Les Miserables: Law and Social Order

[cherie_morte]

Title: Law and Social Order: Les Miserables' Javert and the Attempt to Repress Social Deviance with the Law
Fandom: Les Miserables
Characters/Pairings: Javert.
Genre: Non-Fiction.
Word Count: 2,582
Author's Note: Some of you may be familiar with my theory that Javert is very, very gay. For over two years I've been meaning to write a story

Comments

[icicaille]

Wow, this is really interesting! Finally, fanon is supported by actual research/evidence.

I fear I have to express my dissent on a few points, however.

Javert does not obsess over every man who is released from prison; however, his single-minded crusade is against Valjean.
I think this is one of the great disparities between musical and novel; in the former, Javert is actually obsessed with Valjean, but in the latter, he merely regards him as just another criminal until the barricades.
Hugo writes:
He no longer thought of Jean Valjean,--the wolf of to-day causes these

[cherie_morte]

Thank you so much for your kind words! And also for your constructive criticism

[icicaille]

Oh man, I've generalized and exaggerated to prove a point countless times in my papers, so I can certainly forgive/understand that.

Ah, I see your point regarding novel vs. theatre, and I agree. Had Hugo written Les Mis as a play, perhaps Javert would've been gay. Who knows! I think it's interesting to speculate upon.

[cherie_morte]

Bah, really?! My translation actually SAID gypsy! That sucks, I already sent this in so I really just have to hope and pray that if my professor catches that, he's understanding about it. WEhat a bis thing to let slip by your editing...but it at least explains why nobody makes as big a deal of that when trying to explain his behavior as I do, I always wondered because it seemed like such a clearly monumental thing in shaping who he becomes.

But yes, I concur. Totally, very, very gay.

[cherie_morte]

Wow--that was excellent. The suspense at first and it's so hard to make it believable that those two would come together but you guys actually set it up perfectly. Are you going to post a link to thegroup when it's finished so I can find out what comes next (though I have a good guess ;oP).

[inlaterdays]

This is amazing. And it makes me want to re-read the novel (though I'm totally skipping the Waterloo part this time).

[cherie_morte]

Thank you, Love, I'm really glad you found it interesting.

And OMG--the novel. I've been wanting to re-read it for years. My only advice would be to also skip the sewers. Oh, how I Love me some Victor Hugo, but the boy can rant.

[inlaterdays]

His digressions are epic in themselves. XD

I realized I'd lost my copy of the novel several moves ago, so I went out and bought another one (still an unabridged edition, but a different translation from the one I used to have) and I had to skip straight to Javert's suicide chapter (which is called "Javert Off the Track" instead of "Javert in Disarray" like my old one was, pout) and there's SO MUCH that I didn't pick up on the first time.

"When he had so unexpectedly met Jean Valjean on the shore of the Seine, there had been something in him of the wolf retaking its prey and of the dog that finds his master again." [italics mine]

...

Oh, Javert. You break my heart.

Now look, you've got me all obsessing again. :) (Sorry for all the commenting.)

And now I'm starting at the beginning. I hope I make it all the way through again!

[cherie_morte]

OH NOEZ! One of my high school teachers bought me like this super nice, leather bound copy of the book as a graduation present, but I still have to read my original translation. I WONDER IF MINE HAS THE MASTER FINDING IT'S DOG LINE, BECAUSE IF NOT I MAY HAVE T SWITCH LOYALTIES.

Ahem. Totally calm.

Apologize not for the commenting, for I am super psyched to ave gotten you re-hooked on Les Mis. It was actually, quite honestly, my evil plan all along.

I hope you make it through, too! I am so going to reread that as soon as I remember how to read books.

[wickedground]

I'm super late comment. Oh boy, what an interesting read (did your professor like it?). I only know the musical in which he is clearly obsessed with Valjean, but this makes me want to get the novel ASAP.

*mems*

[cherie_morte]

I'm really glad that you thought this was interesting! I'm guessing he must have liked it, because I got an A, but it was my final paper, so I never got to talk to him about it.

YOU MUST READ THE BOOK, SERIOUSLY. Most amazing book ever written. It's perfect. *_*

[undeadfishstick]

Dude wow. Just. wow.