Another funny detail I feel a lot of people miss about Javert is how he literally Does Not Care At All about protecting people. He cares solely about punishment. Sometimes, he will put innocent people in danger because it makes it easier for him to punish people!Â
The two most obvious examples of this are the plot points where Javert ârescuesâ a bourgeoise person and then is unable to ask them questions because heâs so busy âpunishing the evil poor peopleâ that he doesnât even glance in their direction. This happens after he ârescuesâ Bamatabois from Fantine and after he ârescuesâ Valjean from Patron-Minette. In both cases heâs so busy making a big pompous Ceremony over punishing the criminal that he doesnât even bother to check on the victims. Because he doesnât actually care about the victims.
The most compelling example of how little Javert cares about protecting people, imho, is the way he handles the Gorbeau House ambush.
After Marius overhears Thenardier planning to ambush Valjeanâ his first plan is very reasonable! He plans to intercept Valjean the moment he arrives at the house, talk to him before he enters, and warn him to leave.
Should he wait for M. Leblanc at the door that evening at six oâclock, at the moment of his arrival, and warn him of the trap? But Jondrette and his men would see him on the watch, the spot was lonelyâŠ
Mariusâs top priority is Valjeanâs safety.Â
He only goes to the police because heâs afraid to warn Valjean on his own and believes that the police will give him the backup he needs to execute this plan to prevent any harm from coming to an innocent personâ but that isnât what happens.
The problem is that policeâ and Javertâ have completely different priorities than Marius. They donât care about protecting the innocent person whoâs in danger. They care about arresting and punishing as many people as possible.
Javert gives Marius a pistol that he can fire to call in the police. Then he tells Marius that the most important priority is that he must wait until the criminals have done something that can legally be punished by the law, to make sure theyâll have a good case when they go to court. That is Javertâs only concern. Never, not once in the entire scene, does he express any concern for the victim.
âLeave them to their own devices for a time. When you think matters have reached a crisis, and that it is time to put a stop to them, fire a shot. Not too soon. The rest concerns me. A shot into the ceiling, the air, no matter where. Above all things, not too soon. â
Instead of attempting to warn/rescue the innocent victim Javert deliberately encourages putting the victim in danger so that they can have something to punish! He expresses no concern for the victimâs life or health! Itâs not his job to worry about those things! (And again, he has no idea this man is Valjean, he just thinks itâs some random innocent gentleman!) He has no empathy, and cares more about protecting the abstract concept of Order than he does the lives of human beings.
A couple Discord Server buddies and I have talked about how the Gorbeau House would have gone so much better if Marius had asked for help from Les Amis instead of Javertâ and YES. Because Les Amis actually care about protecting people and wouldâve probably gone along with Mariusâs initial plan of âwarning Valjean before he even enters the house,â because they wouldâve been motivated by a desire to protect the innocent person.
Iâd also like to add that, along with Javert not caring about protecting other peopleâ he also doesnât care about protecting himself. At the barricade heâs completely indifferent to his own death. He smiles haughtily when heâs caught; he surrenders with complete tranquility; he doesnât utter a single protest or plea for mercy; he seems very content to die. In fact, he repeatedly encourages them to execute him sooner.
He doesnât value the lives of other people, but he also doesnât value his own. He wonât defend other people, but he also wonât defend himself. He believes human life is worthless.
And thatâs why the moment when he lets Valjean go is such a turning pointâ itâs the first moment in the book when he does act out of compassion, when he does realize someoneâs life is worth defending. And itâs not a coincidence that in order to be compassionate he has to rebel and deliberately refuse to follow orders and do his job, and âturn in his resignation to Godâ and the police at once.
