#3.8.14

Javert Giving Marius Pistols can be found in the Brick at: 3.8.14

Marius' Three Day Cutlet Diet can be found in the Brick at: 3.5.1

PROPOGANDA:

Javert Gives Marius Two Pistols:

"here, young fellow, you reported a possible crime and therefore I shall just give you these guns to shoot as a signal. i will never follow up on this"

The Thenardier women find comfort in the clothes unlike Thenardier who is only interested in making plans involving violence to the rich benefactor/philanthropist. He is so consumed by his plan that he stops Madame Thenardier from getting food, and instead wants to use that money to harm the man.

Thenardier however is not the only one thinking about violence, we see that Madame Thenardier too turns her hatred into a violent destructive wish of kicking/harming Cosette physically and rendering her less attractive and less womanly. I like the parallels between how Marius reacts to Cosette and how Madame Thenardier does as well. She gets the eyes of the tigress, tigers being a metaphor for cunning according to the cats in Les Mis post by @pilferingapples.

Once again Thenardier’s my little Romantic beard is another allusion to the showy exterior/aesthetic having nothing of substance inside and therefore a critique on art/drama.

Jondrette/Thenardier’s complaints are valid about either being able to satisfy his hunger or his cold, which is the state society left him in, but he wants to be a millionaire.  Thenardier seems to me to be someone who was so full of hatred for society but did not receive any goodness in the form of someone like Bishop Myriel and now his hatred has grown too much like the other members of the Patron Minette and so he has become a symbolic archetype of a self-interested criminal. 

Although, even then only meeting the bishop wouldn’t have been enough, this would have also required effort on his part to change as well, which Valjean did even if it was not always easy, and Thenardier is not interested in that. It’s not that he’s actually making any effort to be a better person but falling into hard times, he does not even want to try to be good, only to be rich. But being rich is not going to solve his problems because he is always going to want more. I don’t know what the solution would be though.  

3.8.13

I find it interesting that Marius has moved on from describing the Thenardiers from toads among Cosette as a hummingbird- to vipers, since they are thinking of harming his beloved and her father. But also, vipers implies they intend to harm society and ‘need to be stamped underfoot’ whereas a toad does not cause harm in society, it spends time contemplating the world around it.

Marius finally decides to do something about the coming burglary and decides to finally earn all the plaudits that the narrator seems to keep bestowing on him. The perks of being the author’s favourite.   

3.8.14

This chapter is hilarious, and I need the buddy cop AU with Javert and Marius to happen. I love the initial descriptions of Javert so much too. Javert gets another mention comparing him to a guard-dog who will have to hunt a wolf. I like the contrast between Javert with his no-nonsense attitude which plays off very well with the dreamy Marius.

I love the rapid-fire dialogue here too  as everyone has already pointed out:

‘It’s about a confidential matter.’

‘Then speak.’

‘And very urgent.’

‘Then speak quickly.’

And then he’s so distracted thinking about Patron Minette that he burns his coat but treats it very casually. This is such prime comedy.

I also love the way that Javert describes Patron Minette as a cheap theatre/vaudeville act who are only shy of audiences, it’s really funny. I also love Javert giving Marius the look when Marius states the obvious that Patron Minette are dangerous. This chapter is full of hilarious stuff. 

Marius’s forehead just keep growing. He’s learning, boys.

Hugo very subtly lets us know that this is, beyond a doubt, Javert because of course it’s him. Marius’s view of Javert from the perspective of a law-abiding citizen is intriguing: “This man, calm and abrupt, was at the same time alarming and reassuring.” Even Marius senses that blurry line between guarding and attacking, “it is sometimes no less startling to meet the dog than the wolf.” 

There’s no way Marius managed to notice and identify Panchaud-Printanier-Bigrenaille, but we’ll let him have it. Javert asks if he’s seen a rat, an elephant, or a bird. Marius has not.

Seeing Javert aligned with our goals complicates his narrative; he’s working for an agreed upon good by targeting P-M, but the question as to his intentions causes hesitation. Marius came in because he wanted to do what was right and prevent harm to unsuspecting victims, Javert is more interested in justice, in making culpable the criminal element, “I want to hear them sing, and make them dance.” Both are useful in their time, but it’s fairly easy to see which perspective leaves more room for corruption.

Marius is brave, like, stupidly brave. He has no thought of personal danger, only that he has to do this right thing. In a less serious situation, this gets shouted down by his awkward and shy nature, but he comes through in the clutch. I don’t know who it says more about that Javert judges Marius in a single look to be an acceptable associate in this sting operation.

Courfeyrac is the world’s foremost Pontmercy expert. Note that Marius has the same look in his eyes whether he’s following the girl of his dreams or his dangerous criminal neighbor. He decides to leave Marius to his Pontmercying, which is a shame because I kind of really wanted to see Courfeyrac and Bossuet get in on these shenanigans. Well, maybe not Bossuet.

Marius has been training for this for months and is in super stealthy spy mode doing a great job! Baron Marius Pontmercy, Private Eye. Another great AU to think on. He needs the intellectual stimulation of being an attorney with the thrill and danger of tracking people down in the field.

Marius arrives at the police station and asks to speak to the commissary. They tell him that only an inspector is available to speak with him.

“There stood a tall man behind a grating, leaning against a stove, and holding up with both hands the tails of a vast topcoat, with three collars. His face was square, with a thin, firm mouth, thick, gray, and very ferocious whiskers, and a look that was enough to turn your pockets inside out. Of that glance it might have been well said, not that it penetrated, but that it searched.

This man’s air was not much less ferocious nor less terrible than Jondrette’s; the dog is, at times, no less terrible to meet than the wolf.”

(When I took the YouQuiz that went around a while ago about which digression you are, I got the result about every time Javert is a furry and, well... here we are.)

Marius tells the inspector about all that he overheard. The inspector seems surprised when Marius gives him the address, but he doesn’t mention why. He suspects that Patron-Minette is involved.

The inspector burns his coat leaning against the stove.

The inspector asks Marius whether he’s afraid. Marius insists that he’s not, so the inspector asks him for his house key and gives him two pistols. He tells Marius to go home and to fire once the situation has reached the critical point, but not a moment before.

At any other time I’d be amused by Javert’s remark about ‘too much fire in the stove’, Marius getting annoyed by not being called “Monsieur”, and the whole ‘speak/it’s urgent/then speak quickly’ exchange.

Not feeling it today.

Marius speaks to Javert, and they (well, Javert) plan to counter Jondrette/Thenardier's ambush.

"It's important. / Then speak quickly." (Et très pressée / Alors, parlez vite) is my favorite exchange from these last several chapters. Got to love that Hugo wit. I really enjoy how drole Javert's words to Marius are, and keep imagining them in Hugh Laurie's voice (specificallly, his Mr. Palmer from Sense and Sensibility).