#and i can't think of any scenario where young peasant jean would actually get involved

[bonhcmme]

Pruner of Men

Doctor, Jacobin, Writer

His more distant forebears pruned orchards. Closer on the family tree, his father pruned wood into cabinets, toys, furniture. As for Jean Valjean fils, he was destined to prune men into a working government.

His humble beginnings showed little portent of this. He was born in 1744 the second child and first son of Jean & Jeanne Valjean. It was understood he would be heir to the father’s woodworking business in Paris. Though not a bad inheritance— it was thriving at the time of Valjean père’s death— it was nonetheless not what Jean wanted to pursue in life. He wanted to learn.

His older sister Jeanne being the responsible level head of the family, she took on the business with their younger brother Mathieu as apprentice while Jean studied and contributed what he could to the family finances. He was less sure what subject he wanted to study; he hopped around like a bee among flowers until at last he knew what pollen to collect: medicine. Law may have been the better choice for a man of ambition. Valjean’s only ambition was to better peoples’ lives while making a living of his own, and it seemed to him under the current regime both were not present in the field of law.

He became a doctor instead as well as something of an amateur scientist— he was more willing than some to try unconventional treatments, especially if conventional ones were not working. He established himself a practice and a reputation. Once he had these, her began to look beyond those borders to the country surrounding him. He could do something for the ill, but what of the other sickness in the land? A visit to one of the slums of Paris showed him the need viscerally; he donated to charity but also began writing letters to men of influence.

It wasn’t that he had nothing to lose. He had his position, a wife,* a family. But this felt too important to leave alone. As things heated up in France Valjean kept close eye on the newspapers, he frequented cafés, he began writing for the very papers he read so assiduously. He was away on a visit to a rural patient on July 14, 1789 but made up for lost time when he returned. He poured forth articles and pamphlets in support of reform, some of it quite radical. However, he was careful not to call for violence. When he finally ran for the Legislative Assembly, he was seen as a moderate.

In some ways he was: anticlerical but not anti-religion, seeking reform and not ruins to build upon. But the reforms he did want went too far for many and without a natural constituency— not radical enough for either left or right— he found it difficult to drum up support for his position. Still, he tried. As the national mood shifted from right to left, he felt more at ease. His movements became more like those of a fish in water threading himself between the groups, attempting to knit together disparate personalities and policies. He wanted peace.

He would only find it at the end of a regretful climb.

*role of wife wide open, if anybody wants it. This is one of those rare AUs where he actually could & would get married, so. I would cry.