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(Originally 11/12/19)

Chapter IV. Monsieur Madeleine In Mourning

Bishop Myriel dies in 1821 “in the odor of sanctity at the age of eighty-two” which seems to be a Catholic concept that subtly marks him as a saint, if we weren’t convinced already.

He’d been blind for a few years before his death, and Mademoiselle Baptistine took care of him, which is very sweet and loving, but then Hugo just has to make it weird with things like “a wonderful person who is there because you need her and because she can’t do without you” and “since she devotes all her time to me, that means I have her whole heart”. So yeah, being blind is great for the soul, especially if you have a woman by your side to take care of all your needs.

Madeleine wears mourning for the bishop and everyone speculates about how they must have been connected somehow. It’s a potentially ruinous connection to his past, but completely understandable that he would risk discovery to pay honor to someone who changed his life so completely. And at this point he’s respected enough in the town that everyone is merely curious, but not malicious about it.

I always love his explanation that “I was one of his family’s lackeys when I was young.” because he’s still treating Myriel as his employer in a way, by honoring his instructions so  closely.

A few days behind, but here I am!

I love the Bishop. This chapter is really just his backstory, and there’s not as much that interests me there, but I’m very fond of the character, so it’s nice to read about him anyway. 

We do get one line from him that I like quite a bit, from when he meets Napoleon - “Sire, you are looking at a plain man and I am looking at a great man. Each of us may benefit.” 

Myriel’s being humble and complimentary there (”I am looking at a great man”) and that, presumably, is what makes Napoleon calm down about Myriel’s staring at him, which he had been stern about when he first addressed Myriel. But Myriel is couching an admonishment in his humility, by telling Napoleon that he might benefit from looking at a plain man - i.e., presumably, that he’s too proud.

Please note that Poll Stealing is NOT active in this round!

honestly it’s a relief to see that pretty much everyone just sort of took yesterday off, so I don’t have to feel bad :D

Chapter IV. The Cheesemakers of Pontarlier

“But I must tell you the cart drivers who didn’t want me to eat with them live better than you do.” Jean Valjean is still rough around the edges at this point, but he has a good heart, and he can see when things like this are unjust. Possibly he’s even more sensitive to that kind of discrepancy, as he’s fresh from prison.

Myriel gently and subtly giving Valjean employment advice, oh my heart! And the idea that he’s also showing him a way to break parole without stigma makes that whole discussion even better.

I like that we get Mademoiselle Baptistine’s perspective on this, because she gets to reason through Myriel’s approach to charity. She’s confused that he’s not taking the opportunity to give a sermon and “feed the man’s soul at the same time as his body” but then she decides that he was trying to “make him believe, if only for a moment, that he was a man like any other, by being perfectly normal with him.” I don’t know, it’s neat that we get to see how it looked to her at first, and then what she decided later on, instead of just laying out the exact facts of that night.

The detail of Mother Gerbaud showing up with her child and the bishop offering her some money (that he takes from Baptistine, but we’ve had that discussion already) shows that his door truly is always open and he’s never off duty.

Has everyone read this fic that’s Madame Magloire’s perspective as she brings the deerskin to Jean Valjean? It’s really good!

Chapter V. Tranquility

Madame Magloire conspicuously locks the silver in its cupboard. It’s just her last task of the day, and the narration isn’t really making a big deal of it, but it makes of point of letting Valjean see where she put them.

Even now it is hard for us to grasp what was driving him at that moment. Was he trying to issue a warning or to launch a threat. Was he simply obeying some sort of instinctive impulse obscure even to himself?

I suspect that even Valjean doesn’t know what his intentions are here. He’s got a lot of feelings, and he’s probably overwhelmed by all the kindness he’s been shown, so he’s trying to be like five different people at once (the convict, the guest, the violent criminal, the person who just wanted to feed his family) and he can’t reconcile all the parts of himself.

How He Protected His House

I like how Hugo keeps using little details that might be nothing more than set dressing in another book as a further opportunity to illustrate Myriel’s personality!

He gives away half the milk from the cows to the hospital, and then when it’s too cold to heat his room he shares half the cows’ space, and I don’t know, it just makes me smile.

I get Myriel’s perspective that “the finest altar is the soul of some poor wretch who finds comfort and gives thanks to G-d.” and I appreciate how that applies to Valjean, and how so many important ideas are seeded throughout this whole section. Still, I wonder how the “devout women” feel about donating money for him to get a nice altar and then it’s given to the poor. This has happened more than once! And they wouldn’t know exactly what happened to the money, they’d just think he didn’t think their efforts weren’t important enough to honor them.

“Sometimes there were twelve [guests] and the bishop would cover up the embarrassment...” Okay we get it, he’s Jesus and the disciples!

Book Seven: The Champmathieu Affair

11/24/19 Chapter I. Sister Simplice

Sister Simplice and Sister Perpetua are visual and spiritual foils in the same way Baptistine and Magloire are, and I love the candle comparison.

I don’t think Hugo’s looking down on Perpetua for being “an ordinary village lass.” Rather, the people who serve G-d because it’s a job are just as important and valuable as those who do it because it’s a calling.

Simplice Never Lies, and this will be important later. her rigidity in this makes her comparable to Javert, and is also the reason he trusts and respects her.

“She had a sweet tooth and she loved getting letters.” Really, Hugo? you want to agree with Tholomyes about what is or isn’t a fault? On the other hand, this might be Simplice’s view of herself, and not something Hugo’s imposing from the outside. “She did not understand Latin but she understood the book,” is a really good line.

Fantine’s health is declining fast, but his is only half the reason Valjean stays with her for longer than usual.

11/25/19 Chapter II. The Perspicacity of Master Scaufflaire

Valjean passes the priest’s place, retraces his steps, and hesitates on using the door knocker. It reminds me both of his return to Myriel’s home after he steals from Petit Gervais and his pendulum swing when he’s retreating from Cosette at the end of the book.

“He has no intention of being a saddle horse. To each his ambition.” awww, I legitimately love how thoughtful Scaufflaire is about his horse.

Hi everyone! I’ve been tracking a few motifs on this read through, mostly Significant materials, and also Fall to the Knees and people compared to stone and statues. Hope this is interesting or useful to someone. I might end up doing this just after the end of every section instead of every single book (or not at all), so let me know what would be best.

Fall to the Knees 1.1.4 (Bishop Myriel) “Man is made of flesh and that flesh is both a burden and a temptation to him. He drags it around with him and he yields to it. “He should keep a close eye on it, put the lid on it, repress it, and only give into it at the last extremity. There may still be some sin in giving in to it even then; but such sin is venial. It is a slip, but a slip onto one’s knees, which may well end in prayer”

1.1.10 “Now I am eighty-six years old; I am about to die. What have you come to ask of me?” “Your blessing,” said the bishop. And he went down on his knees.

Marble/People Turning into Statues 1.1.2 (In the dining room of the episcopal palace) The portraits of these seven reverend fathers embellished the dining room and the memorable date of July 29, 1714, was engraved there in gold lettering on a white marble panel.

1.1.6 …the fireplace, its wooden surround painted to look like marble, usually without a fire…

1.1.10 His agony smacked of freedom. His legs alone were immobile. The dark had him by the lower limbs. His feet were already dead and cold but his head was alive with all life’s potency and seemed powerfully illuminated. At this solemn moment G--- was like the king in the oriental tale, flesh above, marble below.

Under the cut: gold, silver, and mahogany. Some quotes are repeated across sections, especially in 1.1.6 and that glut of information about their house.