Quote Originally Posted by Fyraltari View Post
While I agree with what your are saying, I feel compelled to point out that Jean Valjean is the guy the who stole a loaf of bread to feed his starving nephews and nieces (one of whom was a baby) and spent almost two decades in prison because of that.
Five years for what he did, the rest because he tried to run. Yes, 24601.
You probably were thinking of Javert, although I doubt the notion of a hell ever mattered to the man.
Been a long time since I read it, but from what I remember Javert was deeply religious, to the point it was the foundation of his being and the reason he disintegrated when he couldn't fit Valjean into his worldview. This aspect of his character is just about visible in the musical, though not very overt, but downplayed or abandoned altogether in some adaptations (such as the TV version with Dominic West).

It's hard to get into that within the scope of forum rules, however.