valjolras

[valjolras]

i miss lukas perman........... ...

[valjolras]

i just watched hairspray. corny collins needs to peg link larkin NOW!!!!!!!!

[valjolras]

Thematic similarities between Enjolras and Jean Valjean – Or, my petition for you to join the Valjolras club

HELLO LES MISERABLES NATION! I finished the brick last night and I finally got around to writing down some of my Valjolras thoughts. Their mutual intensity of devotion and belief, as well as Enjolras’ worship of everything Valjean represents, is honestly like crack to me, and today I’m passing the blunt 😎

(I apologise for any typos or inconsistencies. I sat down and wrote this in a daze.)

The basis of this pairing is very simple: while we understand that the primary symbol for France in the book is Cosette, it is undeniable that Valjean’s journey and struggle – as the titular “Les Miserables”, and as the indomitable human spirit – represents that of the Republic that Enjolras dies for. Given Enjolras’ singular fascination with the Republic as his mother and lover (Patria, and the line “my mother is the Republic”), and his rejection of all worldly desire in favour of a neoplatonic ideal, we can understand Valjolras as a sort of deeply feminine worship on Enjolras’ part. This pairing, to me, is also slightly Freudian, since both Enjolras and Valjean conflate maternal and romantic love into an elevated ideal (in the figures of Patria/France and Cosette respectively). Their respective narrative positions as child and mother – Revolution and Republic – also support this. This post isn’t going to delve into the heavily gendered and anthropomorphic metaphors of France, despite the relevance to Valjolras, because it would be too long and I don’t really trust myself to bring it justice. This post focuses on Valjolras’ thematic similarities and overlaps that make their slash pairing so captivating to explore.

1. Both Enjolras and Valjean as allegories of Jesus Christ

This is nothing new and is not the primary association I’m interested in, but it’s worth pointing out regardless. Both conduct transcendental acts of self-sacrifice in the name of duty to their higher ideals, revolution and conscience. This post briefly elucidates Enjolras’ role as a figure of Christ. Both characters are uniquely exempt from what Hugo identifies for us as the central problem of humanity, the pursuit of self-interest; their conviction and subscription to a higher, truer reality automatically links them together, since they fundamentally operate within the same dimensions of meaning that are not tethered to material happiness or satisfaction.

2. Enjolras as a “Great Man” and Valjean as Christ, as well as their characters’ ironic resistance to these comparisons

This set of symbols is far more interesting to me because of the friction between the narrative’s understanding of the character and the character’s own understanding of himself. The Great Man Theory posits that exceptional qualities are innate rather than cultivated, an ideology that we know Enjolras abhors (this knowledge can be easily extrapolated from his belief system, but is also explicit in his distaste for Napoleon and the theory’s proximity to the Divine Right of Kings). Yet Hugo explicitly casts him as possessing otherworldly charm and stature, keeping him separate from the rest of the revolutionaries with classical references and differences in physical appearance indicating his narrative position as a Great Man.

As for Valjean, his self-identity as a social outcast and leper necessitates that he resists any attempt to elevate his character. Repeatedly we see him describe himself as a baser creature, undeserving of love and happiness, separate from the human populace; Valjean’s self-loathing makes it impossible for him to align himself with a figure he venerates as much as Christ, even in pursuing as an ideal. But it is this very quality of self-abnegation and virtue in spite of suffering that catalyses Valjean’s elevation in the first place – there can be no allusion to Christ if Valjean were not to reject Christhood.

As such, their respective allegorical counterparts not only exist in defiance of Valjean and Enjolras’ belief system, but meaning is actually generated via their resistance. As a result both of them inhabit Hugo’s metaphorical reality against their will. Connection is inadvertently created. 

3. Associations with femininity

I know I said I wasn’t going to talk about gender in this post but this is just a brief aside. I like that Enjolras’ feminine associations are vested in his physical appearance while Valjean’s are purely metaphorical (repeated references to Valjean as a mother or maternal figure). This is excellent analogical data when we situate it within the previously mentioned Revolution-and-Republic parallel; Revolution adopts her mother’s vestige of femininity, denouncing ugliness and the macabre, while the Republic is cast as an innately nurturing, gentle and life-giving entity. Hugo very elegantly uses his understanding of gender roles at that time to illustrate the sanctity of progress.

4. Their shared rejection of the social and material in favour of a neoplatonic ideal

I did preface this briefly earlier and I’ll elaborate here. Enjolras consistently rejects worldly sexuality, baser desire and even his own virtue (in killing a man) in chasing his vision of the Republic. His devotion to the ideal is reflected in his denouncement of everything not related to it. In doing so he also rejects his status as a member of the bourgeoisie and identifies only as citizen – actively shaping his ideal.

Similarly, Valjean repeatedly rejects his own happiness in favour of fulfilling his duty to God and his own conscience. Hugo himself conflates this in the book: ��There is no end to conscience, for this is God himself”. Through Valjean’s embracing of his prescribed identity of felon, he perfectly subverts his social class altogether by embodying the highest rungs of sacrifice and morality, appealing to our universal humanity.

Finally, they both defy blood relations in favour of connections that generate meaning for themselves. Enjolras declares the Republic as his mother just as Valjean embraces Cosette as his child for 10 years and on his deathbed. Neither are tethered by the constraints of the flesh and are only parted from their greatest loves in death, holding firm their devotion, dying both for and because of their love for their mother and child respectively. It is the absence of the people that kills Enjolras, just as it is Cosette’s absence that kills Valjean; their devotion is so great that it is both life and death.

Conclusion

Well, the meta is all well and good, you may say, but what is the rationale for slashing them together?

My answer: it's sexy as fuck. This fandom is no stranger to pairing thematically relevant and/or contrasting characters together and making them kiss. I also think that Aaron Tveit and any iteration of DILF Valjean is sooooooo visually appetising, and I will forever mourn the briefness of their interaction in canon. Honestly, the point of this post is to try and convert people to Valjolras posting, so we can all scream about them together. Please comment or rb your thoughts if you like!

[valjolras]

it's just that i fell in love with a war, and nobody told me it ended.

[valjolras]

“Keep a leftover light,

Burnin’ so you can keep lookin’ up

Isn’t that worth holdin’ on?”

Star - Mitski

Klimt’s “The Kiss” (Valvert edition) 🥳

(Closeup + sketch below)

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Inspector and his one and only 24601 karat gold labewbew

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i just finished the brick.

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ngl back on that finnick/haymitch copium. one of my favourite ships ever

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oh my fucking god someone come get them

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oh my fucking god someone come get them

[valjolras]

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tonight im thinking of beasthavok and how much sex they were having after alex got back from war looking like the hottest piece of ass to ever serve (cunt)

[valjolras]

[valjolras]

everytime i listen to matelukas die schatten my eyes tear up a bit. their voices are too beautiful together. thank you matelukas.

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i dont even ship rpf im just fucking forced to perceive all this get me the fuck out of here.

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GET BLOWN UP

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ok nobodyfreak out i redid my entire layout