Les Miserables: The Law Breaking Valjean

Bang! Once again the superhero has locked up the bad guy and flown off into the sunset. It seems that whenever we read a book, watch a movie, or even listen to the radio, we hear from the great superhero’s point of view. However, this warps our view. Whenever we begin hearing of two conflicting forces, we automatically assume that we’re on the hero’s side. This is the case in Les Miserables. Instead of seeing Javert’s side, we see the view of the law breaking Valjean. Javert is the true good in Les Miserables against Valjean. The easiest way to see this is by Javert’s position, “Javert owned his position to the protection of Monsieur Chabouillet…” (57), he is a highly respected officer. No one gets a job and instantly is on top. In order to

This easily leads people to categorize him as a villain in the story. Yet again, this can be shown to be a false accusation. Even though he works for the corrupt French government, he tries to keep a steady head. Although we see him acting strictly in the beginning of the story, he does nothing out of order. In fact, he helps Valjean to stay on the right side of the law. By moving the flag, Valjean is shown that he is strong. He shouldn’t let society spit at him and reject him. In addition, Javert tells Valjean to remember his name. “Remember my name; I am Javert” (63) This is yet another tactic. Javert knows that Valjean despises him. In showing dominance, he wants Valjean from breaking the law to avoid meeting him again. Later on, we see Javert clearly recognize Valjean after he rebooted his life. “It is strength. He must be a terrible man who can raise a wagon like that on his back.” (59) Instead of immediately turning Valjean in, he waited to see what he had done. In seeing success, and how good of a man Valjean had become, he decided to give him a chance. Until Valjean made his whereabouts public at the trial, Javert stood back. When Valjean did unveil his true identity however, Javert was forced to hunt Valjean, or he would be great trouble. If he let a criminal go that he was assigned to watch without even a fight, he could be charged for

Having seen how Javert has served legally, attempted the best he could while under the government’s thumb, and even how he tried to stop Valjean under the false interpretation of what he stood for, we can see that Javert is in no way a villain. In fact, Les Miserable’s true villains are the horrible Thenardiers, as well as the corrupt government of the time. Both Valjean and Javert are stuck in a miscommunication loop of what is good and evil. Javert is not a villain in the novel, but rather a warning. Although all may seem grim, his silence did not solve anything around him. If he had chosen to speak up, and stand up to the government for what he believed was right, then maybe he could have impacted the world for the