Chapter 357 2. Possible doubts in the leaked matter

Marius was very disturbed. The reason why he has always been disgusted with the man next to Cosette has been explained since then. His instinct has made him aware that this man has a kind of mystery. This mystery is the ugliest shame-hard labor .M. Fauchelevent was Jean Valjean, a convict. Such a secret was suddenly discovered in his happiness, as a scorpion is found in a turtledove's nest. Does the happiness of Marius and Cosette have to be related to this man from now on?Is this a fait accompli?Accepting this person as part of a married marriage?Is there no other way? Had Marius also married the convict?

Notwithstanding the crown of light and joy upon his head, and the joy of love in the golden hour of life, at such a blow, even an angel in exultation, or a man apotheosis in glory, is forced to tremble. . Marius asked himself, was he to blame?This is what often happens when a person undergoes such a sudden and radical change.Does he lack foresight?Is it too careless?Was it inadvertently reckless?Maybe a little.Was he not careful enough to dive into this love story that ended with his marriage to Cosette, without knowing what was going on around him?He perceives, through a series of self-observations, how life corrects us little by little; When the pain reaches the extreme, it expands, the temperature of the heart changes, and the smoke invades the whole body, leaving him with only a chaotic consciousness.We have more than once pointed out such a peculiar element in Marius' personality.He recalled that during those six or seven weeks of ecstasy in the Rue de Plumet, when he had been in love, he had not mentioned to Cosette the enigmatic tragedy in the ruined house of Gorbeau, in which The victim remained strangely silent during the struggle and later absconded.How did he say nothing to Cosette?And this happened not so long ago, and it was so horrific!Why hadn't he even mentioned Thenardier's name to her, especially on the day he met Éponine?Now he could barely understand his silence at the time.In fact, he is aware of it.He remembered that he was dizzy at that time, he was intoxicated by Cosette, love overwhelmed everything, each other was intoxicated in the ideal realm, and there might be a little imperceptible reason mixed into this strong and charming state of mind. A vague, vague instinct to conceal and erase from memory this dreadful encounter in which he dreads being exposed, in which he does not want to play any part, which he avoids, which he cannot be both its narrator and A witness without being a whistleblower at the same time.What's more, the past few weeks have passed in a flash; apart from loving each other, there is no time for others.At last he weighed everything, and after repeated examination and reflection, he thought that even if he told Cosette about Gorbeau's ambush and kidnapping, and proposed Thénardier's name to her, what would be the consequence?Even if he found out that Jean Valjean was a convict, would that change him?Will it change Cosette?Will he back down?Would he have loved Cosette less?Will he not marry her?Won't.Will these change a bit from what has already been done?Won't.So there is nothing to regret, nothing to blame.everything is fine.These intoxicated beings, called lovers, have a god guarding them.Blind Marius followed a path he would have taken when he was sober.Love blindfolded him, and where did it take him?Brought into heaven.

But this heaven has become complicated since then because of hell. The antipathy which Marius had felt for this man, this Fauchelevent who became Jean Valjean, was now mixed with disgust. In this disgust, we might say, there is also a little sympathy, and even a certain element of wonder. The thief, the habitual offender, returned a sum of money.What kind of sum?Six hundred thousand francs.He is the only one who knows the secret of the money.He could have kept it all, but instead he returned it all. Furthermore, he automatically revealed his identity.There was nothing to force him to expose.If anyone knew anything about him, it was because of him.Not only did he have to endure the humiliation, he admitted, but he also had to prepare for disaster.For the condemned, a mask is not a mask but a refuge.He rejected this refuge.A false name meant security, but he abandoned it.He, the convict, could have hidden forever in a clean house; but he resisted the temptation.From what motive?Uneasiness of conscience.He himself had stated it with irrepressible truth.In short, whoever this Jean Valjean was, he must have been a man of conscience.Some sort of mysterious urge to be a man again began in him; and, according to all appearances, an uneasiness of conscience had dominated the man a long time ago.Such extreme justice and goodness of heart do not belong to vulgar people.The awakening of conscience is the greatness of the soul.

Jean Valjean was honest.This kind of honesty can be seen, touched, and beyond doubt, and the painful price he paid alone is enough to prove it. Therefore, all inquiries are unnecessary, and everything this person says can be absolutely believed.At this moment, for Marius, the positions were strangely reversed.What sensations does M. Fauchelevent evoke?Suspect.And what follows from Jean Valjean?trust. After thinking hard, Marius made a summary of Jean Valjean, found out his merits and demerits, and he tried to get a balance.But it's all like a storm.Marius tried to get a definite idea of ​​this man, and he, so to speak, chased into the depths of Jean Valjean's thoughts, lost the thread, and then rediscovered it in the mist of mist.

