Les Misérables · Chapter
V: Vague Flashes on the Horizon explained
This chapter describes the growing respect and veneration for M.
What happens
This chapter describes the growing respect and veneration for M. Madeleine (Jean Valjean) in Montreuil-sur-Mer, as he becomes a beloved mayor and peacemaker. However, one man, Inspector Javert, remains suspicious and watches him with an instinctive, almost animalistic distrust. The narrative delves into Javert's harsh background, his rigid sense of duty, and his relentless surveillance of Madeleine, hinting at the tension between them.
Themes in this chapter
Justice vs. Law
Javert embodies a rigid, legalistic view of justice, where duty and authority are absolute, contrasting with Madeleine's more compassionate and restorative approach.
The Human Condition and Fate
The chapter explores the animalistic instincts in humans and the idea that each person has a predetermined nature, as seen in Javert's innate suspicion and Madeleine's inherent goodness.
Redemption and Transformation
Madeleine's transformation from convict to respected mayor is evident, though Javert's suspicion threatens to expose his past.
Characters to notice
- Jean Valjean
Now known as M. Madeleine, he is universally respected and admired in Montreuil-sur-Mer for his wisdom and kindness, but remains under Javert's suspicious gaze.
- Javert
The police inspector who instinctively distrusts Madeleine, watching him with relentless suspicion. His background in a prison and his rigid, unforgiving nature are explored.
Key passages
“He would have arrested his own father, if the latter had escaped from the galleys, and would have denounced his mother, if she had broken her ban.”
Javert's sense of duty was so absolute that he would have turned in his own parents if they broke the law.
Illustrates Javert's fanatical devotion to legal authority over personal ties.
“Javert was like an eye constantly fixed on M. Madeleine. An eye full of suspicion and conjecture.”
Javert watched Madeleine unceasingly, his gaze filled with doubt and speculation.
Highlights Javert's obsessive surveillance of the mayor.
“The visible I in nowise authorizes the thinker to deny the latent I.”
What we see on the surface does not give us the right to deny the hidden depths within a person.
Reflects the narrator's philosophical musing on human nature and the unseen soul.