#I want to say things like he thought valjean was...

[dolphin1812]

Why is Javert so funny?

I think I have a new favorite wild coincidence from this book:

“He no longer thought of Jean Valjean,—the wolf of to-day causes these dogs who are always on the chase to forget the wolf of yesterday,—when, in December, 1823, he read a newspaper, he who never read newspapers; but Javert, a monarchical man, had a desire to know the particulars of the triumphal entry of the “Prince Generalissimo” into Bayonne. Just as he was finishing the article, which interested him; a name, the name of Jean Valjean, attracted his attention at the bottom of a page. The paper announced that the convict Jean Valjean was dead, and published the fact in such formal terms that Javert did not doubt it. He confined himself to the remark, “That’s a good entry.” Then he threw aside the paper, and thought no more about it.”

Of all the days Javert, who hates reading, could have read a newspaper, he specifically reads on the day Valjean “dies.” And he believes it has to be true because it’s said “formally.” And he feels the need to comment to himself about it. The mental image is just so funny.

I do think this chapter serves not only to update us on Javert’s side of the chase, but to remind us that he’s the best police officer we’re going to see. We last saw Javert when he checked in on Sister Simplice in his search for Valjean, but right before that, he’d killed Fantine with his presence and his cruelty. We’re well-positioned to hate him, and we’re definitely not supposed to be rooting for him. At the same time, Hugo makes sure to remind us that Javert is “moral” in his own way. For instance,  as an officer in Paris, “Javert rendered himself useful in divers and, though the word may seem strange for such services, honorable manners;” police work isn’t “honorable,” but Javert comes as close to making it so as is possible through his integrity. He even gets back on Valjean’s trail through a duty that seems much more sympathetic than chasing ex-convicts: searching for an “abducted” child. We know that Cosette wasn’t “abducted” and that Valjean is an infinitely better caretaker than the Thénardiers, but the police don’t. Javert may suspect that Valjean was involved with this, but ultimately, he’s there because he’s been called on to check on a “kidnapped” child, and if Cosette had actually been kidnapped, it’d be very easy to think positively of his work. 

He’s also so cautious while pursuing Valjean, partly for selfish and/or career-related reasons (he’s secretive, he likes drama, and he wants the credit for capturing such a “dangerous” man), but because of his “conscience” as well. He doesn’t even pick up the chase until he’s certain that this man is a criminal of some sort, either Jean Valjean or someone well-connected. We still despise him for what he’s done, but we’re also made to recognize his integrity (and perhaps to contrast him with the implied bluster of other police officers, who brag about their “captures” even before they catch anyone, whereas Javert is quiet about his work and only wants to be praised when he feels he’s earned it. He seems humble and modest in comparison). 

At the same time, we can’t forget the situation Valjean is in. Javert fears catching him too quickly for this reason:

“The reader can imagine the effect which this brief paragraph, reproduced by twenty newspapers, would have caused in Paris: “Yesterday, an aged grandfather, with white hair, a respectable and well-to-do gentleman, who was walking with his grandchild, aged eight, was arrested and conducted to the agency of the Prefecture as an escaped convict!””

Javert worries about this man’s “respectability,” but with the exception of that line, basically everything else is true. Valjean was almost arrested while walking with the child he cares for, without having done anything immediate to warrant the attention of the police. This arbitrary and unjust division based on “respectability,” then, is what makes all of Javert’s actions absurd and cruel. The best of the police force still punishes people based not on their morals or their actions, but on generalized perceptions of their identity. 

[sarahreesbrennan]

Are all the themes in “in other lands” supposed to be a commentary on something? Or do you just like writing sex scenes between minors, age gaps, and reverse misogyny?

Genuine question.

Ohhh, my dear anon, I don't believe this is a genuine question.

But it does bring up something I've been meaning to talk about. So I'll take the bait.

Firstly. Yes, my work contains a commentary on the world around us. I wonder what I could be doing with the child soldiers being sexually active in their teens (people hook up right after battles), and the age gap relationship ending in the younger one being too mature for the elder. What could I possibly have been attempting when I said 'how absurd gender roles are, when projected onto people we haven't been accustomed by our own society to see that way'? I wasn't being subtle, that's for sure.

Secondly. Yes I do enjoy writing! I think I should, it's my life's work. Am I titillated by my own writing, no - though I think it's fine to be. The sex scenes of In Other Lands aren't especially titillating, to be honest. It is interesting to me how often people sneer at women for writing romance and sex scenes, having 'book boyfriends,' insinuating women writers fancy their own characters. Women having too much immoral fun! Whereas men clearly write about sex for high literary purposes.

… I have to say from my experience of women and men's writing, I haven't found that to be true.

I’m not in this to have an internet argument. Mostly people use bad faith takes to poke at others from the other side of a screen for kicks. But I do know some truly internalise the attitude that writing certain things is wrong, that anyone who makes mistakes must be shunned as impure, and that is a deeply Victorian and restrictive attitude that guarantees unhappiness.

I've become increasingly troubled by the very binary and extreme ways of thinking I see arising on the internet. They come naturally from people being in echo chambers, becoming hostile to differing opinions, and the age-old conundrum of wanting to be good, fearing you aren't, and making the futile effort to be free of sin. It makes me think of Tennyson, who when travelling through Ireland at the time of the Great Famine, said nobody should talk about the 'Irish distress' to him and insisted the window shades of his carriage be shut as he went from castle to castle. So he wouldn't see the bodies. But that didn't make the bodies cease to be.

In Les Mis, Victor Hugo explores why someone might steal, what that means about them and their circumstances, and who they might be - and explores why someone else is made terribly unhappy, and endangers others, through their own too rigid adherence to judgement and condemnation without pity. The story understands both Jean Valjean the thief and Javert the policeman. Javert’s way of thinking is the one that inevitably leads to tragedy.

Depiction isn't endorsement. Depiction is discussion.

Many of my loved ones have had widely varying relationships to and experience of sex (including 'none'). They've felt all different types of ways about it. If writing about them is not permissible, I close them out. I'd much rather a dialogue be open than closed.

I do understand the urge to write what seems right to others. I've been brain-poisoned that way myself. I used to worry so much about my female characters doing the wrong things, because then they'd be justly hated! Then I noted which of my writer friends had people love their female characters the most - and it was the one who wrote their female characters as screwing up massively, making rash and sometimes wrong decisions. Who wrote them as people. Because that's what people do. That's what feels true to readers.

I want my characters to feel true to readers. I want my characters to react in messy ways to imperfect situations. I love fantasy, I love wild action and I love deep thought, and I want to engage. That's what In Other Lands is about. That's even more what Long Live Evil is about. That sexy lady who sashays in to have sexy sex with the hero - what is her deal? Someone who tricks and lies to others - why are they doing that, how did they get so skilled at it? What makes one person cruelly judgemental, and another ignore all boundaries? What makes Carmen Maria Machado describe ‘fictional queer villains’ as ‘by far the most interesting characters’? What irritates people about women having a great time? What attracts us to power, to fiction, and to transgression?

I don’t know the answers to all those questions, but I know I want to explore them. And I know one more thing.

If the moral thing to do is shut people out and shut people up? Count me among the villains.

