(Sorry this reply is so late, I really ought to check DW more often x_X).

There's actually a really interesting meta about how Mme. Thenardier uses her children to vicariously live out the fantasy rags-to-riches story depicted in her trashy romance novels. She names her daughters after characters in the book and dotes on them only as a means of "playing dress-up" so she can pretend they're this bourgeois family. Then, when Eponine and Azelma get older, she and her husband dump them into the harsh real world, where they have to scrape by on the streets to survive. M. Thenardier uses Eponine in his robbery schemes, and Mme. Thenardier uses her as a projection of her fantasy life. It's really sad.

I actually think Eponine was looking for someone to love her like in one of her mother's romance novels - you know, prince charming sweeping her away - because I'm not sure if she's ever experienced sublime love :(