"And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8 (NIV Bible 1370).
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 nineteen years of imprisonment for the theft of a loaf of bread and numerous attempts to escape. Looking for a place to rest, Valjean is met with hostility by the townspeople who recognize him as a released convict. After dark, Valjean meets an old woman who stops and points out Bishop M. Myriel's door, implying that the bishop helps all those in need. True to the woman's word, M. Myriel lets Jean Valjean into his home. Valjean cannot believe the bishop's mercy and compassion. But, the bishop says, "You need not tell me who you are. This is not my house; it is the house of Christ. It does not ask any comer whether he has a name, but whether he has an affliction" (Hugo 17). The bishop welcomes Valjean to his table for a meal.