[secretmellowblog]

One fascinating thing about the way Hugo writes Jean Valjean's inner conflict is that we're almost never actually in his POV when he makes his final decisions. We spend chapters and chapters exploring Jean Valjean's thought processes as he agonizes over difficult moral choices, but in the final crucial moment, when he actually makes his choice, Hugo "cuts us off" from his internal monologue. We view what his final choice looks like from the outside, from the perspective of other characters. This is especially significant because Jean Valjean, from the outside, is often pretty unreadable. He is uncannily calm, tranquil, and polite. He's opaque. There's a moment where he's described as a "whirlwind within, calm without;" Jean Valjean uses excessively polite behavior as a defense mechanism, "picking up his calm the way a warrior would pick up his buckler." The most obvious example of this is the Champmathieu trial, where Jean Valjean agonizes over whether to turn himself in. We spend chapter after chapter inside of his POV, exploring his terror and inner conflict as he weighs his options and invents a thousand excuses for himself-- we explore his trauma-fueled reactions to the concept of returning to prison in painful, agonizing detail, from his horrific memories of prison to his surreal nightmares about being buried alive. The tension builds as chapters fly by and he still hasn't made his final decision, as he hopes some unforseen accident will prevent him from making it to the trial and he won't have to make the decision after all-- But in the final moment, when Jean Valjean *actually* makes the final choice...we're not in his point of view. Instead, it's told "from the point of view" of the courtroom, and Jean Valjean's strange heartbreaking serenity is described solely from the outside. At the moment where we most want to hear what Valjean is thinking, we're abruptly cut off from his inner monologue. This becomes even more tragic when the "adrenaline rush" of the courtroom fades away and we witness the aftermath of the trial. When Jean Valjean returns to Fantine, we see him from the point of view of Simplice and other characters. He's described as behaving "mechanically" as if in shock. From the outside he appears eerily uncannily "tranquil" and completely opaque. It is impossible to tell what he is feeling or thinking. Jean Valjean responds to Javert's violence toward Fantine with an icy, eerily tranquil restrained fury: threatening him with a leaden bar, saying "I advise you not to disturb me at this moment"-- but you can feel behind that restraint the weight of all the grief/anger from the previous chapters, which he's incapable of letting himself express openly. He has made this horrible nightmarish sacrifice that he's been agonizing over for thousands of words, he's facing unimaginable violence and grief--- and in the moments where we most want to hear how he's reacting to this, "the line goes dead." We're brutally cut off from his mental state and left to imagine what he might be feeling.

After a few moments of this meditation (Jean Valjean) bent towards Fantine, and spoke to her in a low voice. What did he say to her? What could this man, who was reproved, say to that woman, who was dead? What words were those? No one on earth heard them.

[pilferingapples]

this is an invitation to infodump. i would LOVE to hear the thoughts you have on beggars at the feast, should you want to talk about them

AUGH ok ok let's see how well I can articulate...anything

OK so first: In the Letters server lately we've been talking a bit about how , in the book, Thenardier is WAY more the Human Nemesis than Javert is. He shows up earlier than Javert does; he's able to be a threat in ways Javert can't be, and to people Javert can't and wouldn't even try to touch ; he shares a TON of paralleling symbolism and class-blurring roles with JVJ; he's the last Personal Threat remaining in the novel, and the last thing we hear about him is that he's not only thriving , he's committing worse atrocities on a grander scale than anything we saw in the book, and getting nothing but social approval for it.

Thenardier is a nightmare, and he's triumphant, and as such he's a condemnation of society in an equal and opposing way to Jean Valjean. Valjean's story (and Fantine's , and the Thenardier siblings' ,. and the Amis , etc) says "look what we're destroying, look at the actions we punish". Thenardier's ultimate triumph as a literal slave trader flips it around and says "look what we support, look at what we endorse, look at what we elevate and approve." (now within the book I could take this farther , I could point out that the only thing within the novel that breaks any of the miserables free of their oppression to any degree is crime of some kind, be it revolution or theft or Being an Accomplice or exploitation, and the only thing that costs the (relatively) privileged their security and power is to truly ally with the miserables, but !! I'm talking about the musical)

In the musical Thenardier is softened a lot. Like... a LOT. The Thenardiers' exploitation of Fantine is barely mentioned ; their violent abuse of Cosette is turned into a joke; their abuse of Eponine is minimized (and their other kids are either Not Appearing in this Play or not obviously connected to them) ; and that final doomstrike epilogue, Thenardier becoming a slave trader, is gone. He's no longer the primary and most dangerous human antagonist; as in many other adaptations, that's now Javert.

So there's a different arc but it's there : From Master of the House and the Robbery , when he largely comes across as a gross but funny Comic Villain ; to the Attack on the Rue Plumet, where we finally see a bit of danger to him; to Dog Eats Dog, where he is really just acting on the same philosophy we saw in MotH but now doing something most people have a more immediate revulsion to, and the mask is really off; to , finally, Beggars at the Feast. If Beggars at the Feast is done RIGHT, This is Where The Villains Win.

They've gotten knocked around, sure, but they've also just gotten a ton of money, and, if done right, they are either blending in with the society party or, in the best staging * , they end up leading the dance. It's Master of the House all over again, only this time we're not being invited to laugh along with Thenardier's "band of soaks" ; this isn't the dregs of society, an easily stigmatized lower-class punchline.

This is Society, capital S Society, and they're just as ready to go along with him-- MORE ready to go along with him, even, because at least some of his inn customers usually get to be affronted and argue a little, but arguing with him risks some Unpleasantness, and isn't everything in Society so pleasant? Isn't it nice here, at the party? Let's not argue with the openly hateful people singing about how they want to destroy us all; look, they're dancing and singing! Let's just follow their lead. Won't that be nice.

And without getting into modern politics just because it's ALWAYS so current and I could never update the references frantically enough, I'll say that this is where Stage!Thenardier most echoes those Book!Thenardier Napoleon III vibes. Hugo knew what this dance looked like. He fell for it at one point.

(and hey, maybe it even raises some unease in audience members who laughed at MoTH and the child abuse and the Robbery without thinking about it-- maybe some people realize Oh Shit, We Fell For It Too. Not necessarily, but maybe?? ) And so it's fitting that it's this scene that has IMO a very clear sense of the book's incredibly specific political message ("Parisians, France, Please Overthrow Napoleon III, Probably With Barricades" ) , albeit in reverse. The Thenardiers gloat "Clear away the barricades and we're still here!" -- to them, a brag on how they endure all the changes around them.

But also implying: don't clear away the damn barricades. If you don't want the Thenardiers to run the show , help shore up that furniture wall and fight (for a modern international audience, this is probably going to be Not AS Specifically Involving Barricades).

So yeah. I'm not gonna say it's the most important song in the whole show , but it's important in ways I rarely see critics or commenters notice.

...Or it's just a funny musical reprise and you can have the Thenardiers be immediately thrown out of the wedding as frauds bc hahaha the poors thought they could play with their betters, good thing we're all so much smarter and cooler than that in the upper crust. That's fine too.

yes I have opinions; also I'm Correct

[anneangel]

Javert is as tragic as the title of the book suggests, a miserable.

He may even be the main antagonist, in the sense of opposing the centric character (Jean Valjean), but he is certainly not a villain.

He is obsessed with fulfilling his duty and in a tireless pursuit of justice. He does not believe in Jean Valjean's redemption and his obsession with persecuting him is related to his rigid worldview based on his personal experience and inflexible principles, related to his past, where he was born into a dysfunctional family. He firmly believes in the idea that a bad person is bad forever. He sees his role as Inspector as a fight against crime and injustice.

