AN INDEPENDENT LES MISÉRABLES FIELD GUIDEFOR THE CURIOUS. THE MOVED. THE HIGH-NOTE ENTHUSIASTS.
LesMisNotesA LES MISÉRABLES FIELD GUIDE
A CHARACTER IN FOCUS

Jean Valjean

A released prisoner

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Jean Valjean is the central figure of Les Misérables, a laborer whose release from prison does not restore his place in society. When he reaches Digne in 1815, money cannot buy him a meal or a bed once his record is known. Hugo introduces him through these refusals, making the ordinary need for shelter the first test of how a community treats an outsider.

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