Bug-Jargal

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Bug-Jargal is a French novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1826. It is a revised version of an 1820 short story and is set in the early Haitian Revolution.

The story follows two main figures: Leopold D’Auverney, a French officer, and Pierrot, a slave who is actually Bug-Jargal, the prince and leader of the enslaved people. D’Auverney is betrothed to his cousin Marie. Pierrot loves Marie but cannot be with her because of slavery and race. He saves Marie from a crocodile, but is imprisoned for protecting another slave. D’Auverney befriends him, and before the revolution Pierrot warns the lovers to flee. They stay, and on the wedding day the plantation world begins to fall apart as the revolution erupts.

Pierrot saves Marie from a slave attack and escapes with her, but D’Auverney, thinking Pierrot kidnapped his wife, enters a dark grotto and is captured by the brutal slave leader Biassou. In the grotto, the freed slaves force white prisoners to kill each other. Pierrot then rescues D’Auverney and reveals that he is Bug-Jargal, the slaves’ leader. Pierrot leads D’Auverney to Marie, and dies protecting his friends.