jean valjean took care of cosette because of keeping cosette alive.
jean valjean took care of cosette because of keeping cosette alive.
why did jean valjean take care of cosette?
keeping cosette alive
a short chapter, mainly consisting of two newspaper articles, informs the reader, that jean valjean has been re-arrested while getting into the stagecoach to montfermeil (on his way to get fantine's eight-year-old daughter, cosette, whom he had promised to rescue). in july 1823, he was condemned to death for the 40-sous theft and the escape from the jail in montreuil-sur-mer, as the prosecutor claims that valjean was part of a gang of street robbers and the latter refuses to defend himself. his sentence was graciously reduced by the king to only life in prison instead of death. before he was captured, jean valjean had already traveled near to montfermeil and buried all the money he'd saved as m. madeleine—a chapter tells of a worker in montfermeil, a former toulon convict, who claims having seen, according to a local fairy tale, the devil burying his treasure in the forest. no further explanation is ever given as to why, having buried his money near montfermeil, valjean had traveled back to paris and then attempted to travel back to montfermeil.
jean valjean
after recovering from his injuries, marius receives permission from his grandfather to marry cosette and they wed. the day after the wedding, valjean reveals to marius that he is an ex-convict. marius, horrified, assumes the worst about valjean's character and begins pushing him out of cosette's life. after this, valjean's previously habitual visits to cosette at marius' grandfather's house become shorter and shorter, until he ceases to visit at all, having become bedridden with loss of will to live. some time after he stops coming, thénardier visits marius and claims that valjean is a murderer and shows marius several newspaper articles to prove this. marius sees through thénardier's disguise and, in an attempt to show marius something that he does not already know, thénardier shows newspaper clippings proving that m. madeleine and jean valjean are the same person, and that javert committed suicide. marius is then told that valjean was the man who had "assassinated" one of marius' relatives, carrying the body through the sewers on 6 june. realizing that thénardier had seen valjean saving him, marius finishes with thénardier and hurries with cosette to valjean's flat. unfortunately, they are too late and find valjean is dying. valjean makes peace with marius, with whom he had uneasy relations, and tells cosette the name of her mother, fantine. he dies content, under the light of the bishop's candlesticks, and it is stated that an angel awaits to carry his soul to heaven. he is buried in an unmarked grave, per his request, after death. only these four lines appear on the gravestone:
jean valjean