I had the opportunity to think about two of my favorite literary characters this morning, Beowulf and Inspector Javert, and something came to mind…
Both of these men did the things they did, one violent the other cruel, out of a fervent conviction that what they were doing was just and necessary. Beowulf was heralded as the penultimate representative of his society’s values, whereas Inspector Javert is used to point out that the zealous pursuit of a call to uphold the moral code set forth by society at large can in some instances actually cause injustice.
The haut monde of our intelligentsia would (if they ever met him) dismiss the actions of the former as barbarism in our modern context, and seem to be consumed by the circumstances of the latter. What I mean is that the general assembly of people out there who pursue morality, either individually or corporately, are disparaged because of and constantly made to be presented in the light of those who prove to be less than perfect among their ranks. In short, do-gooders are all bad because a few do-gooders are bad. This sentiment seems to me an outgrowth of the Modernist reexamination of what constituted the idea of right and wrong, and has manifested itself in the present day as a total rejection of the idea that right and wrong exist at all!
It’s as if they’re using Beowulf’s potential for barbarism and channeling it through the anomaly of Inspector Javert to justify their position that the pursuit of morality can have disastrous consequences so we should therefore not engage in the pursuit of morality. Although what it feels more like to me is an excuse not to have to put forth the effort required to improve oneself. Basically, in the face of the possibility that they may fail to rise to a higher standard, they choose not to attempt the climb and satisfy themselves by ridiculing, from the bottom, those defeated by the climb not having achieved the summit.
