Justice, mercy, and humility are foundations upon which Victor Hugo based Les Miserables. Hugo’s account of the turbulent period following the French Revolution offers valuable insight into the importance of these values and the dangers of their being forgotten. According to Hugo, “justice” can only be just when it is tempered by mercy and driven by an overall desire to improve society. The harsh, rigid penal system of post revolutionary France was more focused on severely punishing minor offenders and upholding an unjust political system. The character Jean Valjean is the typical victim of this system. Imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s family, Valjean becomes a hateful and dangerous person as a direct result of the harsh punishment inflicted upon him. It is only through the kind and merciful acts of M. Myriel that Valjean devotes himself to honesty and compassion.

Jean Valjean meets M. Myriel (the Bishop of Digne) in 1815 at the end of Napolean’s reign as Emperor and the beginning of the Bourbon Restoration. Valjean comes to Digne after ninetee

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