The honest repayment of the money and the outspoken confession are good signs.It's like a moment of sunshine in a dark cloud, and then the dark cloud becomes pitch black again. Marius' recollections, though confused, still left some vague impressions. What happened to that encounter in Jondrette's ruined house?Why did this person run away instead of filing a complaint when the police arrived?Here Marius found the answer. It turned out that this man was a habitual criminal at large. Another question: why did this man come to the barricade?For Marius had vividly recalled this past incident, and now, in the excitement of his passions, it came to light again, like cryptic ink near a fire.This man had come to the barricades, but he had not participated in the struggle.What is he here for?To this question a ghost appeared and answered: Javert.Marius well remembered the moment when Jean Valjean's mournful phantom dragged Javert, bound, from the barricade.The terrible sound of pistols behind the corner in the alley of Monddou was still ringing in his ears.It is likely that there was animosity between the spy and the prisoner.One gets in the way of the other.Jean Valjean had gone to the barricades to take revenge.He was late.Presumably he knew that Javert was imprisoned.Corsican vengeance penetrated to the bottom of society, and became its law; a vengeance so commonplace that it would not surprise those whose hearts were half-good; A sinner on the other side of the road may feel a little uneasy about theft, but not about revenge.Jean Valjean kills Javert.At least that's apparently the case.

There is one last question, but this one cannot be answered.Marius felt the question like a pincer.How did Jean Valjean live with Cosette for such a long time?What kind of pathetic joke had God been playing to bring this child into contact with such a person?Could it be that there is also a double chain in the upper world, and God likes to tie angels and devils together?Could a sinner and a pure child be roommates in the mysterious prison of torment?In this procession of the condemned, called the fate of mankind, two foreheads can be so close together, the one innocent and the other terrible, the one bathed in the holy white light of the morning sun, the other forever surrounded by an eternal Is the lightning shining so horribly?Who made the decision on this inexplicable pairing?in what way?By what miracle did the holy child and the old criminal live together?Who tied the lamb with the wolf?What is even more inexplicable is to tie the wolf to the lamb?For the wolf loves the lamb, because the savage adores the feeble man, and because, for nine years, the angels depend on the devil for their support.Cosette's infancy and youth, her birth, the development of this virgin girl towards life and light, depended on the loyal guard of this ugly man.At this point, the problem was solved layer by layer, so to speak, countless mysteries appeared, and abyss appeared under the abyss, so that Marius had to look down on Jean Valjean without being dizzy.What happened to this cliff-like person?

The old creed here is eternal. In the human society that has always existed, until a certain day in the future, when a greater light changes this society, there will always be two kinds of people, one is noble, and the other The one is low; Abel is the one who does good, and Cain the one who does evil.So what is this good-natured Cain?This thief, devoutly and single-mindedly adoring a saint, guards her, educates her, protects her, ennobles her, though he himself is filthy.What kind of person is this thief?He is trash but respects a naive person, how can he understand that he raised her to be flawless?Who was this Jean Valjean who taught Cosette?How is it that this dark face whose sole purpose is to prevent shadows and clouds from veiling a star's rising?

This is Jean Valjean's secret, and it is also God's secret. Before this double secret, Marius was retreating.One secret had so to speak reassured him about another.It is obvious that God, like Jean Valjean, was involved in this adventure, that God has his own tools, and he uses the tools he wants to use.He is responsible to humanity.Do we know God's way?Jean Valjean labored on Cosette.He also cultivated this soul to some extent.There is no doubt about it.So what?The artisans are terrifying; but the work is outstanding.God is performing His miracles at will.He created this lovely Cosette, and he used Jean Valjean for it.He chose this grotesque assistant with pleasure.What have we to blame him for?Could it be that the manure first helped the roses bloom in the spring?

Marius asked and answered for himself, and thought his answers to be correct.On all the points we have pointed out, he did not dare to dig deep into Jean Valjean, but he did not dare to admit to himself that he did not dare, that he loved Cosette deeply, that Cosette belonged to him, that Cosette was Surprisingly pure.He was content with that.What else needs to be clarified?Cosette is light.Does the light still need to be clarified?He had it all; what more could he wish for?You have everything you need, aren't you satisfied?Jean Valjean's personal affairs had nothing to do with him.When he looked down at the shadow of this man's misfortune, he clung to the solemn statement of this miserable man: "I have nothing to do with Cosette. Ten years ago, I didn't know her existence!"

