Knowing that she was beautiful, she was thoroughly conscious, though in an indistinct fashion, that she possessed a weapon. Women play with their beauty as children do with a knife. They wound themselves.
In Victor Hugo's "Les Misérables," the character reflects on her beauty with a sense of awareness, recognizing it as both an asset and a potential danger. She understands that her physical appearance gives her a certain power, akin to a weapon, which can affect her life and the lives of others around her.
This duality of beauty is likened to a child's playful but careless handling of a knife; it carries both allure and risk. Just as children can injure themselves, the character acknowledges that beauty can also lead to self-inflicted wounds, emphasizing the complex relationship individuals may have with their own attractiveness.