He doesn't pursue Jean Valjean because he's a villain, he pursues him because he believes Jean is a criminal, who violated his parole, and therefore deserves to be sent back to the prison system.

He was just a man who believed he was doing the right thing, following the law. He believed that people chose to be miserable and that they got what they deserved for choosing to be "vagabonds." He looked at himself and took pleasure in thinking; I came from a dysfunctional home and I still do what is right, so if others don't do it, it's because they don't want to and will never change.

But then he finds himself at a crossroads after Jean Valjean spares his life: "the law says I must arrest this man. But my conscience says I owe him a life debt."

For the first time he contemplates that "law" and "justice" do not always go together. It would be "legal under the law" to arrest Jean, but it would not be "morally just". It's a conflict between legality versus morality.

So poor Javert still faces the deconstruction of his beliefs: “he thought that good and evil were very different things and that an ex-convict could only be bad while a police officer could only be good”, when he realizes that reality not obeys that extreme and that a prisoner can be good (or that it is possible to change and become good), just as a law enforcement officer can become corrupt.

Faced with so many things that he firmly believed falling apart, showing erroneous beliefs of live, he chooses to kill himself rather than live with such unrest. So, basically he commits suicide because he was saved by Jean Valjean, and he couldn't stand that fact.

It really must have been scary to discover that he has spent his life following beliefs that suddenly deteriorate in front of him. It's sad that in the face of this "scare" he chose to kill himself.

The character promotes a very pertinent reflection, and leads us to reconsider the way we look at people who are typically stigmatized by society. Victor Hugo is never trying to say that bad people are good deep down, nothing like that; After all, there is the character Mr. Thénardier to prove this. What he is saying is that we cannot make it an absolute rule that all people who commit crimes were and will be bad forever. Because by establishing that they are, a stigma is created that can be unfair for those who, like Jean, tried to change their lives.

It is also necessary to remember that at no point does Hugo say that Jean Valjen was right in stealing the bread, but rather that the penalty imposed on him was disproportionate to the crime committed. In the end, we read that Javert kills himself because he cannot bear the idea that Jean, an ex-prisoner, can go from darkness to light. While he, by following the law, committed an injustice.

He thinks that Jean, even though he was a former prisoner, managed to go to a place above him morally, while he, who was such an inflexible agent of the law, saw himself as someone tough who didn't understand the factor of redemption as an element capable of rescue the soul of someone who once made a mistake.

Honestly, I like the character and understand the powerful reflection he brings to us. But at the same time, I'm sad that he killed himself. He could have chosen other paths, but ultimately he was so desolate that he saw no other options.

[wanderinghedgehog]

Time to finally relay my thoughts on the Les Mis I saw August 3rd, 2024.

Keep in mind, I went into this as someone who wanted to get my mother and brother to like this story. Also, I’ve seen a million and one recordings, so I know the show pretty well already and am aware of my preferences concerning it.

Act 1

Intro was so good. I like the boat format for the prisoners. It gives the actors something to do and is good and clear tonally.

This Javert did not make a strong first impression. He seemed extremely muted idk.

So I’m not a Nick Cartell fan. I’m sorry. I just don’t like him that much. I might be able to explain why at some point.

The lighting was amazing in these opening scenes.

The bishop had such a nice voice. I always love the bishop.

Valjean went nuts with the “took my fliiiiiiiiight”

Oh I forgot to mention that all of the house lights hadn’t turned off yet. It was a little weird. They eventually got turned off either before or after Valjean’s Soliloquy.

Speaking of the Soliloquy, I’ve heard a recording of this actor singing this song before and it definitely sounds better in person. Better, but still not my favorite. Nick Cartell has a tendency to stray from the melody for acting purposes in a way that I’m not a fan of.

Also, this version had Petit Gervais. It was weird. And distracting. And disjointed. I didn’t like it.

I love a good ensemble number, so at the end of the day was great. Also, the transition from the crowd to the factory was so smooth.

I remember the foreman I think had a line that changed from the original that I was kinda confused about. Overall, I think this was a thing with both at the end of the day and lovely ladies. Like there were a handful of words that were switched and I didn’t understand why.

This Fantine was quite good. Like I’m glad this was the Fantine that I saw with my mom and brother. Solid performance.

This Bamatabois was odd. I think he was too much of a caricature.

Once again, Javert is quite subdued. Intimidating, sure. But not all that interesting otherwise. No swagger.

The staging of Fantine’s Arrest felt just a little busy, but that’s really a nitpick.

When did they cut part of Fauchelevent’s line in Runaway Cart?

So I really listen for how an actors says the line “forgive me sir I would not dare.” This was fine. Nothing special.

I will say that I liked Nick Cartell’s version of Who Am I.

Fantine’s death was so sad. I prefer versions like this where they don’t have her get out of bed. It’s simpler and it gets across her weakened state a little better, I think.

Confrontation was amazing. This Javert was really starting to prove himself here. It’s like the actor just started having fun with it.

This little Cosette was absolutely adorable. I’m not usually a fan of Castle On A Cloud, but this was great.

This production had a good Thenardier couple. Their comedic timing was great. This is not to discredit the amazing job that they did, but I’m not a huge fan of the Thenardiers. My family liked them a lot though, so they were definitely very funny.

So Look Down was a success because my family immediately liked Gavroche. As they should. My brother said that that the Look Down melody was one of his favorites.

Now I think it’s good to mention that this version didn’t have the time skip projections. Like those things that tell you what year it is. None to be seen. It confused my family. I was cool with explaining it though.

My brother found Marius annoying. +1 sibling point. We can make fun of Marius now. (to be clear, the actor was very good)

This Eponine was pretty cool, but my mom pointed something out that I think is worth mentioning. She’s not lit very well. My eyesight is shit, so I’m trusting my mom when she said that it was impossible to see the actor’s face.

This Cosette is so adorable. Like everything about her so sweet. In love with her.

This scene had an interesting set design that I don’t know if I’ve seen before. It looked a little more slanted than usual. It was cool though.

The beginning of Javert’s Intervention got a laugh, so that was good. He really leaned into the drama more than before.

During Javert’s Intervention, I tend to find Thenardier’s part a little overwrought and distracting. Unfortunately, this was one of those cases. My brother liked it though.

Javert kinda went back to being subdued for Stars. Actually no. He brought some energy for “and so it must BE”

Les Amis in this production were fantastic. My mom really liked Red and Black apparently.

This Enjolras had a weird fluttery vibrato that I’m kinda obsessed with.

Kyle Adams’ performance as Grantaire was magical. I don’t know if I can point out specific moments, but it was fantastic.

I am once again in love with Cosette.

Neither my mother nor brother were fans of the romance aspect of the story. I don’t blame them.

That said, the harmony at the end of heart full of love was angelic.

One Day More is always a showstopper. No notes.

Actually, I will mention that Javert hasn’t changed costumes yet. We don’t get to see his disguise til the second act. I kinda like that because, if you don’t recognize him immediately at the barricade, it makes the reveal later kinda fun to watch.

Oops turns out I’ll have to post this in two parts

[hadleysmis]

There's just so many things I want to say about the 1903 Su Manshu's translation of Les Misérables

It is a unique AU adaptation fanfic translation

I will put some kind of a list of observations that is sorted out, since right now all the information is falling out of my brain like a waterfall at the moment. There's just so many things one person can keep in about this liquid of an information.

