hi!!! re: your recent post about lyrics from the musical and valjean saving javert because of forgiveness, it's fairly obvious in the book that that's not the reason valjean saves javert; on the contrary, he holds grudges for what was done to him by society. JVJ is such a contradicting character and the theme of forgiveness is hazy in my mind because on one hand he has a lot of (justified) anger inside him, but on the other hand will ask Cosette to forgive the thénardiers... So...could he have forgiven javert? Was it just a decision based on self-destruction or just plain kindness? I never know what to make of all this, I'd really really like to hear your opinion on it! Love your posts <3
Thank you so much! [post the ask is referring to is here.]
“Did Jean Valjean forgive Javert in brick canon?” is different from “Could he forgive Javert?" I have a LOT of thoughts on this, but I’ll summarize them like this:
Short answer: No, I don’t think Jean Valjean forgave Javert in canon.
I do think that in an alternative universe where Javert lived, he could “forgive” him, though it depends on what you mean by “forgiveness.” In canon Jean Valjean experiences so much bigotry that he’s often very willing to justify, downplay, brush off, or excuse other people’s past cruelty towards him, since that cruelty is so pervasive/inescapable. See also: the way Jean Valjean handles Marius’s ‘unforgivable’ mistreatment of him. Is this Christlike ‘turning the other cheek,’ or is it self-loathing and masochism and internalized bigotry and fear of his own righteous anger? Or is it all of those things? You decide XD.
I do also think it’s Notable that Jean Valjean deeply pities Thenardier even though he does many of the same cruel things that Javert does [abusing/killing Fantine]-- but Thenardier is a criminal living in squalid poverty, someone who Jean Valjean feels is what he might have been. Jean Valjean just doesn’t seem to have that same uh “he’s my pitiful poor little meow meow everyone please forgive him” instinct towards police officers in canon imho, the way he does for other criminals. Which uhh, makes sense, for a wide variety of reasons. But this is the short answer XD.
IMHO, Jean Valjean did not “forgive” Javert in canon. There’s no indication his personal feelings on Javert changed after the barricades or after his suicide. Every time he thinks of Javert privately, his thoughts are Negative, comparing him to a beast/hunting dog/predator– even down to the last moment he interacts with Javert, where he compares him to a cat playing with its food.
The only time Jean Valjean ever says entirely ‘positive’ things about Javert are when he’s in disguise as Madeline, where we’re explicitly told he is just saying polite flattery out of terror and to avoid raising Javert’s suspicions. [post on that here.] [another related post here.]
Canon Jean Valjean does not think about Javert’s personality or feelings very deeply–he is just one member of an entire police force who are terrorizing him, and is dangerous mainly because he’s Very Good At His Job. After the barricades, Jean Valjean has no faith Javert has been changed. When he later learns about Javert’s suicide, he indifferently dismisses him as “mad.” From Jean Valjean’s perspective, Javert was a cruel police officer who was horrible to other criminals like Fantine, was horrible to him, and then one day Just Went Crazy and set him free for Crazy Person Reasons because he was Crazy.
Which is sad! Because there is something really compelling about the Mismatch in their emotions at the end of the novel. To Javert, Jean Valjean is this angelic monster-saint who has changed his life and shattered his view of the world. But to Jean Valjean, Javert is just one of many horrible people in the justice system who have been cruel to him.
And I think this relates to how Jean Valjean– despite being someone who is quick to pity others, and to perform almost supernatural acts of kindness, mercy, and grace– often doesn’t really get the chance to understand people on a more personal level. Cosette is the exception to the general rule that Jean Valjean does not get close to people, or get to have any relationship that isn’t “pity on one side, and idolization on the other.”
But that brings up the question of: why does he rescue Javert then?
To me it’s clear that he rescues Javert in the same way he rescues the members of the National Guard, whose helmets he shoots off– it’s miraculous kindness, but it’s also impersonal. If any other police officer were in Javert’s position, Jean Valjean would set them free as well. If Thenardier were in Javert’s position, Jean Valjean would set him free as well. The only way it being Javert affected things is that it made it Worse, because Javert would never accept what he perceived as a ‘deal’ to spare Jean Valjean from prison.
When Jean Valjean rescues Marius, he’s compared to Jesus Christ carrying his cross. Jean Valjean views Marius as the thing that will destroy his happy life with Cosette, leaving him with an empty nest and a horrible, lonely death– so, like Christ, he’s forced to carry the instrument of his own destruction. Marius is a living crucifix. The sewers are the road to Calvary.
Rescuing Javert feels like another version of that. Like….Jean Valjean does genuinely seem to believe what he said in his little speech on nettles, about how all life is valuable and there is no such thing as a “worthless” human being fit only for extermination. He is doing the same thing he did when he rescued Fauchelevent underneath the cart– saving the life of someone who hated him, in an act of miraculous (but impersonal) kindness and pity, even when it meant sacrificing his own safety.
But that doesn’t mean he likes Javert or forgives him on an interpersonal level, any more than he likes or forgives Marius. He bears Javert as a cross. He’s rescuing the thing that will be used to punish him.
I could go on but I think I'll end with this: there’s something here too about how Jean Valjean is very Christ-like, but also is far more human. He's emotional, fallible, and has to struggle with interpersonal relationships and a 'selfish''' desire for comfort/happiness and petty human feelings in a way that God would never have to. And it’s definitely a really compelling internal struggle to explore– because, as we’re shown repeatedly, there really aren’t easy answers to these kind of questions.
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