Jean Valjean was a passerby.He has said it himself.Yes, he was passing by.Whoever he was, his mission was accomplished.From now on Marius was Cosette's backer.Cosette found her kind in the bright blue sky, her lover, her husband, her extraordinary man, Cosette grew wings and became apotheosis, and when she flew into the sky, she spread her ugly empty chrysalis A Rang threw it on the ground behind her. In whatever thoughts Marius was preoccupied, he always had, in the final analysis, a certain dislike for Jean Valjean.Possibly a reverent revulsion, for he felt "a divine side" to the man.No matter how he handles it, no matter what extenuating circumstances he finds, he still has to come back to this point in the end: this is a convict.That is to say, on the social ladder, a man who does not even have a place, because he is below the last rung of the stairs.The convicts came after the last one.It can be said that convicts are no longer the same as living people.The law has deprived him of all the personality that can be deprived of a man.Although Marius was a republican, he still favored a severe system of punishment, and he treated those who were hit by the law in exactly the same way as the law condemned.It can be said that he has not yet accepted all progressive ideas.He is not yet able to discern what is determined by man and what is determined by God, and he cannot yet distinguish between law and right.Marius did not study or measure the self-appointed right of men to deal with the irreparable and irremediable.He felt quite understandable that certain violations of statutes should be punished permanently, and he agreed that it was civilized for society to send some to hell.He is still stuck at this step, and of course he will definitely move forward in the future, because his nature is kind, and in essence, it contains potential progress.

In this category of thought he found Jean Valjean deformed and repulsive.This is a villain, a convict.The word was to him like the trumpet of the Last Judgment; and so, after long observation of Jean Valjean, his final attitude was to turn his head away, and "devil retreat." We must admit and emphasize that Marius asked Jean Valjean questions, and Jean Valjean said to him: "You are asking me to confess." In fact, he has not yet asked two or three decisive questions.It's not that he can't think of these problems, but that he is afraid of them.Jondrette Broken House?Barricades?Javert?Who knows when it will be over?Jean Valjean did not appear to be a shrinking man.Who knows, if Marius pressed him, would he wish Jean Valjean to stop talking?Haven't we all, at some critical juncture, stopped ourselves from asking a question to hear an answer?Especially in the period of love, there will be this cowardly phenomenon.It would be imprudent to dwell too much on sinister situations, especially when an inseparable aspect of our own lives is unfortunately involved.Jean Valjean's disappointing explanation may reveal some terrible things. Who knows whether this ugly light will affect Cosette?Who knows if this hellish light has been left on Cosette's angelic brow?The light of the splashed lightning is still thunderbolt.There is this reciprocal connection in the days, when the law of gloomy dyed reflections is at work, the innocent are also stained with the traces of crime, and the most innocent countenance can always retain the reflection of the hideous neighbor.Rightly or wrongly, Marius was afraid.He already knows too much.He wanted to be vague, and didn't intend to find out the details.When he was disappointed, he took Cosette away in a daze, and closed his eyes without looking at Jean Valjean. This man belonged to darkness, to the living and terrible night.How dare he get to the bottom of it?Interrogating Sombra is a horror.Who knows how it will answer.Dawn may be stained by it forever! In this state of mind, Marius was terrified at the thought that this man would have some kind of contact with Cosette in the future.These dreadful questions, which he had shrunk from asking at the time, which might have led him to such a ruthless and decisive decision, he almost blamed himself now for not having raised them.He felt himself too good-natured, too generous, that is to say, too cowardly.This weakness led him to make an imprudent concession.He was moved.He shouldn't be.He should simply and simply throw off Jean Valjean.Jean Valjean was the troublemaker, and he should sacrifice him and drive him out of his house.He blamed himself, he blamed himself for being suddenly confused by the agitation, deaf and blind, dragged away.He was very dissatisfied with himself. What now?Jean Valjean's visit disgusted him greatly.This person to his house?What's the use of coming?what to do?By this time he was dazed, he would not think deeply, he would not examine, he would not question himself.He has promised, he has passively agreed; Jean Valjean has his promise; even to a convict, especially a convict, he must not break his promise, but his first responsibility is still Cosette .In short, an overriding loathing ruled him. All these thoughts turned chaotically up and down in Marius's mind, passing from one thought to another, each of which agitated him, and he was terribly bewildered.It was not easy to hide this emotion from Cosette, but love is a genius, and Marius did it. Besides, he asked a few questions to Cosette, who seemed innocent and white as a dove, and she had no doubts; he talked to her about her infancy and adolescence, and he became more and more convinced that All that goodness, love, and respectability can be in a human being, the convict was to Cosette.Marius' premonition and surmise were correct.The dreadful nettle loved and protected the lily.