Well, we’re on day three of Javert week, and we have all of two people actively contributing to the celebration. I’m not going to lie, I’m more than a bit disappointed, and more than a bit annoyed.
Come on, fandom, this is a really important character and next to nobody wants to talk about him. I understand that it can be daunting taking on a fully-developed man from the main cast, but… he’s a fully-developed man from the main cast and Hugo poured all that work into him for a reason. Even if you disagree with what he does, the fact remains that he’s a central part of the story as a whole, that what he represents has multiple layers to it, and that there’s more than enough there for people to work with no matter where they’re coming from. Javert is one of the driving forces of the plot, he’s the one who kicks most everything into gear. Without him, none of the story would have happened, or maybe it would have, but that’s a game of chance. You wouldn’t have him at the Gorbeau house, though you might not have had him there in the first place because there would have probably been no Valjean in Paris, and Cosette would still have been with the Thénardiers, because Fantine probably wouldn’t have come to the mayor’s attention. Maybe he goes and fetches Cosette anyways, and lives with Fantine in Montreuil-sur-Mer. The Thénardiers still go under, still travel to Paris, the Gorbeau house still happens, but Javert isn’t there. Marius has little he can do and part of the Patron-Minette is not apprehended. Valjean isn’t around for the barricades, so maybe Marius meets Courfeyrac, becomes fully involved in the revolution, and dies on the barricade, or lives but never recovers without Cosette there to nurse him. There are so many what-ifs and a huge portion of them have to do with Javert taking action, even if that action is negative. Antagonists have their place in the story, too — antagonist, not villain. He’s still not the villain of Les Mis. Which we could be talking about. Because it’s Javert week.
Please, please don’t let this week pass by with nothing to show for it. If we can have three separate celebrations of the same character, we can certainly manage seven days for just the one who nobody ever talks about anyways. Just take a day, write up something about Javert, put it in the #Javert Week tag. I know that we’re not all artists, some of us can’t sing, some of us can’t sit down and read Hugo’s massive novel, but I think that most of us have seen some adaptation, so talk about that. Just. Please. One minute on one day for you to stop and think about this character. I don’t care what conclusion you come to about him at this point, not at all, but don’t let this die because he’s not the fandom’s favorite.
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