If the translation is so different from the original, do we categorise it as a translation or an adaptation? I mean like, e.g. Jean Valjean tries to kill, then successfully robs the writer's political and religious mouthpiece Hero after he releases Jean Valjean from prison, etc.

The whole thing is so wild that "one of the main characters try to assassinate Napoleon but fails and thus dies from suicide" fact is mentioned in the footnote in the paper I'm reading; as if it's the least of our problems, because there's just so much going on.

Su was multilingual, but probably not in French. Instead, he translated from Charles E. Wilbour. And due to it being published in volumes, and it being hard to get by because how fast it sold, he only have access to volume one, apparently.

Even then, he minused Book 1 because it was too praise-y of Christianity via Bishop Myriel.

Oh, did I not mention? He hates Christianity, and he definitely hates the Bishop. That's why he deleted Book 1: it had too many nice things to say about the greedy and hypocritical Bishop.

「When in the English text Valjean asks whether the Bishop would like payment for his stay, the response is:

“No,” said the bishop; “keep your money. How much have you? You said one hundred and nine francs, I think.” (Wilbour, p. 48)

But Su translates:

孟主教果急忙答道：“不然，不然，一定要算饭钱的。你共有多少钱呢？你曾说你有一百零九个银角子。” (Su, p. 58)

Bishop Myriel answered in a hurry as expected, “Yes, yes, of course. You have to pay for your meal. How much money do you have in total? You told me you have one hundred and nine silver coins.”」

(Li Li, Su Manshu’s Adaptation of Les Misérables: The Manipulation of a Bridging Text in an Activist Translation. Translation and Literature. 2022)

Li Li suggests it might've also been because Su wasn't as fluent in English as we thought as well, since there are some misunderstandings of meaning (that bears no political or religious sway) in his translation.

On the topic of translation, there is also an excerpt I would like to share.

Su was writing during the nearing end of Qing Dynasty, and he was against the said Dynasty and thus was a revolutionist. If people were too critical and loud about their thoughts on the governing body and Confucianism, then the ruling class would've prosecuted him.

And thus, he had to cover his tracks and make sure he wasn't caught saying anything incriminating. He did this with his self-insert Ming Nande, and he did it with other contexts such as here:

[Quote:]

「In this moment Nande knew it was the girl that he was worrying about. Then he affectionately held up her slim waist and kissed her several times (This is a western custom, please don't be surprised!)."

这时，男德才知道是他心里所惦记的美人，急忙亲亲热热地用手一把搂住那美人的细腰，连亲了几个嘴（这是西俗，看官别要见疑）」

(Translation by Li Li, 2022)

I will definitely talk about this more at a later date because I have to go to Scotland, so I'm probably going to be travel-stressing xD

Even though I can't share the PDF of the essay paper that I have, I do have the link to a publicly shared webpage by the same author with her summarised thoughts on this translation, so please take a look if you're interested!

[lenievi]

Just something short I wrote for "I can’t believe you were that stupid" Saturday prompt over at 30+ fanfic discord.

Might potentially take place in the same 'verse as this and this snippet. Just weeks later and after Cosette gets married.

warning: mentioned canon Valjean's self-harm. first draft.

Jean Valjean/Javert

It's kind of (my idea of) fluffy – for the two of them.

---

Valjean rolled up his sleeves. Before he could take the sickle, Javert caught his elbow in a firm but gentle grip.

“I can’t believe you were that stupid,” Javert said, carefully tracing the burn scar on Valjean’s forearm with his fingers.

It had been a week since Javert learnt about its origin, but except for a few furtive looks at Valjean’s forearm, he hadn’t mentioned it again. Valjean would prefer if he'd forgotten. The notion of Javert caring—caring about him and his well-being—was still strange. Strange and yet… not entirely unpleasant.

Valjean shrugged. “What does one more scar matter?”

Javert dug his fingers into Valjean’s flesh and raised his head, his other hand falling. His throat worked. Valjean could see that there were things Javert wanted to say, but he seemed to swallow them and stayed silent.

Valjean sighed. “I told you they had been threatening Cosette. I couldn’t have them bother us again.”

“I know.” Javert’s grip softened; his thumb caressed—for there was no other word than that—the skin around the tender scar, sending shivers down Valjean’s spine, and as he had done for weeks, Valjean ignored the sensation.

“I knew I could handle it,” he said instead. Even after twelve years, he could still remember the searing pain caused by the stolen coin he had taken from the fireplace in his house in Montreuil and clutched hard in his palm. That one, he’d deserved; the other one, he’d done for Cosette. He’d never regret it, for she had cared for him when he’d returned home. Washed his wound, sat with him, loved him. He would treasure that memory forever now when she was married and not by his side anymore.

“It was still foolish of you,” Javert said, letting his hand fall.

An odd sense of disappointment washed over Valjean at the loss of Javert’s touch, and he quickly grabbed the sickle. The garden had been overgrown and needed a lot of work.

But he didn’t move.

When Javert had looked at him with eyes that seemed to try to penetrate his mind and read his thoughts in Montreuil, Valjean hadn’t been able to break their eye contact for fear of looking weak and guilty. Now, he didn’t want to look away and instead, it was Javert who often couldn’t maintain the contact for long.

Javert ran his fingers over the workbench and removed some of the soil that had been forgotten. “Yet, you continue to astonish me. You’ve always done things that haven't benefited or harmed you. Even—” Javert stopped himself. “No matter.”

Despite the time that had passed, it was still bizarre hearing Javert, who had never stopped to consider someone else’s reasons or circumstances in the past, who had only assumed that everything Valjean did had been to gain something, speak like that.

“I only did what I had to do. You must know what it feels like now; you let me go.”

Javert frowned. “That was different.”

“Was it?” Valjean remembered Javert’s shaking shoulders and sobs as he clutched the fireplace mantel in the drawing room on rue de l’Homme-Armé. He remembered what had come after, Javert’s despair and desperation as he clung to Valjean in a strange imitation of an embrace.

“Yes,” Javert said, and he sounded almost sure. “I didn’t let you go.”

No, he didn’t. That Javert was here in Digne with him, was proof enough. “No, you didn’t,” Valjean agreed and nodded at the wall above the workbench. “Take the other sickle and let me teach you how to use it. If you are to stay, you can be useful.”

[apostlearcana]

Status update:

Still a cool person who writes amazingly!!!!!!!

thank u, anon. I don't feel very cool lately with personal stuff that makes me an exhausted lady, but- i have a bit of the writing you think is amazing. i hope you enjoy it. ♥️

---

He was going to die. There was no other way to say it: Zenkichi Hasegawa- or more aptly, Wolf- was going to fucking die in the Metaverse without even knowing how he ended up here in the first place. The kids were back in the real world, frantically working to find a way in, and he was surrounded by Shadows on all sides. A wave of creatures came for him, and the only logical thing he could think of doing was running.

So he did.

He ran, zweihander in hand and blood trickling from his open wounds he had endured from the constant swath of enemies. If Oracle was down here with him, she’d be screaming for someone to heal him. Wolf closed his eyes, trying to focus his thoughts and calm himself; even so, panic ripped through any semblance of logic, and in such panic, a familiar burst of energy came to life. It ticked away at his life force, yet carried him away faster as he leapt forward and scanned the fork in the road frantically; it was left or right.

“Dammit… what’s taking them so long…?!”

Where were those kids? He was almost praying to hear that stupid nickname sail over the oncoming hoard of Shadows from Sakamoto, gritting his teeth.

Left it was.

