◦ jean valjean ◦

jean valjean was an adventurous, brave and selfless man. he was highly intelligent and extremely perceptive; he could see past the thénardiers' attempts to keep cosette as a petty servant and also was able to determine javert's fear of mercy. valjean suffered from extreme paranoia and desperation. his fear of going back to prison led him to be on the run for the rest of his life. it also made him fear for his own life and for the lives of those around him, particularly that of cosette. however, valjean made up for this with his enormous capacity for courage.