Jean Valjean is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's famous novel Les Miserables. It is one of the most powerful classics in the world of literature. Jean Valjean is not just an interesting fictional character, he has several real-life prototypes.
Who is Jean Valjean
In Hugo's novel, Jean Valjean is a former criminal sentenced to a long term for stealing bread. He was born in 1769 in the French commune of Favrole. After his parents passed away, he was taken in by his older sister Jeanne.
After the death of her husband, Jeanne, her entire family is on the verge of death from hunger. For the sake of his sister and seven nephews, Jean decides to commit a crime and steals a loaf of bread. As a result, he was caught and sentenced to 5 years. Jean made four unsuccessful attempts to escape, and for this and resistance to the authorities, his prison sentence was increased by another 14 years.
Jean served 19 years behind bars. After his release, he was given a passport with a note stating that the owner of the document was in custody. The presence of a "yellow" passport did not allow them to move freely around the world and independently choose their place of residence. The authorities sent Jean Valjean to Pontarlier.
Valjean's inner throwing and finding oneself
The long years spent in prison made Jean an outcast. Society did not want to accept such people, and Jean himself felt cut off from the real world.
Acquaintance with Bishop Miriel becomes fateful and changes Valjean's worldview. Despite all the negative circumstances, the bishop treated Jean with humanity and compassion.
He did not expose and hand off the former police prisoner for stealing the family silver, but said that he himself gave it to Jean. This act of the bishop forced Valjean to repent, and he decided to start his life anew.
The character and inner essence of Jean Valjean is more clearly revealed by the example of comparing him with another character - Inspector Javert.
This detective is a zealous servant of the law who stubbornly follows the former prisoner Vazhan. Javert came from the lower strata of society. He was the son of a fortune teller who gave birth to him while in prison.
Despite his origins, Javert became a spokesman for the law and rose to the rank of police inspector.
Acquaintance with Valjean took place in Toulon, where Javert worked as an overseer. According to the plot, Javert pursues Jean, leads a real hunt for a former prisoner. As a result of many events, Valjean saves an inspector obsessed with the idea of reprisal, thereby changing his worldview and moral priorities.
Jean Valjean is the main figure in the novel
Jean Valjean is a key figure in Les Miserables. The author wrote that this work is a difficult story about a convict who learns the great virtues, finding himself at the very bottom of life.
The clash and confrontation between Valjean and Inspector Javert is a struggle between spiritual and earthly duty, a clash of conscience and state law. The main idea of the novel is that the main villain and criminal is society itself, which awakens many human vices.
Interestingly, the hero of Jean Valjean has a real prototype. It is the convict Pierre Morin, who in 1801 was sentenced to five years in hard labor for a stolen piece of bread.
Bishop Monsignor de Miollis took part in his fate. He gave Morein shelter, and then helped find a job. Subsequently, Morin became a brave warrior and died at the Battle of Waterloo.
