#les mis reread

[asherlookit]

Bishop Myriel walks his garden

Or: “‘The beautiful is as useful as the useful’, he added after a pause ‘Moreso, perhaps.’”

[maripr]

Javert truly lives a painful existence, doesn't he.

He believes, by choice, in the most wrong ideal of goodness, holds himself to his ridiculous standards, saying that if he ever catches himself doing wrong, he will punish himself (what spectacular foreshadowing!) and then, to top it all off, says he would be a miserable if he didn't do this, without recognizing, or perhaps denying to himself, that he already is.

He's the result of the darkness that befalls the child, isn't he.

[bookgirlfan]

Rereading Les Mis, and I forgot the whole first book is just about the bishop. 160 pages in and I still haven’t had even a whisper of Jean Valjean.

also forgot just how much fun he is! the mayor of a town is trying to warn him off visiting another little town because there are brigands in the area, and the bishop goes ‘you’re right, I might meet the brigands. Gotta be prepared’

mayor breathes sigh of relief

‘they might want to hear about God too.’

[vivalamusaine]

I think about this quote from Gavroche (best boy) a lot. How just earlier in the chapter the group that came to chastise him for being a "beggars brat" were complaining about their standard of living, how they could not afford good meat, how they were struggling to survive, yet they hate the idea of a revolution because they think it will make life more expensive. The poor have been pitted against the poor for centuries and it has never stopped.

[maripr]

Mabeuf dies first as a touching symbol of the desperation of the people, the poor , the elders left without aid.

Bahorel dies second because Hugo couldn't handle the awesomesauce.

[asherlookit]

“He took her on his back. Cosette, without letting go of Catherine, laid her head on Jean Valjean’s shoulder, and there fell asleep”

Aka valjean and young cosette u mean quite a lot to me

[maripr]

Also fucking Gillenormand

"didn't you have an intimate friend?"

"yes, Courfeyrac"

"what happened to him?"

"he died"

"GOOD"

What ARE these chapters 😭 what are these dialogues!

[maripr]

Reread the part where Valjean hears from someone that an inspector of the police named Javert died, confirms in the Moniteur that a formerly irreproachable individual had gone crazy – proof was a letter he wrote to the Prefect – and commited suicide.

And Valjean says, his tone and feelings on the situation otherwise unknown to us: "Well, since he let me go, he had to be crazy already".

I

I need to pause and read approximately 100 Post Seine slowburn valvert fanfics. I'll return to the reread in a moment.