Was it Javert who thought his grandfather would be satisfied with the corpse? I think that's a product of him being completely sure Marius would die, which is also canon.
No, it's the butler who opens the gate. Valjean and Javert go 'We brought M- Gillenormand's grandson', and the butler says, 'He has no grandson', and they show him the note 'Please deliver my corpse to my grandfather, at that address' and the butler says 'Oh, if it's his corpse, M. Gillenormand will be content.' The butler plays quite an important role -- his name is Lorain, does he exist in canon?
doesn't listen to the guy telling him that he's not like everybody else
Oooh, explain further, please?
Oh, that is an interesting thing. Javert walks into this police station to write his pathetic list of You're Doing It Wrong, and there is this man they arrested who pleads to be let go because his wife has no legs due to an accident in a factory, and the constable he talks to sneers and says, 'Who'd want to marry a woman without legs, so you clearly must be lying', and then Javert, in passing, orders him to let the man go and sits down to write his list, and the man comes and thanks Javert and explains that, even though his wife has no legs, he loves her, because she has the most wonderful smile and he loves her, which makes all the toil worthwhile, and he's glad Javert understands it, and it's clear Javert is not like everybody else there. But Javert just dismisses what the man says because he's concentrating on his list. But I found it an interesting idea that, after doing what Valjean had asked of him not once but twice (first taking Marius to his grandfather, and then allowing him to say good-bye to Cosette, which is the part with 'Non' **slight eyeroll** 'Oui' that I mentioned, but without the eyeroll, I think) he has sort of got the hang of treating people better already. There is this painful feeling of a near-miss here: if only he had listened to the husband of the wife with no legs instead of concentrating on his list, he might have realised that he himself was changing, people can change, and it might be interesting to see what he might become. He seemed so close to opening his eyes on these possibilities, it was positively painful. Compared to that, his actual death was anticlimactic.
...but how does he know? Unless this is noticeably later on, after he reads about it in the paper (and also apparently hears about it through word of mouth, though Hugo never expands on where, or from who. Which drives me nuts.)
Yes, that part. He's heard it, in a general way, that Javert's corpse had been found under the boat of some washerwomen, and he had clearly committed suicide. He doesn't say the name, though -- even though both Marius and M. Gillenormand knew Javert! The curtain lecture M. Gillenormand held Valjean and Javert was remarkable, by the way: - they just stand there and say nothing, perhaps not wanting to further enrage the old man in his grief (he still thinks Marius is dead), which shows remarkable restraint, especially for this Javert! Perhaps that was already a sign of how he was changing: not contradicting him and going 'I am an inspector of the police' etc.-
CAN I PUT MY SLASH GOGGLES ON NOW, PLZ!?
But seriously, whaaaaaat? I mean, the bit with J.
Yep, seriously, it seems as if he misses Javert -- Javert at least knew who he really was. They spent quite some time together in Montreuil, Javert often being there in the background and commenting on things, and even though that is explained by Javert investigating the mayor's doubtful finances (the part where he has no account with any bank anywhere), they do seem to see eye to eye more often than not. There is something there, some rapport, some way they might connect and understand -- it's so close, they miss it by a hair's breadth. Of course Valjean grieves for Javert without even realising he does it.-
And yes, despite the head-scratchers and the less-than-stellar Depardieu, I can really recommend this version.
no subject
No, it's the butler who opens the gate. Valjean and Javert go 'We brought M- Gillenormand's grandson', and the butler says, 'He has no grandson', and they show him the note 'Please deliver my corpse to my grandfather, at that address' and the butler says 'Oh, if it's his corpse, M. Gillenormand will be content.' The butler plays quite an important role -- his name is Lorain, does he exist in canon?
doesn't listen to the guy telling him that he's not like everybody else
Oooh, explain further, please?
Oh, that is an interesting thing. Javert walks into this police station to write his pathetic list of You're Doing It Wrong, and there is this man they arrested who pleads to be let go because his wife has no legs due to an accident in a factory, and the constable he talks to sneers and says, 'Who'd want to marry a woman without legs, so you clearly must be lying', and then Javert, in passing, orders him to let the man go and sits down to write his list, and the man comes and thanks Javert and explains that, even though his wife has no legs, he loves her, because she has the most wonderful smile and he loves her, which makes all the toil worthwhile, and he's glad Javert understands it, and it's clear Javert is not like everybody else there. But Javert just dismisses what the man says because he's concentrating on his list. But I found it an interesting idea that, after doing what Valjean had asked of him not once but twice (first taking Marius to his grandfather, and then allowing him to say good-bye to Cosette, which is the part with 'Non' **slight eyeroll** 'Oui' that I mentioned, but without the eyeroll, I think) he has sort of got the hang of treating people better already. There is this painful feeling of a near-miss here: if only he had listened to the husband of the wife with no legs instead of concentrating on his list, he might have realised that he himself was changing, people can change, and it might be interesting to see what he might become. He seemed so close to opening his eyes on these possibilities, it was positively painful. Compared to that, his actual death was anticlimactic.
...but how does he know? Unless this is noticeably later on, after he reads about it in the paper (and also apparently hears about it through word of mouth, though Hugo never expands on where, or from who. Which drives me nuts.)
Yes, that part. He's heard it, in a general way, that Javert's corpse had been found under the boat of some washerwomen, and he had clearly committed suicide. He doesn't say the name, though -- even though both Marius and M. Gillenormand knew Javert! The curtain lecture M. Gillenormand held Valjean and Javert was remarkable, by the way: - they just stand there and say nothing, perhaps not wanting to further enrage the old man in his grief (he still thinks Marius is dead), which shows remarkable restraint, especially for this Javert! Perhaps that was already a sign of how he was changing: not contradicting him and going 'I am an inspector of the police' etc.-
CAN I PUT MY SLASH GOGGLES ON NOW, PLZ!?
But seriously, whaaaaaat? I mean, the bit with J.
Yep, seriously, it seems as if he misses Javert -- Javert at least knew who he really was. They spent quite some time together in Montreuil, Javert often being there in the background and commenting on things, and even though that is explained by Javert investigating the mayor's doubtful finances (the part where he has no account with any bank anywhere), they do seem to see eye to eye more often than not. There is something there, some rapport, some way they might connect and understand -- it's so close, they miss it by a hair's breadth. Of course Valjean grieves for Javert without even realising he does it.-
And yes, despite the head-scratchers and the less-than-stellar Depardieu, I can really recommend this version.