Britannica
Sources used in this answer
Which political views did Victor Hugo adopt from his mother in his youth?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Victor Hugo
French poet, novelist, and dramatist Victor Hugo, photograph by Nadar (Gaspard-Félix Tournachon). Hugo's best-loved works are the novels Notre-Dame de Paris (1831; The Hunchback of Notre-Dame) and Les Misérables (1862).
In his youth, Victor Hugo initially adopted the royalist political views held by his mother, Sophie Hugo. This stance contrasted with the loyalties of his father, a general in Napoleon's army who remained committed to successive French governments. Hugo’s early literary works, such as his first book of poems Odes et poésies diverses, reflected these royalist sentiments and even earned him a pension from King Louis XVIII. However, as he matured, Hugo gradually moved away from this legitimist royalism toward the liberalism that would define his later political life.12