the practice of the French prison system at the time.
2007-11-30 08:50:41 · answer #1 · answered by Michael M 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's French for "the miserable"
I think Victor Hugo used it for the title of his book because he was writing about a time when people weren't happy with life - especially the lower class who are the main characters in his book.
EDIT - Ah, OK. I guess I wasn't understanding the question. My bad. I don't know the origin of that phrase. I love that musical. I'll see if I can research it and find an answer or not.
This is what I found:
Jean Valjean, released on parole after 19 years on the chain gang, finds that the yellow ticket-of-leave he must, by law, display condemns him to be an outcast. Only the saintly Bishop of Digne treats him kindly
I think that it's just a ticket of leave that happens to be yellow in color. It's the ticket that they gave to the criminals when they were released that shows them to be an ex-con. I'm not sure where it originated though. I hope I'm helping. If not, I'll just go away. LOL
2007-11-30 16:41:28 · answer #2 · answered by kdollmusic 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The "yellow ticket" was a paper Valjean had to show saying he was just out of prison on parole. It's kind of like the modern thing with sex offenders, when they move somewhere new they have to tell the neighbors what they did and where they live.
2007-11-30 19:59:20 · answer #3 · answered by Molly T 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