By the title I am referring to the musical. Novel, as is Victor Hugo's original work, remains a noun capable of scaring me off. Just like the case of Phantom of the Opera, I only came across the musical in TN's mentioning. I have not viewed the musical itself, only listening to the 10th anniversary concert. And again, what has caught my heart so far is music. From the opening of Work Song in the prolog to the reprise of Do You Hear the People Sing? in the epilog, although no elements of acting are present, the scenes feel as if they were right on show.

Among all major characters, Javert in particular intrigues me. Javert was an police inspector with unbending principles – the justice in his mind and his duty as an inspector, which supported his long-lasting pursuit of Jean Valjean, the hero of the story, for years with resolute and probably obstinate persistence. Such a Javert is best depicted by the aria Stars in the middle of Act I, whose rendition by Philip Quast, the original Australian cast of the role, is brilliant. However, it is also these principles that drove Javert to commit suicide. Owing a debt of mercy to the very man whom he had been pursuing for years, he apparently found himself entangled in a torturing dilemma. He was unable to find any choice but end his life, which might be condemned as an error (as reads the line 'Y mi vida fue un error' in the Spanish version), by throwing himself into the Seine. There seems to be a tradition or legend concerning the French police that some police officers would track down their criminals across dozens of years. I heard before of a real-life French police officer who chased his target since his 20s until he was 74, when he eventually got his convict. We can speculate on their motives. Maybe it is the belief justice must be practiced that backed their decisions. If the law is compromised, someone has to pay the price. Javert had the chance but chose not to turn Valjean over to the law. He paid for his choice with his life.

As an off-topic remark, the Wikipedia entry on the songs from the musical indicates that the aforementioned Do You Head the People Sing? appeared in the television coverage of the '89 incident. This really triggers some imagination of mine about the Christmas Eve conflict in Nankai University.