The fifth chapter of book two, part one is short - barely more than one page of text in my edition. It is titled “quietude” but the main interaction it documents is one that is quite frightening in how it unfolds. Seemingly out of nowhere, after expressing gratitude to Myriel, Valjean turns and with a menacing stance and demeanor basically says “you’re letting me sleep next to you, haha! How do you know I won’t murder you in your sleep?”
On the surface this kind of behavior seems inexplicable, but I think it’s related to a pattern I’ve seen before. If we step back a bit we’ve already seen that Valjean has been repeatedly confronted with a vision of himself fully shaped by his worst moment and the state’s aggressive carceral response to that moment. He has been rejected everywhere he has looked for help and summarily dismissed as a brigand & a dangerous criminal. Here the bishop’s kind and gentle acceptance likely feels too good to be true. I believe this impulse is one that attempts to accelerate the inevitable - if it’s too good to be true, then let’s get it out in the open and uncover what is really going to happen. By mirroring back what people have been expecting of him, Valjean is testing the limits of Myriel’s love.
Is this a good practice? certainly not, but given the survival mode Valjean is in it’s not difficult to understand why it may happen. We’re told that Valjean himself didn’t fully understand what or why he was doing it.
Myriel’s response is perfect - he blesses Valjean and then proceeds with his night unbothered. This is probably the best any of us could do in a similar situation. Unwavering in our commitments, unswayed by the unexpected outburst, still reaching out with love and grace.