Inspector Javert--Part III, The Third Conversion

Marius Pontmercy and Cosette, as depicted
in an early version of Les Miserables 

We have already seen that Victor Hugo wrote Les Miserables as a conversion story.  First, and most obvious is the conversion of Jean Valjean from homeless parolee to giant of a man who lives the rest of his life under various aliases. Funded by Bishop Myriel's valuable silver heirlooms, he adds to his fortune. But, he lives his whole life as a fugitive from (unjust) justice. 

The second conversion we saw in Part II, that of Javert, who wrestles with God and finally gives up the struggle, admitting that his whole life has been a sham. Everything he has struggled to be--a man of law and order--finally comes crashing down on him on the night he does the unthinkable . . . violates the law by releasing his nemesis, Jean Valjean, from custody. 

What happens next can be described as "the point beyond which." Having yielded to his "Higher Power," he sees his only choice to be ending his life. Some might say, he finds God only to then run away by committing suicide. I prefer to think that his conversion is so sudden and powerful that nothing remains on earth for him to be, do, or accomplish that he throws himself from the bank of the River Seine into . . . the loving arms of the same God he has fought against all his life.

But . . . there's a third conversion story up Victor Hugo's authorial sleeve. And that is the good fortune of Marius Pontmercy, husband of Jean Valjean's fosterchild, Cosette. Shortly after their wedding, Jean Valjean revealed to Marius his true identity as the former convict Javert had hunted all his life. Despite the fact that Valjean endowed Marius and Cosette with his entire fortune, Marius still cannot accept him and does everything he can to keep his wife apart from her beloved "father." 

Approached by Thenardier, the ne'er do well scoundrel, bribes Marius to use the money to start a new life (in America). During their heated discussion, Marius learns only by chance that Jean Valjean was the man who saved  his life, after the massacre at the barricade in 1832. Stunned by this news, Marius realizes how wrong, cruel, and ungrateful he has been to Cosette's recuer. He confesses to her and together they rush to Valjean--only to find him on his deathbed.

So, the three "converts" in Les Miserables are Jean Valjean, Inspector Javert, and Marius Pontmercy. The casual reader of Hugo's immortal novel often misses the clues Hugo reveals in the book's Prologue:

"The book which the reader has under his eye at this moment is, from one end to the other, as a whole and in detail, whatever may be its intermittences, exceptions and faults, the march from evil to good, from the unjust to the just, from night to day, from appetite to conscience, from rottenness to life, from hell to heaven, from nothingness to God. Point of departure: matter; point of arrival: the soul. The hydra at the beginning, the angel at the end."

Note: Thenardier could have been the fourth convert. Instead, he remained a scoundrel, presumably for the rest of his life. Hugo tells us Thenardier used Marius's money to book passage to America, where he became a slave trader.

Javert Part II--The essence of Les Miserables and Hugo's "hidden" meaning

I have confession to make. I've read Les Miserables cover to cover several times and have studied individual sections of the text a number times over the years. I've seen a number of film and TV versions, both foreign and domestic and seen the musical production several times, both in San Francisco and New York (with another near-miss in London last summer). 

Not until I began researching my next book project (Inspector Javert: Darkness to Light) did I come to realize that Victor Hugo wrote the novel as a conversion story! Here it is in the author's own words as written in the Prologue to Les Miserables:

"The book which the reader has under his eye at this moment is, from one end to the other, as a whole and in detail, whatever may be its intermittences, exceptions and faults, the march from evil to good, from the unjust to the just, from night to day, from appetite to conscience, from rottenness to life, from hell to heaven, from nothingness to God. Point of departure: matter; point of arrival: the soul. The hydra at the beginning, the angel at the end."

There it was, right before my unseeing eyes!

Once I saw the author's underlying purpose in writing the 1,000+ word novel, read the text with a different mindset. I realized that, in addition to the most obvious conversion (Jean Valjean), there were not one but two other characters who underwent a major spiritual change in their lives. 

