The substance of this chapter is a letter written by M. Myriel’s sister to a longtime close friend of hers. In this letter she describes the way that the Bishop lived, the impact of the “risks’ taken under the auspices of faith in and reliance upon God, and the general realities of living with her brother. Though the general angle and tone that Hugo approaches all of this with is one that would continue to shine a positive light on Myriel, reading it through the lens of my own experiences cast a different sort of shadow over it. I thought I might share some of that here.
In most cases, if we were to think of something like “main character syndrome” we would tend to picture someone who centers themselves and their pursuits at the expense of everyone else. Often that looks like a single minded focus on some specific goal that must be won at all costs. There are other cases though where that goal could be “Christ-likeness” and all of the actions of the individual could be seen as “self sacrificing” while still failing to really contemplate the impact on those who are closest to you. The pages of church history are full of people who failed to care for themselves and others in the name of “sacrificing for Christ”, but at closer inspection there is a flavor of “it has to be me, no one else could do this” to their actions.
I’m not saying this is the case with Myriel, but some of his behaviors have that flavor. In a fictional world it’s easy to write the story in a way that the refusal to lock the door never leads to any harm, or the failure to properly plan for healthy decisions doesn’t lead to an early demise. In the real world faith and hubris can be close friends, and sainthood can be replaced with a brand of heroism that is still very much about the individual.
When I think back on earlier periods of my life when I was still a pastor and many of my decisions were shaped by an attempt to live a self-sacrificing “cruciform” life (another story for another time); I realize that I was largely motivated by the need to be THE ONE who was doing the great deed, whatever that might be. That driving motivation made me choose things that didn’t really prioritize my family or my well being. I was blinded by a baptized ambition. No shade on the bishop, but I’m glad that period is behind me. I no longer want to be a hero. I just want to be a kind and compassionate fellow traveler.