Cosette, while not the main character, is arguably the most important in the story. She is Fantine's reason to live after her boyfriend Felix leaves them both behind to fend for themselves. Fantine works herself to death trying to provide for Cosette after she loses her job. After Fantine passes, Cosette becomes Jean Valjean's reason for living. He rescues her from the greedy innkeepers, the Thenardiers, and Valjean instantly falls in love with the little girl. Formerly a jailbird, Valjean is even more ashamed of his past after he finds Cosette and takes her into his care. He assumes another name while he cares for the child, and she grows into a healthy young adult, overcoming her abusive and harsh childhood at the hands of the Thenardiers. Cosette is the reason that Fantine lived, and the reason Jean Valjean continued to live after he was found to be the former convict on the run.
Cosette isn't just a flower like most like to say in arguments about her. Sure, she's bourgeois. She can be dainty and pretty. But that isn't all that's to her (like her haters like to say there is). Cosette is literally described in the novel as "more of a lark than a dove", and having Bohemian qualities to her through her heritage. Cosette meets boys in bare feet and a nightgown. She doesn't care much about social structure and what she's SUPPOSED to do. She does what she wants and what feels right.
Many, many young girls I've seen who are fans of the musical and branch out to the book hate Cosette because they feel that if Cosette didn't exist, Marius would end up with Eponine and have a happy ending. Really now. It's clear that for these girls, it likely doesn't go much deeper than the teen-angst-boy-I-like-doesn't-like-me scenario and their vision is clouded by empathetic feelings for Eponine, who in the stage show sings a somewhat popular song about unrequited love. Perhaps you've heard it. I've got news for these girls. If Cosette didn't exist, Marius still would not end up with Eponine. Though Cosette didn't necessarily follow or care about social norms, the rest of the world still did. Marius was wealthy. The most he ever rebelled against his family was by joining his friends in the June Rebellion. Marius would not have married Eponine, who was dirt poor and a beggar. It just wouldn't have happened. That doesn't even take into consideration the matter that Marius and Eponine barely knew each other- Marius is simply the one person to show Eponine kindness. Without Cosette, Eponine and Marius likely both would have died in the rebellion. Literally there would have been no surviving characters besides Eponine's evil parents, the Thenardiers.
Cosette is a symbol of France. She is abused and neglected from a very early age by the Thenardiers. She knows nothing hurt, pain, and hard work. When Jean Valjean first comes to find Cosette, he asks her where her mother is. Cosette's reply is that she doesn't think she has a mother, or any parents at all (which would've broken poor Fantine's heart). All Cosette knows is suffering, never kindness, never love. When Jean Valjean kisses her hand after taking her away from the inn, Cosette flinches. She doesn't know what a kiss means and thinks that Valjean is about to hurt her. But as she ages, Cosette flourishes. She grows up to be normal and elegant. She is happy, she is free. Cosette is France in that France also suffered under the regimes of the monarchies and rebellions. France was a mess, as was little Cosette. But each bloomed in their own way towards a better life and a better way of being. To say Cosette is an unimportant character to the story is showing a clear lack of understanding to what Les Misérables is about.
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