Javert

----We have met Inspector Javert once before, but he deserves a better introduction. So:
----Javert is the chief of police, obsessed with "justice," except his version of justice goes by the letter of the law, which quite harsh at the time. As Portia from The Merchant of Venice put it, "And earthly powers doth then show likest God's when mercy seasons justice."[emphasis mine]. He is so wrapped up in justice that he forgets to imitate divine justice, which includes quite a bit of mercy. We are only creatures of soil, after all. We cannot be punished as if we know better.
----After the incident with Fantine and Mayor Madeleine, Javert is outraged and humiliated. The mayor had encroached on his domain and embarrassed him. So he writes a letter to the Chief Inspector in Paris.
----In this letter, he outlines a suspicion he has been incubating for years- that Monsieur Madeleine is Jean Valjean. He has seen the way the mayor lifted a full cart off a man, a feat only one man could do- a convict in prison, years ago. The limp, the way of speaking, the timeline- everything matches up.
----But then Javert receives a reply. The Chief Inspector says Jean Valjean has been caught stealing apples and claims his name is Champmathieu, not knowing anything about this "Jean."
----Javert outlines all this to Mayor Madeleine, the real Valjean, who feigns indifference until Javert, only following his policy of perpetual justice, asks to be dismissed. Fired. Relieved of his post. His hypercritical justice before isn't so bad as long as it applies also to himself.
----The mayor refuses, claiming Javert's intended unfounded libel was 'only human.' Finally, Javert agrees to stay in his post until a replacement can be found.
----I love and hate this character. He tries so hard for perfectly exact justice, it's funny. He's obsessed with it, day and night. I can see where he comes from; Law is in place for a reason. But sometimes there comes along someone who is a special case. Fantine's illegal occupation had a motive, just as Valjean's did. They were both selfless crimes. So blindly sentencing is a bad idea.
----But then, how can you know for certain the motives? How can you know if the person regrets their actions and has made a profound commitment to act for good? Things like that are so easy to fake, part of every acting student's curriculum, just some tears and blubbering about eternity and the greater good... (sigh.) Yes. It's better to be Javert than to be taken advantage of.