Time To Overreact Over Fiction

I actually have proper time to myself today, so I finished "Javert Derailed." (Being an adult is really annoying because I do not get enough time to immerse myself in my interests.) I was somewhat dreading this chapter. I knew what would happen, but I didn't want it to happen. And when it did happen, I got emotional, of course. I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this section, so here is me trying to put them in writing.

First, it's very important here that guilt is not Javert's primary motivation. Yes, Javert "examine[s] his conscience" (trans. Donougher 1181); however, the repeated references to the breaking of his moral compass - his internal "division" (1180), his "loss of certainty" (1183), etc. - indicate that this sense of morality is the conscience that he examines. Javert is devastated because the world and values he was certain of have been reduced in the face of Valjean the convict's kindness: "All the axioms that his whole life had hinged on gave way before that man" (1182). Nothing is orderly or predictable anymore, and this "loss of certainty" is Javert's "supreme anguish" (1183).

Although I doubt that Hugo intended these descriptions of Javert's pain to reflect neurodivergence, they portray the relationship between neurodivergence and order/chaos incredibly well (at least in my experience as an autistic woman). Javert's belief that he cannot simply be human but must "be irreproachable" (1184), his distress over being bombarded by "a whole order of unexpected factors" (1183) or by having "the unknown looming over him" (1186) - these are things that terrify me and so many other neurodivergent individuals who I have become acquainted with. I mean, I have cried and had meltdowns over far less major changes than what Javert undergoes; it makes perfect sense that he is distressed. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Javert is autistic. I don't care that the term and diagnosis of autism wasn't coined until the twentieth century; autistic people have always existed and Javert is one of them. And honestly, he's much better representation than a lot of purposefully autistic characters in modern media.

Another part of this section that I found significant was the following excerpt:

"The only unknown Javert had ever seen was down below. The irregular, the unexpected, the disorderly opening-up of chaos, the possibility of sliding into an abyss - this was something to do with the nether regions, with the intractable, the wicked, the wretched." (1186)

Here, Javert's origins reappear ("the nether regions," etc.). These two sentences make such an impression upon me because Hugo hasn't exactly alluded to Javert's childhood since Part 1. His reinstatement of this childhood, importantly, reiterates an additional layer of depth to Javert's character. Javert has a deep-rooted fear of "sliding into an abyss," or, in other words, of living a life of chaos that lacks any sense of the known.

And the language! The language in this section is so very poignant. The use of oxymoron, for instance: "vile angel" (1183), "horrified and dazzled" (1184). And there's something of Julia Kristeva's abject here; the natural world is grotesque, the river being "swollen" (1190). The ways Hugo references Javert in the final paragraph is also fascinating. Javert transitions from a "statue" (1171) to a "phantom" (1190). Interestingly, Valjean is also described as a sort-of "phantom"; he is a "spectre" (1171). There is certainly something to this parallel.

Last year I wrote my bachelor's thesis about ensembles in musicals and in Les Mis in particular, so I thought it would be fun to post something about the conclusion of my research for this year's barricade day. I am currently writing another thesis (also related to Les Mis lmao), so I did not have the time to reformat it or anything, but I think my original conclusion of the case study + part of the conclusion of the thesis together make my point pretty well either way. I hope y'all find it as interesting to read as I found to research it!

In honour of another Barricade Day, I present you a little animation of Chapter XXIII 🙇🥀

Last year I did an animatic of Grantaire with Dust & Ashes from The Great Comet. This time I hope you’d like more of Orestes & Pylades!

Preview~

Happy Barricades and thank you! <3

Epilogue

Happy Barricade Day! After all, June 6th is the day they made their sacrifice, so I’m not late, right?

The inspiration for this drawing came from the Toledo Cathedral—the sense of the heavens opening up, which also corresponds to the final song of Les Misérables, "Epilogue."

In the painting, I wanted to depict the scene Jean Valjean vaguely sees as he passes away. Fantine takes his hand, leading him toward heaven, while the Bishop stands beside him, illuminating the path behind. And in the background are those who fell during the battle.

The upward composition gives the feeling that their voices fade into the "valley of the light," reflecting their destiny of "climbing to the light." I wanted the darker surroundings to contrast with the light of heaven, showing that they now dwell in that place beyond—echoing the lyric, "We will live again in freedom in the garden of the Lord."

Jehan loves playing the flute, so perhaps the "distant drums" are sounds he conjures.

Behind Valjean, there is a mural of women—intended to represent the "lovely ladies," along with little Gavroche and his sister Éponine above. These figures embody the suffering people of the earth, much like the lyrics of "Wretched of the Earth."

I’ve been in the Les Mis tumblr fandom for some years now. It’s a special community, with one very special event. 

The grind.

The adrenaline.

The no-betas-we-die-like-Le Cabuc. 

But the reality on the ground tells a different story. 

Here’s what I’ve observed about Barricade Day—what everyone’s really thinking, but too afraid to say ⬇️

1. June’s not coming earlier—but the online pace is picking up.

June 1st hits. Before you know it, Larmarque is dead, the barricades are up and everyone is posting the art they’ve spent weeks perfecting. And you? You’re frantically scrambling to get something together.

It’s just like a protest in a fanfic that mysteriously goes wrong. One minute everything’s good. You’re on track. The next, there’s smoke in the air, bricks being thrown, and bleeding twinks sheltering in a Starbucks. Or something like that.

The solution? Make time work for you. Barricade Day is whenever you say it is. The real thing already happened, so it’s not like Charles Jeanne cares which day you post your Enjonine fic.

2. People don’t want to fuck Enjolras anymore—and that’s a problem

There was a time when Aaron Tveit ruled this corner of the internet. All you had to do was post a gif of his blond wig and the reblogs would come flooding in. Enjolras thirst was a real source of power.

And now?

A gifset will get 20 reblogs if you’re lucky.

The fandom is only as strong as its horniest soldiers. To survive and thrive in an adapting environment we’ve got to commit. Enjolras porn won’t just happen. You’ve got to make it happen.

3. Migration is natural. Don’t get let behind.

Staying relevant means adapting your approach and going where the change is. Tumblr has had a good run, but it’s not where fresh new fandoms form.

X might just be the answer.

With a younger and more public fanbase, X is where it’s at these days. Now you don’t have to hide behind pseudonyms and keep things within communities—you can tag all the actors when posting your Amis gangbang art. 

A Group Which Almost Became Historic 

It's been over a decade since I first read Les Mis, and first drew this, (which still floats around in reblogs, the original post now being deleted with my old blog) and I thought I ought to finish this for Barricade Day. At the time, that illustration was the most ambitious I had ever drawn.

In the last ten years, Les Mis has perhaps felt more pertinent than ever. In Australia, where I live, bigoted, far-right political parties that were previously considered fringe are leading polls on the back of racist, anti-immigration rhetoric. I donate regularly to a charity that supports refugees that is local to me, the Asylum Seeker Resource Center, and am going to do so again today. I encourage you to do the same, either to the ASRC, or to an equivalent charity in your area.

[please note that the photo depicts the June Days Uprising of 1848, not the June Rebellion of 1832. Silver iodine photography was not invented until 1833.]

Do you hear the people sing?

Lost in the valley of the night

It is the music of a people

Who are climbing to the light

For the wretched of the earth

There is a flame that never dies

Even the darkest night will end