First, there was Javert. In the time following his release of Valjean, after the episode in the Paris sewers, and the time of his famous leap into the River Seine, the Inspector had gone through a long and painful wrestling match with his conscience. The outcome was realization that his whole life had been built on a terrible misunderstanding of right and wrong. Life, he finally saw, was not black-and-white law and order as he had thought. He understood, for the first time in his life, that what he had considered to be punishable vice might, in some way, be virtue.

Javert's conversion was real, but not mature enough to do the work of rebuilding his life. The only way forward, he concluded, was to die. So, he leapt off the embankment into the swirling whirlpool of the Seine. Or did he? I believe he leapt, much to his surprise, into the loving arms of the  God who had never given up on him.

 This reminds me of Francis Thompson's (d. 1907) famous poem of conversion, "The Hound of Heaven." The first stanza sets the scene:

I FLED Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.

(I'll discuss the third and most hidden conversion story in my next blog entry.)  

- - - - - - - -

P.S.   I'm still searching for the name of the artist who created the image used in this post. 

Don't miss Bishop Myriel: In His Own Words 

"An stunning achievement!" -- Judith Ingram, Forgiving Day by Day

Moving on to my next book . . . Inspector Javert

Javert, from Les Misérables
by Victor Hugo, published in 1862.

Having just launched Bishop Myriel: In His Own Words, what's a writer and avid Les Miserables junky to do? Follow BM with a book about the most dangerous and mysterious of all Victor Hugo's antiheroes, Inspector Javert (if he ever had a given first name, it isn't mentioned in the novel)? 

It's as if he came from the womb a dedicated policeman. His single purpose in life?  To catch and jail every lawbreaker in his path, until the just and punishing God he believed in and whose cause he served (in his own misguided way) carried him to his eternal reward. "Job well done," my son.

In fact, this young, innocent child quickly decided he had only two possible life-choices in front of him . . . follow his fortunetelling mother and his father, both of whom were serving prison sentences at the time of Javert's birth . . . or to become the most impeccable and zealous lawman ever created. And go to his grave with a clean slate to be welcomed by a choir of angels singing, "Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the reward your flawless service has merited."

Since 1862, Javert has become known the world over by readers of Les Miserables and audiences packing movie theaters and stage venues. We know him as a tragic foil to the the man of principle and charity, Jean Valjean (who assumes a variety of identities in his desire to cover his tragic past as the paroled prisoner 24601). These two antagonists  first met during Valjean's prison years. As chance--and Victor Hugo--would have it, they cross paths again . . . twice, at least, during Valjean's life in Western France and finally in Paris.

The question for me was . . . why do I want to enter the dark mind and soul of this man who dedicated his life to bringing lawbreakers to justice with a vengeance unsurpassed in world literature? To be honest, I fought it for months. After writing about the wonderful bishop who turned Valjean's life around and set him on a course of compassionate living and works of charity, I balked. Throughout the writing of Bishop Myriel, I reveled in probing the soul and good works of that great man. Then, why Javert?

Yes, why Javert?

(to be continued)

Don't miss Bishop Myriel: In His Own Words 

"An stunning achievement!" -- Judith Ingram, Forgiving Day by Day

California Writer's Club--Mt Diablo Branch Newsflash

Al Garrotto's New Book,  Read On...

