A study on law versus mercy in Victor Hugo's novel "Les Miserables"
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Institusion
Universitas Katolik Widya Mandala Surabaya
Author
Sidharta, Olive
Subject
English Education
Datestamp
2017-03-03 07:13:45
Abstract :
This thesis analyzes the matter of the law versus mercy in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. The analyses are conducted from theological point of view and focused on the antithetical characteristics of law and mercy as discussed in the novel. There are two main characters in the story: one is Jean Valjean, who is the representation of the concept of mercy, and the other is Javert, who represents the idea of the law. Later one will see how Jean Valjean, who was a hardened ex-convict, is transformed to be a lifelong good man, while Javert remains to be a law extremist who fanatically demands justice in the whole of his life. Here Victor Hugo also depicts vividly how the idea of law can contradict with the concept of mercy. It is true that both law and mercy are needed in life. Without law, mercy would cause cheap excuses for violating the law and without mercy, the world is cold and miserable. Therefore, in the final chapter one will find surprisingly that if law and mercy are being understood correctly, they are actually not contradictory things. In this case, the so-called law that contradicts mercy is actually a mistakenly understood idea of the law, since the true concept of law is based on the concern of others, expressed through concrete rules that protect the people.
This thesis analyzes the matter of the law versus mercy in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. The analyses are conducted from theological point of view and focused on the antithetical characteristics of law and mercy as discussed in the novel. There are two main characters in the story: one is Jean Valjean, who is the representation of the concept of mercy, and the other is Javert, who represents the idea of the law. Later one will see how Jean Valjean, who was a hardened ex-convict, is transformed to be a lifelong good man, while Javert remains to be a law extremist who fanatically demands justice in the whole of his life. Here Victor Hugo also depicts vividly how the idea of law can contradict with the concept of mercy. It is true that both law and mercy are needed in life. Without law, mercy would cause cheap excuses for violating the law and without mercy, the world is cold and miserable. Therefore, in the final chapter one will find surprisingly that if law and mercy are being understood correctly, they are actually not contradictory things. In this case, the so-called law that contradicts mercy is actually a mistakenly understood idea of the law, since the true concept of law is based on the concern of others, expressed through concrete rules that protect the people.
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