What does he do in Les Mis that makes him so interesting? Some of the answer is in not what he does, but what hasn't been told about him. Victor Hugo, whether intentionally or accidentally, neglected to tell us very much about his life before Montreuil-sur-Mer. And even after that, we never hear anything about him unless it is related to Jean Valjean. Our very ignorance of the life of this inspector intrigues us.

What he does is also a reason for interest. He spends many years chasing after Jean Valjean, a convict who has broken his parole and gone on the run. First, in Montreuil-sur-Mer, he correctly guesses that the mayor, M. Madeleine, is none other than Jean Valjean (And for that I applaud him). When Jean Valjean escapes from the ship Orion, Javert believes that he's dead, but later finds Jean Valjean promenading as a poor man, this time with a little girl. He chases him through the streets one night, then loses him at the end of a cul-de-sac. (Jean Valjean climbed the wall and hid in the Convent of the Petit Picpus. Poor Javert never found out what happened). For years, he has no idea where Valjean went. Upon request by a young lawyer (Monsieur Marius Pontmercy), he goes to the Gorbeau tenement, finding Thénardier and members of Patron-Minette. He is also confronted with Jean Valjean, although he does not realize this until after he escapes. Javert loses sight of Jean Valjean for some time. He goes to spy on the students of the barricade in hopes of preventing a revolution (émeute, as Hugo called it), but he is uncovered by a little gamin (Gavroche). Valjean comes to the barricade, and Javert believes he came simply to get rid of him (actually, he came to save Marius...) and is quite astonished when Valjean sets him free. Late at night, after all the students of the barricade have been killed, Javert comes across Valjean and Marius, whom he believes is dead (but is just severely wounded and unconscious), emerging from the sewers. But instead of arresting Jean Valjean, Javert goes to a bridge over the River Seine. He spends a long time in contemplation, leaves a note for the prefect at the nearest police station, then jumps off the bridge to his death.

All right, so I kind of vulgarized Javert's suicide... but I've got a separate digression elsewhere on his suicide. I wasn't going to do like Hugo and overkill on the explanations.

Beyond quotes from the novel and a summary of Javert and his actions, what does a webmistress do in tribute? She can offer links! They are on-site links, pages that I have created and listed below for your enjoyment.

Javert Fan Fiction - This link takes you to my Scriptorium, but I feel certain you can find the Javert fics on there. =|:-)
Jenn's Javert Theory - I proved that Javert had obsessive-compulsive disorder, using the book and some inferences. Read my explanation here.
Digression on Javert's Suicide - My thoughts on the whole affair: how it's written in the book, how it's staged in the musical, among some other thoughts. Updated and added to randomly not at all these days.
The Philip Quast Shrine - Tribute to the best Javert to ever wear the sideburns! There are pictures of him there as Javert in the TAC, among other photos.
A List of Ways to Annoy Javert - a creation of mine. Very funny. Feel free to add your ways to the list!
You Know You're a Javertite When... -- Originally part of Melitus Javert's website that has now apparently disappeared from the web... so I made my own version. Again, feel free to add your ways to the list!

I promise that if and when I make new pages, I will list them here. =|:-)