I’m delighted to announce publication of my 9th novel. Not many who have seen only the stage/musical version know that Bishop Myriel is the first character to appear in Victor Hugo’s 1862 classic. Or, that Hugo devoted the novel’s first 90 pages to this backwater priest. The bishop’s immortal words to Jean Valjean have burrowed into the world’s consciousness: “My brother: you belong no longer to evil, but to good. It is your soul that I am buying for you . . . and I give it to God!” Hugo reveals that the bishop intended to write a book on the topic of Christian Duty. Hugo also provides a detailed outline of the book, along with the fact that the bishop never not got to finish it—until now. In Bishop Myriel, I delve into the bishop’s generous spirit, “channeling” and writing his book, as he might have . . . in “his own words.”   “A stunning achievement! Alfred J. Garrotto delivers compelling spiritual insights through the humble voice of  Victor Hugo’s beloved priest, Bishop Myriel. Meticulously researched and delivered in the style of an early nineteenth-century writer, Bishop Myriel: In His Own Words charms as it challenges. —Judith Ingram, author of Forgiving Day by Day “Alfred J. Garrotto has written a magical book. He moves into the ‘being’ of Bishop Myriel and explores Duty, Hope, Faith, and Love with passion and vulnerability. Victor Hugo has a smile of approval as he glances down from heaven. —Kathryn Davi-Cardinale, author, Joseph, My Son-My Guide e-Book and paperback editions available on Amazon.com   IngramSpark edition available through bookstores.   View the Trailer on YouTube.   ISBN: 978-0-578-64441-7       * * * *

View the new trailer for Bishop Myriel: In His Own Words

I invite you to watch the trailer for my new novel, Bishop Myriel: In His Own Words.

Available now in both ebook and paperback formats.

Interview with Alfred J. Garrotto

Dear Friends:
I invite you to read this interview I did for the monthly newsletter of the California Writers Club, Mount Diablo Branch [Central Contra Costa County, California].

I invite you to read my new book (follow this link)

Approximately how long have you been a California
Writers Club (CWC) member and why did you join?

I joined CWC in 1996. I knew about it beforehand but wanted to have a published novel (A Love Forbidden) before joining a professional writers’ organization. This reasoning was skewed, I admit, because the novel was my fourth commercially published book. The first three were a series on adult faith formation. At the time, I didn’t think those “counted.” Go figure.

How has your CWC membership helped you or your writing?

Membership in CWC has been invaluable in helping me grow (gradually) into    a much more mature writer in every way. Looking at my early books, I feel like 
going back and reediting/republishing them. I am a better, more professional
writer now than I was when I first joined the branch.

You have published a lot of books! What is the total number published, and did you have a traditional publisher
or publish them yourself? If your work was self-published,
why did you decide to publish your work  yourself?

I have just published my 13^th book (5 nonfiction, 8 fiction). I had agents for my earlier books. When I hit the “senior citizen” stage of my life, I realized that I no longer wanted to endure the year or two it took to see my books in print from the time of sale. I switched to print-on-demand for my last four or five books because I can control the entire process from concept to writing to editing and publishing. I have been able to go from first written word to publication in less than a year. 

If your work was published with a traditional publisher, 
how did you find your publisher?

The now-defunct Winston Press (Minneapolis) published my first three nonfiction books. They were very good to me throughout the process, even flying me to their home office for consultation. I had no agent for those books. They sold pretty well in the low thousands).

I had two different agents for my next set of books. These were bought by small publishing houses (Genesis Press and Hilliard & Harris). It was then that I learned the harsh reality of small presses. They did little if anything to market my books. After the agent’s cut plus the publisher’s profit, I got a very small percentage on the sale of each book.

Do you have a favorite, or one that you enjoyed
writing more than others?

Nothing ranks higher than completing and selling my first
novel (A Love Forbidden). I got very emotional—even wept—
when I felt opened the box containing printed copies of my
novel. Seeing the book “in the flesh,” so to speak was
overwhelming. Next to that, my most joyful writing
experience was the planning and creation of Bishop
Myriel: In His Own Words.

How long have you been writing?

            Professionally, for about 30+ years.

             Do you have a website?

Yes, I have a website (https://www.alfredjgarrotto.com) and 
a blog site (https://wisdomoflesmiserables.blogspot.com)
I’m on Facebook at AlfredJGarrottoAuthor
and Tweet at @algarrotto

What are you currently working on?

My novel, Bishop Myriel: In His Own Words, is now
available in e-book and print formats at Amazon.com
(see link above under cover photo. By mid-May it should be orderable at any bookstore. The paperback
edition saw the light of day in March 2020. In Les

Miserables, Victor Hugo outlined in detail a book
that his character, Bishop Myriel, intended to write. 

