From Retribution to restoration : a decolonial perspective on justice in Victor Hugo’s Les misérables

Babu, Arunesh (author), Simon, Shanthi (author)

Retributive justice, which is rooted in feudal, colonial, and punitive structures, has enabled systemic inequalities, putting the marginalised and disadvantaged at the most risk. These frameworks, established through absolutist bureaucracies, continued in a postcolonial set-ting, obstructing the reintegration of criminals into society. Victor Hugo critiques these unfair power structures from an abolitionist perspective in his book Les Misérables (1862). By examining Jean Valjean’s transformation from a hardened criminal to a compassionate individual, inspired by Bishop Myriel’s act of mercy, the paper emphasises how restor-ative justice can facilitate personal growth and societal restoration. This paper critiques colonial justice for its emphasis on punishment and its role in reinforcing socio-economic imbalances. It also discusses alternative justice methods that prioritise reconciliation and reintegration, demonstrating how these approaches tackle the underlying causes of crime while fostering equity and community building. Through Hugo’s narratives and its con-nections to postcolonial realities, the paper highlights the necessity of transitioning from punitive to restorative models that dismantle systemic inequalities and promote collective responsibility.

• Language: English
• Keywords: restorative justice, decolonising justice, postcolonialism, critical prison studies, labelling theory
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 01.01.2025
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 67-74
• Numbering: [Letn.] 58, [št.] 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-180937
• UDC: 821.133.1.09-311.2Hugo V.
• ISSN on article: 0567-784X
• DOI: 10.4312/an.58.1.67-74
• COBISS.SI-ID: 272370691
• Publication date in RUL: 20.03.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Acta neophilologica
• Shortened title: Acta neophilol.
• Publisher: Filozofska fakulteta, Filozofska fakulteta, Znanstveni inštitut Filozofske fakultete, Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete Univerze, Založba Univerze v Ljubljani, = University of Ljubljana Press
• ISSN: 0567-784X
• COBISS.SI-ID: 16130818

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Od maščevanja do obnove : dekolonialna perspektiva pravičnosti v Les Misérables Victorja Hugoja

Abstract

Retributivna pravičnost, ki ima korenine v fevdalnih, kolonialnih in kaznovalnih struktu-rah, je omogočila sistemske neenakosti, zaradi katerih so najbolj ogroženi marginalizirani in prikrajšani. Ti okviri, vzpostavljeni z absolutistično birokracijo, so se nadaljevali tudi v postkolonialnem okolju in ovirali ponovno vključevanje storilcev kaznivih dejanj v druž-bo. Victor Hugo je v svoji knjigi Les Misérables (1862) kritiziral te nepravične strukture moči z abolicionističnega vidika. S preučevanjem preobrazbe Jeana Valjeana iz prekaljene-ga zločinca v sočutnega posameznika, ki ga je navdihnilo dejanje usmiljenja škofa Myriela: članek poudarja, kako lahko restorativna pravičnost olajša osebno rast in družbeno obno-vo. Kritizira kolonialno pravosodje zaradi njegovega poudarka na kaznovanju in njegove vloge pri krepitvi družbeno-ekonomskih neravnovesij. Obravnava tudi alternativne me-tode pravičnosti, ki dajejo prednost spravi in ponovnemu vključevanju, ter prikazuje, kako ti pristopi odpravljajo temeljne vzroke kaznivih dejanj, hkrati pa spodbujajo pravičnost in gradnjo skupnosti. S Hugovimi pripovedmi in njihovimi povezavami s postkolonialno stvarnostjo članek poudarja potrebo po prehodu od kaznovalnih k obnovitvenim mode-lom, ki odpravljajo sistemske neenakosti in spodbujajo kolektivno odgovornost.

• Keywords: postkolonializem, zaporniške študije, teorija etiketiranja