Wolf hissed and ran down the corridor, finding the floor plan littered with corners every six yards. Take a sharp turn, go another several feet, and another turn. One of the corners was a dead end. He turned around and held his blade tightly before swinging at the few Shadows that had kept on his tail; a red burst of energy flew forward, Wolf ignoring the blood dripping from his mask and down his face as he rushed through the split path of Shadows.

“Where are those damn kids…?!”

Just as he spoke, it was as if his body could answer with one grim statement: they are not coming for you.

Wolf tripped over himself, rolling over himself and skidding on the concrete before he crashed into the wall with a dust cloud hanging over the space. He coughed harshly, squinting in the haze before seeing the group of Shadows beginning to advance.

Dead end.

Wolf grabbed his blade; he pushed himself to a sitting position, eyes wide behind the mask as he pulled up the blade defensively. Cornered, so very much like a wounded animal that stared down at the ones about to eat him alive. The barest rumble was felt in the back of his head- Valjean, undoubtedly. And yet, Wolf knew.

He already knew he was going to die.

There was not a chance in Hell that Living Dead was going to be able to activate again in time. He was going to die. Die.

He had given it everything he had, and even with his newfound strength and vigor, Wolf was wounded beyond repair. He wasn’t going to make it out.

Even with Fury still on and running, he had tried to give it all he had.

Fuck.

How useless was he really? How often had he tried to hide the bloodlust, the need to rip and tear through the Shadows to feel something again in his life? How scared was he to tell those kids of his that he was happy the Metaverse was back, only for it to leave him to die? How many times had he (successfully) hid away that the smell of the blood made his own race? How badly did he want to fight? How much did he want to let loose, but was afraid to be cast aside? Seen as the monster he really was?

Even with his blade on the ground, Wolf could feel his eyes fluttering shut. He couldn’t get up. He couldn’t stand up, the Shadows moving closer and their sick squelches on the floor the sound of them moving through a pool of his blood.

[pyromaniacbibliophile]

Bricktober day 7 (with half an hour to spare)- Chains

@lesmis-prompts

Did i create a soulmate AU out of nowhere and finish it at 23:30? Yes. Yes I did.

___________________________________

In this world there are soulmates. How it works is thus: from the second you meet your soulmate till the second you kiss them, you have a feeling like chains are wrapping around your neck. Simple enough to realise, you would think, and in most cases the answer is yes. Not, however, in this one. 

Javert met his soulmate when he was transferred to Toulon. His superior officer led him around the yard, telling him things about various prisoners. All was well until he called across to one of them. “24601!” The prisoner in question walked over, defiance tucked in his eyes like a secret. “24601, this is the new officer, Javert. I trust there will be no problems?” 

“None at all… Sir. Can I go now?” 

The prisoner was dismissed and the officer’s attention was back on Javert. 

“Are you alright, Monsieur?” 

No. No, Javert was not at all alright. He had the distinct feeling of being practically strangled by chains. No. His soulmate could not be a convict. It must have been a fluke. An anomaly. His soulmate could not be that- that criminal!

Valjean, already bound with physical chains, didn’t notice the addition of soulmate ones. Prison collars were tight and left no room for feeling. 

When Valjean was released, he didn’t even notice the collar being removed. In hindsight, that should have been the first clue. Yet twenty years of imprisonment affected him and why shouldn’t the feeling of the chains remain? 

In M-sur-M, he finally realised that he had met his soulmate. By this point he was the mayor, he had met many, many people and to tell the truth he had little care to find his. After all, that would either be one more person to lie to or one more person to keep safe. 

He had other things to worry about; his factory was growing and his town improving; he saw Javert near-daily, every time his heart was in his throat, yet somehow the inspector never realised. 

Life carried on as usual- that is, until he was nearly caught by Javert. He had been expecting it, to be fair, yet now he had a child to find. He overpowered the other man and ran, never noticing his chains tightening around his throat. 

Javert noticed, of course he did. He’s spent years thinking about his chain and his soulmate, trying to deny it. It never worked, in his heart he knew it to be true; Valjean was his soulmate. 

The inspector’s blood boiled as he realised that Valjean had escaped once again. He would not let this stand for much longer, he would find 24601 even if he had to search all of France! 

He purposely didn’t think about the man’s hands on him, how the chain around his neck loosened for a second then tightened when he was flung to the floor, Valjean running out the door. 

Years later and he is returned to Paris. There is more to do here, arrests to be made daily. He still tries both to find and to forget about Valjean, neither works. Well, not until he comes upon Thenardier harassing a gentleman, a gentleman who turns out to most likely be Valjean. He is a bloodhound fresh on the scent, he searches every alley, every street, every shop. 

Does he want him or does he want to capture him?

Valjean has barely thought about Javert or his soulmate for a long while, focused on keeping Cosette safe and happy.

He only really remembers that he has a soulmate somewhere when Cosette is laughing and talking at lightning speeds, saying that she met him, he spoke to her, it must have been him for he clutched at his throat and she felt chains around her wrist. 

If he had been more focused he would have pointed out that your soulmate’s chains are on your neck unless you have more than one, and she would have told him that there had been chains on her neck for nearly as long as she can remember, since she was left at the Thenardiers’. 

However he doesn’t, too distracted by thoughts of Javert. Decided, he tells Cosette that they must move to England. They will leave in a few days. 

Javert has to halt his relentless searching as news spreads of a barricade being made near the Musain. At the day of Lamarque’s funeral it will rise. He decides that he should be there, fool them into thinking he is on their side. 

He is found out, damn that gamin Gavroche! Tied up, he waits in the cafe, watching the students move around. Either one of them will shoot him or he will be used as a hostage. Neither concerns him, he doubts they have the spine to shoot him in cold blood and at least hostages must be kept safe. 

A boy climbs over, bleeding. He is revealed to be a girl, a girl in love with the feeble Pontmercy at that. She dies in his arms. How.. tragic.

Then Valjean is there. He is afraid then. Revolutionary students are one thing, a man with every right and desire to kill him is another. Never mind that he is his soulmate, he doubts the criminal is aware of that at this point. 

It doesn’t take too long to come to terms with his death. He has wanted to die on many occasions, to tell it truly, but always evaded it. Valjean has every right to kill him, none would fault him for it. 

He has readily accepted his imminent demise. He has no problems with it, although he cannot resist spitting hateful words at the man. The man who then lets him go. 

He is struck dumb. 

This convict, this criminal, his god-forsaken soulmate who has every right to kill him, who should want his death fervently; Javert is the only person who has hounded his footsteps through his life, moreover the only who knows his current identity as Fauchelevent thanks to the lovesick mutterings of Pontmercy. His death would free Valjean. Then why- 

He refuses to believe Valjean is a good man, despite the nagging voice in his head reminding him how M-sur-M thrived under his mayorship, how many gamins, prostitutes and beggars were given his money, how many people he helped… 

What is there for him to do? He cannot arrest the man, regardless of the address he was given. He cannot return to the police station, he could not. Not now he owes this thief his very life. 

He agonises for hours before his decision is made clear to him. Soulmate or not, he will not let another have his life. Therefore he must take it himself. The solution is simple. 

He leaves and begins to walk to the river Seine. No-one will miss him. 

Valjean has barely got Marius to the doctor when his soulmate chain pulls sharply, cutting away all of his breath. With little idea what to do he lets it lead him through the streets of Paris. 

He arrives at the bridge over the Seine. He looks around, curious, then notices the figure standing on the parapet. 