Then, Hugo added that the bishop got no farther
than the outline.

In my book I dare to write the text for the bishop,
following the exact outline Hugo laid out, just as the
author might have written it. It is a great challenge, but I do my best to crawl inside the bishop’s mind
and channel his beautiful spirit.

In which genre(s) do you write?

I write fiction, nonfiction, poetry, with an occasional
magazine article or book review. My fiction works range
from romantic thrillers to the spirituality of creative
talent (The Soul of Art.).

How have your background, previous work and/or
experience contributed to your writing?

Mightily. I spent 12 years in the seminary and 18 years as a
Catholic priest, before being called to another vocation—
marriage and parenthood. 
For the last 20 years, I have served as a lay minister in
my local parish, so my earlier education in philosophy and theology and my life experience in parish ministry
were not wasted.

What do you like about writing?

The most fun in writing is that you never know what is inside
of you until you see it on a page. When I look at any of my
published work, I’m likely to say, “This is really good. I wonder who wrote it?” Even though my name is on the cover
or in the byline of a magazine article, I’ve had the same
experience of wondering where all those ideas and their
literary expression came from. It can’t be the same guy
I see in the mirror every morning.

Who or what has influenced you the most as a writer?

It may sound corny, but I think of my ability to write publishable
prose (and some poetry, too) as pure a gift from the Creator Spirit.
I don’t want to seem too pretentious, but that’s how I identify
my primary muse. 
I’d say my greatest source of inspiration has been the Mt. Diablo
Branch of the California Writers Club and all the amazing authors
I’ve met and been influenced by over the last quarter century.

How do you define success as a writer?

I write because I cannot not write. I am not a famous or
even noteworthy author. I make very little money
considering the hours, weeks, and months of thought and labor
writing and publishing demands. I am a “successful” author,
if I am faithful to my originating inspiration to write and have
done my best to translate that inspiration into language that
might inspire others in some way. In short, I am a success if I gave it my best effort and feel good about the finished work.
Anything else that follows is a welcome surprise.

What part of the writing process is most difficult
for you? 

Most difficult socially is to balance the time I need to write with family time—I can’t write in 5-10 min. spurts. When I’m on a roll, it’s hard to break away and be present to the
people around me.

In the independent publishing process, the hardest part is meeting the specs of the automated software. This is especially true of paperback and hard cover publishing. I’ve found KDP persnickety but doable. I finally had to hire book designer Andrew Benzie to upload my cover and interior
to IngramSpark. 

What kind of research do you do, if any, and how longdo you spend researching before beginning a story/piece of work?

In writing Bishop Myriel, my research has been ongoing for a
number of years. I’ve read the text so many times that it’s
ingrained in me. I did have to do some research but found
everything I needed online (mainly Wikipedia for dates
and name spaces/spelling, etc.).

Paying attention to pre-awakening (morning) inspirations is valuable. I get some of my best ideas, answers, solutions in the haze of waking up.

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

I’d say it’s more energizing than exhausting, but there are
limits. After in intense session, I need to just shut down,
then pick it up again later (or the next day.

Do you have any advice for new writers?

I run into so many people who want to write but never seem 
to make time for it. They say everyone has at least one book in 
them, but only a few of us actually take the time to do it. If onewants to write, there’s no other way but to do it.

What are your future writing goals? I have at least two more books in me, if God gives me the yearsand good health to accomplish this. 
(1)   I want to write a 3^rd volume in my Wisdom of Les Miserables series. Bishop Myriel is #2. The first was Lessons
from the Heart of Jean Valjean. I intend to finish with Inspector Javert:  In His Own Words. Part of me shrinks from
entering that man’s dark hole, but I’d like to fill in some
blanks of his life. 

(2)   I want to do a second expanded edition of The Soul of Art.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

No, I’ve probably said too much already.

