#boulatrelle is a legend who did nothing wrong

Another underrated interesting Les Mis character is Brevet– He’s the man who initially “recognizes” Champmatheiu as Jean Valjean, and his Thing is that he’s an ex-convict who has basically become a prison guard.

The ex-convict Brevet wore the black and gray waistcoat of the central prisons. Brevet was a person sixty years of age, who had a sort of business man’s face, and the air of a rascal. The two sometimes go together. In prison, whither fresh misdeeds had led him, he had become something in the nature of a turnkey. He was a man of whom his superiors said, “He tries to make himself of use.”

It’s interesting that his backstory is an exact mix between Valjean and Javert’s– Valjean’s backstory of being incarcerated for committing a crime, and Javert’s backstory of becoming a guard/spy for the system that abused him.

I do think it’s interesting to contrast how Brevet vs Javert’s testimonies are treated though.

Both Brevet and Javert are trying to sell out Valjean to the cops in order to “be of use” to authority. Both are the first ones to recognize (or “recognize”) him– Brevet recognizing him as a poor homeless man, and Javert recognizes Valjean as Mayor Madeleine.

But Brevet’s evidence is the one that’s accepted, in large part because it fits more comfortably with the narrative the police want. It’s easier to arrest a homeless man than a mayor. It’s also a bit ambiguous whether Brevet actually sincerely “recognizes Champathieu as Valjean” or whether he’s been bribed/ordered to recognize him as Valjean, because that makes it easier for the police to arrest this homeless person, and Brevet wants to be “of use” to the police. I think the latter makes sense because we already saw Javert basically get ordered to recognize Champmathieu even after he had recognized the real Valjean in Madeleine.  As I’ve mentioned before it’s interesting how quickly Javert falls into line accepts the Fake Incorrect evidence, distrusting his own senses in order to submit to authority. Like Brevet, his main concern is always being “of use” to his superiors– keeping his head low and helping create whatever narrative the people in power want to create.