A figure he knows very well. 

Everything clicks into place. His soulmate chain must have been formed that day in Toulon. That explains why he never noticed it. Javert, his soulmate? The idea is not as ludicrous as he first thought. After all, who else knows his true identity, who else has followed him throughout his life, who else has been the one constant presence when everything constantly changes… 

He looks up and sees Javert fall. All thoughts leave his mind as he pulls off his greatcoat and jacket and dives into the icy depths of the river. 

The river which no man has ever escaped alive, but if anyone could do it it would be Jean Valjean. 

[genderfeel]

need to gush about stewart clarke’s javert among other things from our multiple showings of lm these last couple of weeks

clarke is honestly up there for me with terrence mann in terms of my fav javerts….. he honestly kind of looked like him with his dead eyed stare and eyeliner. serving corpse

he was sooooo robotic during every fucking scene he was in apart from the finale but still had this soft emotion during stars. dude had literally no thoughts behind those eyes just staring off into middle distance while fantine is weeping. had 0 reaction to gavroche, thenardier, literally anyone.

single notable reaction pre-alleyway scene was clarke seeing valjean walk into the barricade and just. staring at him. like the entire time while gunfire is going on man is barely ducking or reacting he’s just staring at this dude. impeccable. made funnier by grantaire sitting between them

related sidenote was that i LOVED this grantaire. not someone i typically focus on while watching but tom hext is so so fun, loved his energy and thousand yard stares in equal measure. also fat grantaire based. i’m shocked people don’t go on and on about this dude bc he was also so fun to watch in the ensemble

katie hall was absolutely the best fantine i’ve seen, cried both times. she plays it nice and angry at times with the appropriate amount of acting. wonderful voice. same of the eponine, wonderful talents and spot on casting

i will relegate this to a brief note bc i don’t want to complain endlessly about it but mannnnn this valjean suckeddd. played it way way too angry (did not help that his eyebrows ((naturally??)) are super arched. super arai manga jvj vibes but irl). great voice but no good acting choices or really any at all. i got the distinct impression all this dude knew about the character was the show itself and didn’t really “get” valjean. left me extremely unemotional even in the last bits which is wild

side note to that: i did cry at the beginning of the finale but only bc i remembered nick cartell’s performance and was thinking about that instead. for those unfamiliar he walks with a prisoner’s limp which drives me fucking insane

side side note: the only good thing this valjean did was pause while reading marius’ letter at the word “love” in like an incredulous way. then at the end he crunched the letter up into a ball. extremely in character for the brick and could bring a more interesting depth that the musical lacks but terrible and aggro for no reason in the context of this performance

okay back to javert. his suicide? insane. wonderful acting choices playing it pretty tormented until near the end he was cracking his voice HARD which was just so painful every time. not overly angry at all. also particular more to our first time seeing him—this man was absolutely dribbling spit during some sections. like hanging from his mouth like a dog. you truly cannot do it better than this. it really made the best of what i would call a flawed but potentially good adaptation of javert derailed in a way where i’m sure mr clarke Gets javert and reads derailed like his character bible

i liked the way clarke ran around and writhed around on the ground. dedication.

goes without saying but i imagine clarke’s performance would be even better if he were paired with a more competent valjean. but what can you do 😔

baffled that they took away javert’s costume change during one day more. i have to assume someone thought people were too stupid to realize it’s javert in his little baker boy cap. a loss to us all

why did gavroche have the coconut head haircut

claire made me see this godforsaken show three times. i don’t even want to talk about the understudy javert we had to sit through i want to simply forget

he (they hate each other so much)

[shsenhaji]

Les Misérables - 1.1.2: Monsieur Myriel Devient Monseigneur Bienvenu

Day two of posting about Les Mis Letters 2024, and today I have actual Thoughts!

My overall impression is that I'm enjoying the original French a lot better. I'm definitely able to pick up a lot more nuances, and I'm glad I decided to go this route in 2024.

First main thought: Monsieur Bienvenu is very much not the same thing as Monseigneur Bienvenu, and I have some Feelings about the fact that the English translation (at least for Les Mis Letters) does not carry that over.

Of course, those who are more knowledgeable about the ins and outs of this translation and the others are free to jump in, but I wouldn't have thought it would be so hard to just go with Monsignor Bienvenu, or even keep Monseigneur Bienvenu. The title for me makes a very big difference, in terms of the character and what Victor Hugo is trying to do. Especially since, as the chapter title says, Myriel goes from Monsieur to Monseigneur from the will of the people of Digne.

His new title also is part of the theme that we are presented with in the very first chapter, of having to overcome first impressions or being judged in a skewed fashion - either too harshly or too well - by others; I think the English version does the reader and the story a disservice for not keeping that specific word.

My second main thought is that I was able to grasp a lot more nuances this time around, such as the fact that in M. Myriel's budget, there are several items that have to do with prison rehabilitation and improving prison conditions and freeing fathers imprisoned for debt. As I told my friend, who is reading Les Mis in French for the first time with Les Mis Letters (not his first re-read, though), the foreshadowing is not subtle at all. We love to see it :)

I also do like how this budget helps makes Monseigneur Bienvenu's actions regarding Jean Valjean later on much more understandable. He's already for helping ex-convicts already, if only in theory. As we see later, Myriel's lofty thoughts and principles don't always come through to real-life issues, especially when he has a personal bias, but having that mentality of wanting to help out is already very important. It's also very sad, because all the money in the world doesn't help out very much in this case, as we see again and again throughout the book when encountering systemic and societal issues.

Finally, as many others pointed out last year and this year, the fact that Myriel does all of this charitable work at the expense of his sister and his housekeeper, and not even giving them a choice in the matter, is kind of sad.

Not only does this self-sacrificial impulse negatively impact these two, who already don't have much agency in their world, but it's also that he doesn't seem to realize that they may want him to have some things as well. The line "Bon, dit-elle à mademoiselle Baptistine, monseigneur a commencé par les autres, mais il a bien fallu qu’il finît par lui-même" [“Monseigneur began with other people, but he has had to wind up with himself, after all."] really stood out to me.

My friend rightly pointed out that "when self-sacrifice turns into sacrifice of others, you've gone too far," which I think is true in this case and is even more obvious later on. I really wonder where a certain Jean Valjean gets it from... It's a total mystery...

Last parting thoughts: I liked how the relationship between mademoiselle Baptistine and M. Myriel was described in French a lot better than I did in the English version; for whatever reason, it sounded less sketchy and more heartwarming, though I couldn't say exactly why: "Pour cette sainte fille, M. de Digne était tout à la fois son frère et son évêque, son ami selon la nature et son supérieur selon l’église. Elle l’aimait et elle le vénérait tout simplement."

All in all, I'm very glad I was able to listen to this chapter today - I was so engrossed while listening to the story that I totally stood while doing nothing else for more than five minutes just listening to the narrator tell me all about our bestie Monseigneur Bienvenu. 😆

I hope to have more thoughts tomorrow!