Bishop Myriel--A Professional Review

Spiritual writer, Judith Ingram (Forgiving Day by Day), has just published a review of my new novel, Bishop Myriel: In His Own Words.  I am pleased to share it with you here:

REVIEW by Judith Ingram

A Stunning Achievement!

Alfred J. Garrotto has composed a novel that ushers Victor Hugo’s fictional character, Bishop Myriel, out from the shadows of the Les Misérables stage play to the front-and-center position to which Hugo’s famous novel assigns him. Hugo hints in his novel that the bishop was writing a volume on Christian duty but left it unfinished. Garrotto steps in to cleverly elaborate on the bishop’s detailed Scriptural outline—thoughtfully provided by Hugo himself—and composes a work of theological reflections as if penned in the good bishop’s own hand.

Calling himself the ghostwriter in this tri-level authorship he shares with Myriel and Hugo, Garrotto quickly immerses his readers in the voice and heart of Bishop Myriel through a series of autobiographical vignettes. The charming formality of the bishop’s narrative and pitch-perfect style befitting an early nineteenth-century writer render the ghostwriter invisible and magically transport the reader to the very feet of this humble priest, wise beyond his years and devoted to Christian service.

After his introductory vignettes, the bishop presents his “completed” work, Duty. While the stories charm and endear the bishop to his readers, Duty stuns with its brilliant, incisive treatment of fundamental truths of Scripture and their application. The bishop laments his own shortcomings, yet his love for Christ and passion for giving himself to others in service outweigh his flaws. The reader is left to wonder whose soul is truly revealed by these deep wells of compassion, understanding, and purity of heart—is it Myriel’s, Hugo’s, or the ghostwriter’s? The bishop might answer that all such beauty must ultimately spring from the Christ Himself, to whom all three authors give first honor.

*    *    *

Bishop Myriel is now available for presale in e-book format. The paperback edition is due out in early to mid March of this year.
 

I hope all you Les Miz fans out there will enjoy this most unusual book. Unusual how? It is a fictional story whose protagonist is a fictional character created by the master fiction writer  Victor Hugo.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=bishop+myriel%3A+in+his+own+words&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1003393

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bishop-myriel-alfred-j-garrotto/1136384449?ean=2940163463299

I'm delighted to announce that my latest novel, BISHOP MYRIEL: IN HIS OWN WORDS, is now available for presale on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084FVJQBX?pf_rd_p=ab873d20-a0ca-439b-ac45-cd78f07a84d8&pf_rd_r=SBW6388S744NB5YSMGJ5

The paperback edition will follow shortly after the ebook's release on February 25.

All Les Miserables and Victor Hugo fans will enjoy this novelized version of the man who changed Jean Valjean's whole life.

I claim the title, ghostwriter, with

great humility and esteem for

Bishop Myriel, Victor Hugo’s catalyst

character in Les Miserables. Basing this novel on an already

well-known and beloved fictional protagonist posed a

challenge, to say the least. As did "channeling" the bishop's spirit, so I could speak in his voice.

*    *    *

In the dramatic stage adaptation of Les Miserables, with music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, French lyrics by Jean-Marc Natel and in English by Herbert Kretzmer, Bishop Myriel appears early in Act I for barely a few minutes. During that brief encounter with mendicant Jean Valjean, the bishop bestows upon the wild-looking parolee the inherited Myriel family treasures (silver dinnerware and candlesticks). Before they part ways on stage, the bishop spontaneously “commissions” Valjean with a new calling in life:

“Jean Valjean, my brother: you belong no longer to evil, but to good. It is your soul that I am buying for you. I withdraw it from dark thoughts and from the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God!”

With that surprising and confusing revelation, the bishop withdraws from the stage not to be seen again until Valjean’s deathbed scene when he appears to the dying man as in a vision.

How different the scene in Hugo’s original!

