In this chapter Favourite makes a declaration that she “adores” her lover Blachevelle. He seizes on this opportunity to ask the somewhat appalling (and possibly foreshadowing?) question of “What would you do, Favourite, if I stopped loving you?”
As Favourite runs through the list of her destructive outrage if he were to do that, he leans back, basking in the glow of her affection. it’s a picture of a warped and unhealthy love, and it gets worse.
Reacting to this reaction Favourite discloses to her other friend Dahlia that she actually does not adore Blachevelle at all. Truth be told she can’t stand him! She then goes on to describe an artist who she is smitten by, and the sort of things he says to her. After ranting about this situation, her status as an awful liar, and the things she hates about her current situation she declares that she “thinks life is quite disgusting!”
It’s a tragedy of a different sort. Here is this young woman caught up in this game with this man who she does not love but thinks she may be able to leverage for the purposes of elevating her situation, and understandably it is not a situation she loves. This warped situation has warped her. She wants a relationship with this other man but presumably his status and situation don’t offer what she wants so she continues to lie about loving a man she actually hates. This duality results in life being something she finds disgusting. It’s not all on her - clearly she has been dealt a rough hand - but the response of bending with it, of being warped and warping further leads to disgust.
I won’t blame Favourite for this, but it is a very different kind of predicament than the one we see Fantine in.