The name of the butler definitely doesn't ring a bell. In the brick, they deliver him to the porter, then leave. There are named servants in the household - one woman who doesn't get on with Toussaint, in particular - but the dropping-off of Marius is perfunctory. Also, Javert assumes Marius is his son, despite having read the note that says he is to be delivered to grandfather. Idk what Hugo was doing there.
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.
THAT IS WHY THE WHOLE THING IS SO SAAAAAD. I mean, obviously the brick doesn't have a dude with a no-legged wife, but it doesn't need it for illustration, the way I imagine a TV series might. But yeah - the whole tragedy of his death is that he had turned the corner. He understood. But because he doesn't have love - Hugo is not subtle on this point, when you compare his arc to Valjean's - he can't take the final step, and allow it to happen. Which is why VJ is the natural character to help him complete his redemption, hence why they get slashed so much. (Also, the animosity and hunting adds to that.)
But, yeah. Hugo's all about 'Valjean experiences kindness and finds the capacity to love from Cosette, and grows from it, and questions things, and lives by his conscience' whereas Javert questions nothing, thinks nothing, lives by external rules alone, so does not grow - and when he makes the discovery Valjean did, he is on his own...so cannot complete the transition. If there had been anyone with him, or anyone he could fall back on and talk it through, he would have got there - but Hugo's making a point, of course. So...
...sorry, I'm metabarfing. But yes. There is tooooonnnns of stuff out there that says exactly what you did. He was so close, and still fell. It is heartbreaking.
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!
Augh, I wish there had ever been a meeting between J and the old man in canon. They would have got along pretty well, I think. Apart from the fact the old dude is a fairly despicable old lech, who needs to be castrated. But their Royalist views would have been something to bond over. :D
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.
The Montreuil years kill me dead. I think it might be one of the few fandom tropes I actually enjoy more than the brick. Because, as in this version, it's so easy to have them actually find some common ground in those years, to go along with identity!angst from VJ. But in reality, Javert is nothing but suspicious of him for the entire time, apart from the twenty-four hours where he believes he has wrongly denounced him, and gone crawling with his tail between his legs. On the other hand, most of J's years there are not gone into with any depth at all, so there may have been occasions where they got on OK. Always with suspicion on J's part, clearly; Hugo had him actively watching him at all times, and then avoiding him after the incident with Fantine. But it's nicer to think they might have got on well in running the town.
ANYWAY. I will shut up. And will definitely watch this. \o/ Thanks so much for taking the time to take notes. <33
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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.
THAT IS WHY THE WHOLE THING IS SO SAAAAAD. I mean, obviously the brick doesn't have a dude with a no-legged wife, but it doesn't need it for illustration, the way I imagine a TV series might. But yeah - the whole tragedy of his death is that he had turned the corner. He understood. But because he doesn't have love - Hugo is not subtle on this point, when you compare his arc to Valjean's - he can't take the final step, and allow it to happen. Which is why VJ is the natural character to help him complete his redemption, hence why they get slashed so much. (Also, the animosity and hunting adds to that.)
But, yeah. Hugo's all about 'Valjean experiences kindness and finds the capacity to love from Cosette, and grows from it, and questions things, and lives by his conscience' whereas Javert questions nothing, thinks nothing, lives by external rules alone, so does not grow - and when he makes the discovery Valjean did, he is on his own...so cannot complete the transition. If there had been anyone with him, or anyone he could fall back on and talk it through, he would have got there - but Hugo's making a point, of course. So...
...sorry, I'm metabarfing. But yes. There is tooooonnnns of stuff out there that says exactly what you did. He was so close, and still fell. It is heartbreaking.
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!
Augh, I wish there had ever been a meeting between J and the old man in canon. They would have got along pretty well, I think. Apart from the fact the old dude is a fairly despicable old lech, who needs to be castrated. But their Royalist views would have been something to bond over. :D
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.
The Montreuil years kill me dead. I think it might be one of the few fandom tropes I actually enjoy more than the brick. Because, as in this version, it's so easy to have them actually find some common ground in those years, to go along with identity!angst from VJ. But in reality, Javert is nothing but suspicious of him for the entire time, apart from the twenty-four hours where he believes he has wrongly denounced him, and gone crawling with his tail between his legs. On the other hand, most of J's years there are not gone into with any depth at all, so there may have been occasions where they got on OK. Always with suspicion on J's part, clearly; Hugo had him actively watching him at all times, and then avoiding him after the incident with Fantine. But it's nicer to think they might have got on well in running the town.
ANYWAY. I will shut up. And will definitely watch this. \o/ Thanks so much for taking the time to take notes. <33