The Thénardiers are fictional characters from a novel.
Jean Valjean is the protagonist of Victor Hugo 's 1862 novel Les Misérables . Thénardiers . They serve , alongside Javert , as one of the two arch-nemeses of the story 's protagonist , Jean Valjean . While Javert represents the justice system that would punish Valjean , the Thenardiers represent the lawless subculture of society that would blackmail him .