[secretmellowblog]

@breadvidence recently wrote a great bit of Les Mis meta where they pointed out how Jean Valjean’s “compliments” to Javert in Montreuil-sur-Mer really are just..... conciliatory flattery, and don't reflect his real feelings about Javert at all. And that's a great point, and something I wish more people explored! Lines like "you are a good man and I esteem you" aren't Jean Valjean's earnest feelings towards Javert. Instead they’re examples of the way Jean Valjean often retreats into excessive deferential politeness to authority as a survival strategy. As I mentioned in another recent post— Jean Valjean is a genuinely kind person, but he’s also someone who often has literally no choice but to act overly polite to authorities/the police, because if he’s not polite enough they might start to find him suspicious. If he doesn't lick their boots enough, they might start investigating him. He's instinctively deferential out of fear of violence. He's flattering out of fear. He's polite "at gunpoint." He's polite to cops the way you're polite to an armed police officer who pulls you over.

And Jean Valjean's polite tranquil behavior towards Javert during Javert's "resignation"— saying things like “you are a good man and I esteem you, I want you to keep your job” and etc etc— is later explicitly confirmed to be at least somewhat of a calculated tactical decision Jean Valjean made out of terror:

He was carried away, at first, by the instinct of self-preservation; he rallied all his ideas in haste, stifled his emotions, took into consideration Javert’s presence, that great danger, postponed all decision with the firmness of terror, shook off thought as to what he had to do, and resumed his calmness as a warrior picks up his buckler.

I love the phrase "he resumed his calmness as a warrior picks up his buckler"-- it's such a great way of summarizing how Jean Valjean's ability to have polite conversations even when he's breaking down internally has been such a useful defense mechanism for him. I also love the contrast between the excessively polite way Jean Valjean talks to Javert when he’s acting out of terror/self-preservation….vs the more honest way he talks about Javert when he’s alone during Tempest in a Skull:

“That Javert, who has been annoying me so long; that terrible instinct which seemed to have divined me, which had divined me—good God! and which followed me everywhere; that frightful hunting-dog, always making a point at me, is thrown off the scent, engaged elsewhere, absolutely turned from the trail: henceforth he is satisfied; he will leave me in peace; he has his Jean Valjean. Who knows? it is even probable that he will wish to leave town! And all this has been brought about without any aid from me, and I count for nothing in it!”

It's just extremely funny. The contrast between “you are a good man and I esteem you” vs “that Javert, who has been annoying me so long” <3 The contrast between “you are an honest man” vs “that frightful hunting dog” <3 The contrast between “I want you to keep your job” vs Jean Valjean fantasizing enthusiastically about how hopefully Javert will leave town and never ever annoy him again. <3

It makes the “Punish Me, Monsieur le Maire” stuff even funnier. Jean Valjean is dissociating out of panic and saying whatever polite platitudes he thinks will flatter Javert....but those polite platitudes keep making Javert spiral further into long-winded deranged rants about how he dESPISES this kindness and it enRAGES him, as Jean Valjean just sits there very politely & quietly losing his mind. It’s peak comedy really.

I feel like Jean Valjean’s deeply weird thing with Javert often gets flattened in different directions, when people interpret it. Either Jean Valjean is an all-forgiving all-loving angel who thinks Javert did nothing wrong, and all of his flattery is sincere expressions of admiration—- or Jean Valjean is (like in the BBC version) the kind of violent pitiless person who would angrily order Javert to kill himself. It's rare for writers to get anything resembling the hilariously baffling ambiguous Weirdness of his relationship with Javert in the book. I think it's because adaptations often don't grasp the idea that a genuinely kind compassionate character can also (underneath it all) still be deeply tormented, broken, and angry-- and that their anger doesn't mean they're any less kind, or any less capable of pity and mercy.

[coffeeangelinabox]

Whumpril #3: Shame

The flush burns like passing too close to a solar flare, a flash fire under his skin and scouring all but the feeling of his racing heart and the flames of heat reddening his face. He's apologised, he's begged, and all on his own bridge: his friends and crew and lover watching in silent, horrified silence. But this-

"Well?" The Domain officer on the view screen demands sharply.

At least he's been allowed to move to his private quarters. He knows the others think that mean that he'll be- He'll be honest, that's what he'd been expecting too.

Is this worse? He can't do it. Or...shouldn't. Darrow would let them blow him out of the sky first and had taught him the same. Death before dishonour. He knows better.

And yet.

He always thought he would face death chin up and smirking. He'd grown up with it, lived with it. Hadn't he seen the worst humanity could do to each other since he was a child? He's always been willing to die for his (Darrow's) cause.

But that thought and the actual reality of a missile one order away are very different things.

His sensors had been knocked out early enough into the battle that he's not even sure what the Domain ship is carrying. Will it be a concussive charge? Something that will knock out their engines and what little life support they have and leave them drifting until they choke on their own exhalations? Or a solid shot like the cannonballs pirates out here in the dark like to shoot - something that will punch through their hull sucking them out into the space and cold to implode or freeze? If it's a warship, it'll have a standard battery of lazers. Without shields, his precious ship could easily be turned into an oven. In the ice of space enough to bake them slowly. Torturously.

A variety of ways to die and each one more horrible to contemplate than the last.

This isn't-

When he left the Valjean he had wanted to make a difference, wanted to take the fight to the Domain, wanted free of Darrow's hit and run and hide tactics. He'd wanted to do something real. Like a fool.

Like a child.

"Well?" the officer orders again, and when Lee still doesn't answer, throat merely clicking on a dry swallow, he turns to someone off screen and snaps out, "Ready a volley."

"No. Wait." It's not an order. It's another plea and this one of his own volition, not scripted words given by someone else.

The officer raises a single finger, halting whoever he is talking to at his own weaponry control. He looks at Lee, mouth pursing in what could be impatience. Or amusement.

Either way, the words tumble over themselves. Like dirt and glass in his mouth, but unstoppable as vomit. "I- I'll do it. I'll send the distress signal. I'll-"

He stops again, panting through the wave of horror at what he's helplessly offering.

"You'll give me Darrow."

"I- Yes."

Darrow will come for him. No matter what terms they parted on. He thinks of the man as a father - rebelled for exactly that reason - and knows it is returned.

"And in return?"

Hatred boils alongside the shame. He must know, must know it is terrible mortal fear that has led Lee to this. He just wants him to say it. Still, it's a small concession after everything else this man has seen him do.

"I...I want to live."

"You? Not your crew?"

Fear flashes into Lee's eyes. "I...I mean. My ship. I want-"

The officer shrugs, careless and languid. "I don't care what you want. You give me Darrow and I'll teleport you out before I blow the rest of your pitiful wreck to atoms. With all aboard her. At least it'll be quick." The mock empathy burns.

Lee bows his head. He can't agree to this, of course he can't. To be rescued from certain death at the expense of the the friends who followed him. Everyone he has ever admired would rather go down with their ship than be a cowardly, traitorous lapdog to some minor border patrolling Lieutenant. He'll fight. Die the hero he has always wanted to be. "And the Valjean?" his lips say, completely of their own volition. Implicit acceptance.

"Oh, it will be destroyed alongside you. At least your crew will have company for their deaths. Excepting Darrow, of course. The Domain wants him alive. Mindwiped to our point of view he would be a formidable blow to the morale of your pitiful rebellion."

Darrow won't let that happen. He'll kill himself first. He's not the coward Lee is.

"Of course," the officer blithely continues as though he's reading his thoughts. "If Darrow dies before I have him in custody, our bargain is null and void. Your job will be to lure him aboard my cruiser. Otherwise, I'm sure I can find some inventive and prolonged ways to overcome my disappointment."

His salacious tone makes Lee shudder.

This is a plan, isn't it? A ruse? Something to catch the Domain ship between him and the Valjean; to hunt him with Darrow as they always have? But the fear twanging along his nerves belies the thought. He fears to move against this man the way a mouse fears to strike even at a sleeping cat.

