As Javert once stated, There is no Monsieur the Mayor here any longer (Hugo 102). Even though the only thing Valjean did was stealing a loaf of bread, France believes it was an unforgivable crime. This quote is important because Valjean is treated without any rights just because he stole a loaf of bread. Social Injustice was what made Valjeans life miserable. However, he was not the only person who suffered from such injustice.
Another character greatly affected by this particular theme, was Fantine. Fantine is a young girl who was left pregnant. This baby whom she was pregnant was named Cosette. She did everything to help her daughter Cosette. The only problem was that if the town knew she had a daughter out of marriage she would not get a job. As Fantine earlier in the book states, You see I cannot take my child into the country. Work forbids it (Hugo 43-44). This quote is extremely important to this theme of social injustice because in the early times, women were basically treated very poorly. They had no rights and no opportunities. If you had a daughter out of marriage you were accused of being a whore! This is exactly what happened to Fanitine. She was rejected everywhere and was left unemployed and without money to buy basic necessities for her daughter and herself. Nevertheless, Fantine had to leave her daughter, Cosette, with someone so that she could get a job. She left Cosette with a family named the Thenardiers. Fantine sends them money each month to take care of Cosette. The only problem was that the Thenardiers were treated Cosette atrociously. As Victor Hugo narrates early in the book, They fed her on odds and ends, a little better than the dog, and a little worse than a cat (Hugo 46). This is a perfect example of social injustice because Fantine works very hard to try and give Cosette a good life, but instead Cosette is having a very hard life. Cosette would not be treated badly if the town accepted Fantine as she is.