Jean Valjean's life turns around when Bishop Myriel of Digne, from whom he steals valuable silverware, tells the police that he has given the treasure to Valjean.
43 Facts About Jean Valjean
2.
Out of this encounter, Valjean becomes a repentant, honorable, and dignified man.
3.
Jean Valjean becomes kind, a devoted father-figure to a girl, Cosette, who loses her mother, and a benefactor to those in need.
4.
The relationship of Javert and Valjean develops as a binary opposition between law and love.
5.
Jean Valjean was born sometime in 1769 in a small town and orphaned as a child.
6.
Jean Valjean became a pruner and helped support his widowed sister and her seven children.
7.
Jean Valjean was caught and imprisoned for five years in the Bagne of Toulon, the Toulon prison.
8.
Jean Valjean attempted to escape four times, and each time his sentence was lengthened by three years; he received an extra two years for once resisting recapture during his second escape.
9.
Jean Valjean is arrested and brought back to the bishop.
10.
However, the Bishop admonishes Valjean for forgetting to take the silver candlesticks that he'd given Valjean, reminding Valjean of his "promise" to use the silver to become an honest man, claiming to have bought Valjean's soul with it, withdrawing it from evil and giving it to God.
11.
In late 1815, Jean Valjean, now using the name Madeleine, arrives in Montreuil-sur-Mer.
12.
Javert knew only what he'd seen and was furious with Valjean for interfering with police work.
13.
Javert is told that he must be incorrect because the "real" Jean Valjean had just been found.
14.
Jean Valjean learns of Cosette, Fantine's daughter, and tries to pay off the Thenardiers.
15.
That night, Valjean has a terrific struggle within himself, but finally decides to go to the trial and reveal his identity in order to free Champmathieu.
16.
Jean Valjean gives his evidence and proves that he is the real Jean Valjean, but nobody wants to arrest him, so Valjean says that they know where to find him and he returns to Montreuil-sur-Mer.
17.
The judge at the trial, although quite impressed with M Madeleine's work and reputation, is shocked that Valjean, while mentioning a date that another convict had tattooed on himself called Napoleon Bonaparte "the Emperor" instead of "Bonaparte" and orders Valjean arrested for robbing Petit Gervais.
18.
Javert comes to arrest him the next day while Valjean is in Fantine's room.
19.
In July 1823, he was condemned to death for the 40-sous theft and the escape from the jail in Montreuil-sur-Mer, as the prosecutor claims that Valjean was part of a gang of street robbers and the latter refuses to defend himself.
20.
Jean Valjean's sentence was graciously reduced by the king to only life in prison instead of death.
21.
Jean Valjean accompanies her back to the inn; and watches that evening as the Thenardiers mistreat her very badly.
22.
Jean Valjean sees the Thenardiers' daughters Eponine and Azelma acting unkindly to her as well, tattling on her to their mother when she tries to play with their temporarily abandoned doll.
23.
The next morning, Christmas Day, Valjean offers to take Cosette with him.
24.
When M Thenardier demands more money, Valjean gives him the note Fantine signed before she died, saying that the bearer of the note was authorized to take Cosette.
25.
Jean Valjean has heard of a "kidnapping" from Montfermeil and remembers Valjean's request of three days.
26.
Jean Valjean has heard of a man, poorly dressed, who gives money to other poor people, the "beggar who gives alms", who had a granddaughter with him and who has been heard to say that she came from Montfermeil.
27.
Javert goes undercover, discovers that it is Jean Valjean, and makes plans to arrest him.
28.
Jean Valjean ignores them at first, but later he and Cosette fall in love.
29.
Marius stalks the two until Valjean is alerted that someone is stalking them and moves from his house in Rue de l'Ouest.
30.
Jean Valjean recognises Valjean and decides to build a trap for him.
31.
Jean Valjean berates the gang for thinking that they could force him to tell something he does not want to tell and burns his own left forearm with the poker Thenardier had used to threaten him before surrendering to the gang.
32.
Jean Valjean is happy to see that the brand wound he got during the attack makes her worry and care for him more.
33.
Jean Valjean takes Cosette to the house in the Rue de l'Homme-Arme.
34.
Jean Valjean joins the rebellion without an actual decision about his following actions.
35.
The request is granted and Valjean takes Javert out of sight to kill him but instead of executing him, sets him free, though Javert warns that he will still be bound to arrest Valjean.
36.
Jean Valjean offers Valjean the key in return for payment, believing that Valjean had killed Marius for his money.
37.
The day after the wedding, Valjean reveals to Marius that he is an ex-convict.
38.
Some time after he stops coming, Thenardier visits Marius and claims that Valjean is a murderer and shows Marius several newspaper articles to prove this.
39.
Marius sees through Thenardier's disguise and, in an attempt to show Marius something that he does not already know, Thenardier shows newspaper clippings proving that M Madeleine and Jean Valjean are the same person, and that Javert committed suicide.
40.
Jean Valjean dies content, under the light of the Bishop's candlesticks, and it is stated that an angel awaits to carry his soul to Heaven.
41.
Jean Valjean is buried in an unmarked grave, per his request, after death.
42.
Hugo's description of Valjean rescuing a sailor on the Orion drew almost word for word on a friend's letter describing such an incident.
43.
Since the original publication of Les Miserables in 1862, the character of Jean Valjean has been in a large number of adaptations in numerous types of media based on the novel, such as books, films, musicals, plays and games.