The first lines of that sprawling epic present Bishop Myriel front and center as a major player in the story:

In 1815, M. Charles Francois Myriel was Bishop of D____. He was a man of seventy-five and had occupied the bishopric of D____ since 1806.

Fantine, Book the First, Chapter I, Myriel

In the commission scene, the bishop’s final words to Valjean are:

“Remember this my brother, you will use this precious silver to become an honest man. By the witness of the martyrs, by the Passion and the Blood, God has raised you out of darkness; I have saved your soul for God.”

Soon after being released, however, Valjean robs Petit Gervais, a lone child on a deserted road. Suddenly, he recalls the bishop’s mandate (in this abbreviated form):

“. . . you have promised me to become an honest man. I am purchasing your soul; I withdraw it from the spirit of perversity and give it to God Almighty.”

Myriel and Valjean never meet again, at least not until Jean Valjean lies on his deathbed. Hugo describes that scene as follows:

The portress had come up and was looking through the half-open door. The physician motioned her away, but he could not prevent that good, zealous woman from crying to the dying man before she went”

“Do you want a priest?”

“I have one,” answered Jean Valjean.

And, with his finger, he seemed to designate a point above his head, where, you would have said, he saw someone.

It is probable that the Bishop was indeed a witness of his death-agony.

Over the century-and-a half of the original novel’s existence, a number of abridged versions of the 1,200-plus pages have appeared. Some publishers made an editorial decision to abridge the text. In doing so, they generally omit the statement that Bishop Myriel was in the process of writing a book on the topic of Christian duty. I am grateful for Charles E. Wilbour’s  unabridged English translation (1862, the very year of the novel’s first publication. Wilbour includes Hugo’s detailed, Scripture-based outline of the bishop’s opus-to-be. Random House’s Modern Library Edition of Wilbour’s translation (2000) filled that important gap.

We are told by Victor Hugo himself that the work remained unfinished. The bishop’s detailed outline captured my imagination and launched me on a twenty-year inner quest that has resulted, finally, in this historical novel. Probing Les Miserables’ expansive spirit became my passion. I can only hope that I serve the good bishop well by attempting to channel his spirit. And so, I dare to offer what I call a first draft manuscript of Bishop Myriel’s book. In doing so, I have done my best to preserve Duty’s outline as created by the original author. 

My Favorite Books of 2019 (that I read)

I am happy to share my favorite reads of 2019

Literary Fiction

The Walls of Lucca

by Steve Physioc

A wonderful family sage

set from WWI to the Rise of Mussolini

—history, drama, humor, spirituality all in one story

Best Short Novel

Tortilla Flat 

by John Steinbeck

Sweet tales of Mexican-American people

in post-WWII era Monterey, CA

2019 Religious nonfiction

Paul: The Apostle
by N. T. Wright

Excellent insights into Paul, man and apostle;
top-notch scholarship and spirituality

The Universal Christ
by Richard Rohr, OFM

A reminder and reawakening of the true,
everlasting nature of Jesus the Christ

Jesus and the Jewish Roots
of the Eucharist
by Brant James Pitre

masterful biblical scholarshipties the events of the Last Supperto the fulfillment of Passover

Poetry

 Rain and Embers
by Ali Nouri

Beautiful, heart-rending poemsin a cycle of love lost and love found

Bishop Myriel--in his own words . . . new novel to arrive in early 2020

Early in 2020, I’ll be releasing my 8th novel, “Bishop Myriel: In His Own Words.”Les Mis fans will enjoy this inspiring story. 

Current tentative cover

Writing in the voice of Victor Hugo’s beloved fictional character is requiring me to climb inside the body and soul of this great yet very humble man. 

Writing in the bishop’s own voice is a personally rewarding challenge. It requires me to “channel” Hugo’s bishop, Les Mis’s catalyst character. 

The bishop’s generosity and personal challenge (“to become an honest man”) sent the former convict,  John Valjean, on his way to becoming the courageous, exemplary man who served to the poor and suffering (les miserables). 

Stay Tuned.