A reflection on the movie Les Miserables. Written in 2014.
Sin and Grace
“When sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” – Romans 5:20
In the film, we firstly seen grace given to Jean Veljean. He asked for food and space to stay in. Before entering the house, he introduced himself as an ex-convict and cited the harms that he might cause yet he was accepted wholeheartedly by Msgr. Myriel. During dinner, one line that Valjean uttered was “In the morning, I’ll be a new man.” In the middle of the night, he stole Monsignor’s spoons and forks. While doing so, he was caught by Monsignor and so Valjean hit him. In the morning, Valjean was caught by the authorities and was presented to Myriel. Myriel lied. He told the authorities that Valjean did not steal the utensils, those were given to him and he even forgot to get the candle holders. Before releasing Valjean, Myriel reminded him of his statement, “Don’t forget, don’t ever forget, you promised to become a new man. You no longer belong to evil. Now, you belong to God.”
This encounter gave rise to other scenes where Valjean chose to forgive and let people live in spite of their unworthiness.
He freed Fantine, a prostitute, from being jailed for 6 months. He took care of her until her last breath and adopted her child, Cosette. She forgave Marius and Cosette for disobeying him. He even saved Marius’ life while war is happening in the city. Given the chance to revenge and live his life peacefully, he did not kill Javert.
I admire Valjean’s perseverance to follow his conscience. To love doing good and to avoiding evil.
Conscience and Freedom
“Man is a rational and therefore like God; he is created with free will and is master over his acts.” – St. Irenaeus
We are all given freedom by God. But in this world, some people do not experience authentic freedom. There were external forces that affect one’s decision over his actions. These sometimes led us not to follow what our conscience tells us.
In the film, one good example was Fantine’s situation. Though she doesn’t want to be away from her child, she chose to entrust her to people whom she thought were her friends. She chose not to reveal her situation for she would be judged by people and was afraid to be rejected for jobs. When she was fired, she decided to sell happiness through flesh and became prostitute just to suffice her child’s needs. She knew that her work was wrong yet she continued it for the sake of her child.
Another example that showed how freedom and conscience were hindered was the scene when a guard witnessed how Fantine was slapped by his companion. For many times, he used to keep quiet. But the momentwhen finally he listened to his conscience, he moved and told Valjean of the happenings, “I kept my mouth shut long enough.”
One must therefore work to correct the errors of moral conscience. To do this, we need to be enlightened by God’s word. Also, through faith and prayers.
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