Is Javert as bad as people interpret him to be?

Honestly? Granted, he is the antagonist and he constantly pursues Valjean. However, is he REALLY a bad guy? If you look at the lyrics of The Confrontation, he mentions his past briefly about being born in jail and living along convicts in his youth. I think this gave him the determination to despise those who are opposed to the law. With that, he has been alone all of his life, without anyone to pag-ibig or give pag-ibig to (like Valjean to Cosette, and vise versa). The only thing he has is the law, which was contradicted sa pamamagitan ng Jean Valjean sparing him beyond his deceit to the students. With that, his story ends sa pamamagitan ng ending his life. Wasn't Javert just doing what he known all his life? Or is the stereotype of an antagonist just as so with Javert?