"Do we have a deal?"

"Yes," he rasps out, a bare whisper. Yes, if it saves his life...No amount of self hatred can override that survival instinct. "Yes. I..." If nothing else, this man is sadistic, has enjoyed Lee's subjugation, and that he can give. "Yes. Anything. Spare me and I'll help you kill my crew and destroy Darrow."

Most damningly of all, the blush has faded. His blush doesn't even tremble.

It's a transaction, like any other. No matter what it rips out of him to cut it.

[dolphin1812]

We’re back to Jean Valjean’s continual crisis. But what’s scary this time is the finality of it. He himself describes it as his “final combat,” and as the reference to a crossroads calls to mind the two paths in “Javert Derailed,” death is ever-present here. It’s true that these options parallel all of his earlier crises, too, but they feel much more ominous after that chapter.

I also really hate the line, “Cosette had Marius, Marius possessed Cosette.” It’s so creepy. Neither one of them is an object. I hate, too, that he focuses on their “riches,” ignoring their other needs (like emotional support for both of them!! Which they really urgently need!!).

And the possessiveness is what’s making it hard for him to see this reality! Cosette isn’t a thing to be bandied around between men, and as a person, she needs people around her. She loves Marius and wants him with her. But she equally loves Valjean and wants him to stay, as indicated by her requests that he move in with them! Jean Valjean’s moral crises can be frustrating because of his self-hatred, and this is no exception (I find the line about him taking the “innocent hands” of Marius and Cosette into his “tragic hands” especially heartbreaking). But unlike his other person-centered crises, Cosette isn’t a passive victim, or at least, she shouldn’t be (unlike, say, Champmathieu, who likely couldn’t have escaped an awful fate without Valjean’s intervention). She’s a person who should be able to participate in this decision, not a moral quandary. 

To return to “Javert Derailed”: Valjean is imagining himself plunging into an abyss as one of his “paths” (the Cosette-less one). Again, Hugo’s big on drowning metaphors, and he’s used them for Valjean’s crises before, but this feels so much darker now that a character has actually died that way. It’s already been specified that Valjean would avoid an outright suicide because of his distaste for violence, but death’s presence is palpable here.

I hate Valjean’s thought process here so much (because it makes me sad), but what’s so frustrating about it is that he’s harming Cosette out of his love for her. He sees his presence as imposing the galleys on her, and of course, he doesn’t want that for her. Consequently, he excises himself from her life. But that’s what’s actually harmful, even if he doesn’t realize it. And it’s heartbreaking to see his lack of self-worth be this destructive to Cosette especially, since all that he does is intended to be for her sake.

A note on the specific paragraph that discusses this:

“Should he impose his galleys on those two dazzling children, or should he consummate his irremediable engulfment by himself? On one side lay the sacrifice of Cosette, on the other that of himself.”

“Consummate” is an interesting word in the context of this happening after the marriage. I don’t have any clear thoughts on it, but I do think there’s an intentionality there that might be worth exploring. Is he “married” to his suffering in his mind? To martyrdom?

Also, on martyrdom: Jean Valjean is explicitly compared to a crucified man here, making his usual Christ parallels particularly strong. 

[psalm22-6]

Source: The Jewish News of Northern California, 2 October 1992

I thought this was a very cool profile and an interesting perspective. I love the research she did on the gamins. 

Understudy says Jews will see themselves in Le Miz by Paul Freeman The theatrical epic Les Miserables tells the story of Jean Valjean, a noble, good-hearted man unjustly persecuted for a minor crime. To sate his extreme hunger, Valjean steals a loaf of bread only to find himself mistreated for the rest of his life. According to cast member Pauline Frommer, Jean Valjean's ordeal should strike a chord among Jews. 

“The persecution is not really about the loaf of bread," says Frommer, “but about who he is." 

Similarly, she says, "We, as Jews, are persecuted not out of anything we actually do, but because of who we are. That's the story of Jean Valjean, who is imploring Javert, 'Look at me as a human being! Don't look at me as a criminal!'"

[. . .] Frommer attributes the show's popularity to its spiritual quality. "It touches on what's best in human beings, revealing our aspirations towards creating new worlds," she says. "It brings out a longing in people to go out and create a revolution, to try to make things better. At the end of the show, it says that to love another person is to see the face of God. That's very powerful." 

Frommer understudies two roles — Eponine and Cosette. One requires a soprano voice, the other an alto. Fortunately, Frommer has a three-octave range. She also has to adjust to the differences between the personalities of the two characters. Cosette is gentle, while Eponine has rougher edges. 

Very often, Frommer doesn't know until only a few hours before the curtain that she will have to perform one of these featured roles. "That makes it exciting every time I go on," she says. "There's always an adrenaline rush. I can never get totally comfortable with a character. That's a big advantage, I think." 

When Frommer isn't called upon to play one of those roles, she focuses her energies on her work within the ensemble. "I play a boy for most of the show," she says. "To prepare, I watched the little boys in the cast, seeing what kind of tricks they liked to play on people. I also read [author Victor] Hugo's novel and learned about the contradictions of these little gamins. They're both playful and serious. They steal and eat from garbage cans, but they love the theater and want to know more about the culture of Paris." 

Growing up, Frommer had the unusual opportunity to experience a number of other cultures firsthand. Her father, after all, is the famed travel writer Arthur Frommer, who wrote the Europe on $5 a Day series of books. According to his daughter, Dad researched the hotels and restaurants, while his wife at the time, actress and acting instructor Hope Arthur, gathered information about museums. 

"I started traveling when I was 4-months-old," the 25-year-old Frommer says. "My parents would push me into drawers at night, because they didn't carry a crib. Every summer since then, until I was 14 and started going to camp, we would go to Europe to update the book.

"It gave me a great appreciation for how different, and yet, how alike we all are," she says. 

Arthur Frommer, who recently wrote a new book titled The New World of Travel and hosts a cable TV show of the same name, made Jewish historical sites an important part of the family's European visits. 

"In Spain we visited many synagogues," his daughter recounts. "We went to Israel when I was 11. My parents got off the plane and kissed the ground. I remember very clearly the Wailing Wall, which had a profound effect on me. It also meant a lot to me to realize that I was in a Jewish state, where I was in the majority, not the minority." 

In all her worldly travels, Frommer claims never to have encountered anti-Semitism, though on tour with Les Miserables she occasionally has felt that her Jewishness made her an outsider. 

"Usually, there are a lot of Jews in theater," she says. "In Les Miz, there's only one other Jewish member in the cast. In Kansas, my dresser told me I was the first Jewish person she had ever really known. But it wasn't a negative thing. She was curious about me. 

"Being from New York City, I grew up around many Jews. On Yom Kippur, the whole school got the day off. So it was strange for me to be seen as being so different. At the end of the week, the dresser gave me a pin that said, 'Oy vey.'"

Despite her Jewish upbringing, Frommer claims always to find herself cast in non-Jewish parts. "It's funny. In camp, I was in Fiddler on the Roof. I played the Russian sergeant. I'm always cast as the shiksa. They always cast the blonde in the non-Jewish roles," laughs Frommer, who plans to audition for movie roles when the tour hits Los Angeles. 

Nonetheless, Frommer remains hopeful. 

"Who knows," she says, "maybe someday I'll get the part I've always wanted, my dream role  — Anne Frank."