When we left off at the end of the previous chapter I had assumed that Madeleine was fully preparing to head to Arras to rectify the situation with Champmathieu and clear up the true identity of Jean Valjean. While that may still happen what I had not really thought through was the very real crisis moment that this created for “Mayor Madeleine”.
Hugo lays this out as two primary drivers in Valjean’s life that seemed to be parallel now brought into strong contention. One must win out over the other. On the one hand was the burying of his past identity as Jean Valjean and a commitment to this new life as Madeleine - a life marked by kindness and love, but still one cloaked in mystery. On the other hand we have his commitment to “make his way back to God’ at all costs.
What the current crisis exposes is that to truly live fully “in the light” Valjean has to drop this alter ego and exist fully and completely as himself, whatever the cost. In either case, whatever he decides, there will be loss and it will likely impact other people. If he reveals himself as Valjean it puts Fantine and Cosette at even greater risk. If he continues to hide it will be to Champmathieu’s own demise and will also include a continued erosion of Valjean’s own soul.
This is an actually tortured position he finds himself in and it is what occupies him through the night. It is the thing that was observed by the factory janitor in the previous chapter, as he heard Valjean’s relentless pacing throughout the night.
It’s easy to say that the right thing is to expose himself, but would I actually be able to do it myself? Would I be willing to risk everything that comes with it? I hope that I would. Hiding in the shadows is never a sustainable existence.