I want to start with this powerful image from the chapter. Hugo writes:
After some moments [Valjean] slowly raised his left arm and removed his cap; then, letting his arm sink as slowly as he had raised it, he resumed his attitude of contemplation, holding the cap in his left hand and the weapon in his right, the hair unruly on his wild head, while the bishop continued to sleep peacefully beneath his terrifying gaze. Above the mantelpiece the crucifix was dimly visible with its arms extended as though to both men, in benediction of the one, and forgiveness of the other.
This scene occurs as Valjean is passing through the bishop’s room on his way to steal the silver and leave the home. a beam of moonlight has torn through the cloudy night sky and illuminated the bishop while Valjean stands transfixed at the side of his bed. Hugo has already called out this contrast that stands so clear: on the one hand you have the “unguarded slumber of innocence” from the bishop, and on the other an “uneasy conscience, bent on misdeed”.
Over this contrast, these two faces and all the long personal history they represent, we see the outstretched arms of a crucifix, a symbol of love, sacrifice and mercy - something that stands in stark contrast to the awful system that has so mercilessly and relentlessly ground Valjean down. weapon and cap in hand, knowing what he is about to do, Valjean still has this moment of clarity. Forgiveness is on offer, and these next few minutes, regardless of the outcome, will not change that.
Confronted with all we have seen of the terrors of the justice system and what it had done to Valjean, it would be easy to think in terms of meeting that kind of violent power with an equal and opposite clash of violent power. Here this image presents something different as a possible path forward. Not the weapon in hand that would be leveraged to enact power through violence, but the outstretched arms of the crucifix, a symbol of love that finds it’s embodiment in forgiveness.
What will be Valjean’s story beyond this moment of crime, this next step in his journey? Will he live by the laws of tooth and claw, fighting for survival against a system set on his destruction? Or will he find something different, something other in the way of sacrificial and forgiving love? I guess we read and find out.