"The book the reader has now before his eyes-from one end to the other, in its whole and in its details, whatever the omissions, the exceptions, or the faults- is the march from evil to good, from injustice to justice, from false to true, from night to day, from appetite to conscience, from rottenness to life, from brutality to duty, from Hell to Heaven, from nothingness to God. Starting point: matter, goal, the soul. Hydra at the beginning, angel at the end." (pg. 1242)
I think this sums of the lives of most all of the main characters through the novel. Jean Valjean goes from being an ex-convict and labeled, "dangerous man" to one of the most saintly men in all of France. I don't want this to be a spoiler so I will refrain from saying too much about the characters development, because to talk of their development will likewise include talking about their experiences.
One of the most striking characters of the novel, besides Valjean, was Javert. I have read over the past few months different commentaries that talk of him as being the "law and justice of God" which is suppose to stand juxtaposed with Valjean as being the, "love and mercy of God". While I do think this is an interesting way to analyze the character traits of the work I think it misses what I believe to be Hugo's intention in creating Javert. One of Hugo's reasons for writing Les Miserables was to criticize the French government and judicial system. Children and orphans had little to no rights, women were treated as little more then animals, and according to Hugo "starvation is the immediate cause of four out of five thefts" (pg. 82). Javert, I believe, is the French judicial system manifested in human form. So he does not care why an action is being committed, only on passing the corresponding judgement on that action. I could be wrong. . those of you who have read the book let me know :)
My favorite character in the book was Fantine. I think she symbolized the plight of women in French society. She was from a poor family and not educated. She was taken advantage of and driven to a life of prostitution. Which in turn supported the lifestyles of the man who took advantage of her. She is practically speaking enslaved by the Thenardiers who hold high debts over her head. Who in turn are enslaved by the poverty that is overshadowing all of them. I loved how Valjean redeemed her from that life and gave her hope.
Since the novel was 1462 pages I am having a mini party for myself to celebrate finishing it. I think we are going to rent the musical (the DeNiro/Claire Danes one). I am very excited to see it, because I have heard they do a very nice job recreating the book.
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Hey Whitney: I would argue that Javert is to be viewed as an Elder Brother symbol (a la Luke 15). This is much different from the "law and justice of God" view which (in my opinion) is completely erroneous. It implies that God's justice and law are somehow bad, maybe even evil as Javert is the antagonist of the story. If, however, we see Javert as an Elder Brother-type, then we can understand how he is so righteous, pious, and law abiding, yet so far from God. Just like the Elder Brother in Luke 15, the thing that kept Javert far from God was not his sin - it was is righteousness. He believed that as long as he was good, moral, and obedient then God owed him. He deserved to be blessed and he had to be in control. (By the way, if you haven't read Keller's book Prodigal God, it's really good.)
ReplyDeleteSo, I would argue that the story is about how Christianity isn't about being a nice, moral, obedient person (Javert) ; Christianity is about knowing your need for a Savior and living the rest of your life in the knowledge that you have one (Vajean).
I don't think this contradicts your theory - only expands it a bit. Elder Brother-types use their "righteousness" and passion for justice as an instrument for oppression and control.
That does sound like a much better interpretation.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say that this is one of all-time favorite novels. PBS did a great job in celebrating the 10th Anniversary on Broadway...if you can get ahold of it...watch it!
ReplyDeleteMy sister and I would watch it and cry together, while we were in high school! There's a reason why my niece's name is Cosette!!