#hugo....

not much to say about this chapter that hasn't already been said, but for posterity, I'll bullet point my thoughts.

Myriel not seeing or casually ignoring how his asceticism affects Baptistine and Magloire is Bad - he takes care of everyone else, and it's all fine and good to deprive yourself of luxuries, but these two women are not part of him. would I go so far as to call Myriel a hypocrite for this? no, because they're adults who can make their own choices, but there's a difference between making a choice with no reservations and making a choice because there really isn't any better option. and for all Hugo's insistence that they Like This, Actually, it's a little chilling to see Baptistine write about growing thinner. and speaking of which, the womens' tacit acceptance of these conditions and their lives ending with the bishop's is hypocritical in the same way Combeferre lecturing the insurgents about their surviving relatives while abandoning his own mother is.

Hugo is, as usual, Not Normal about women. "these two good women", "subordinated their actions", "easily disturbed womanly instincts", "conform to the bishop's way of life", "waited on him passively", "if to obey was to disappear", "charming and instinctive delicacy", "that womanly talent"... I think I wrote "ew, Hugo" in my margins at least four times. it's at least nice to see that Baptistine can rebuke Myriel sometimes, although I don't love that she can only do it when no one else can hear.

the epistolary style isn't Hugo's strength. "the Faux" family gave me a good giggle - it felt like when I'm writing and can't think of a good name so I just wrote "John Fakename", tell myself I'll fix it later, and then never do. the unintelligible words add to the verisimilitude as well, but it overall just doesn't work for me.

they have guests?? like, little kids included? first of all, how - surely they can't all sleep in the little alcove bed or on one of the 11 chairs - but also I very much want to see Myriel interact with little kids.

there's a sense in this chapter that Baptistine in particular, but also Magloire, sees Myriel as having two discrete roles - one as brother and one as bishop. she can rebuke her brother, but when he's The Bishop, no one can question him. it calls to mind the Catholic idea of the Pope's infallibility; I wonder if Hugo did that on purpose or if it's just your garden variety 'the guy I respect can do no wrong'. I'm leaning toward the former, as there's a definite air of deference to an authority about it. feels icky!!

Baptistine saying Myriel "has no fear of darkness or of dangerous roads" as well as her later "what is there to fear in this house? [...] the good Lord lives here" reminded me of Psalm 23 (the Lord is my shepherd, though I walk through the shadow of the valley of evil, etc.)

Baptistine assures her friend that her brother is "still a good royalist" - foreshadowing the next chapter! I have Lots Of Thoughts about royalist!Myriel but those are for tomorrow.

to be clear: although the treatment of Baptistine and Magloire makes me feel Yucky especially in this chapter, I'm placing the blame for that on Hugo and not Myriel - I doubt Myriel truly thinks these two women should be silently subservient to him, and I'd be surprised if that angle even occurred to him. I'm willing to pin a bit of their general material hardship on him, but really none of the three of them actually seem to be too bothered by their living conditions (others have pointed out that Magloire is a comic character, which puts her grumbling in a less serious light), and is it fair to blame him for something the others involved don't see as harmful? lots to consider here!