Two months in all of Cosette’s clothes are pawned. Six months in Fantine, under the false impression that Cosette is being well cared for begins sending 8 francs a month. That becomes 12, then 15 as time goes on, the Thénardiers extracting as much as they can from her while treating tiny Cosette terribly.
We have described for us a scenario where Cosette becomes the scapegoat of sorts for the other children. Madame Thénardier lavishes what love she has on her own daughters while treating Cosette with brutality and contempt. As Cosette becomes older she is treated as a servant. Cleaning, running errands, even doing heavy labor, she is fed from a bowl on the floor like the dog and cat. She only has rags to wear and all of the joy and vitality has been extracted from her. The only recognizable thing about her at this point are her large and beautiful eyes, and in them is a reflection of the terrible sadness she suffers.
Once again we have an image where the system and structure of the world is just tearing someone to pieces, and in this case it is a child. Even though it is not graphic this is a tough section to read. Fantine is oblivious to the situation and believes she is doing what is best for the child. It is truly horrifying.
The chapter is titled “The Lark” and it reflects a name that the surrounding community had started calling little Cosette. Frail, weak and fearful, Cosette was like a lark from their perspective. Unaware of the fact that the Thénardiers were being paid to mistreat the assumed orphan, people seem reticent to step in and intervene. it’s not their business, they couldn’t take over, etc… Whatever the reasons we have a community watching the destruction of an innocent child and none of them are intervening. Maybe they lack resources, maybe they fear reprisal - whatever the case, Cosette becomes the victim with nobody to fight for her, no hope of anything changing.