In this chapter, presented mostly in the form of a letter written by Mlle. Baptistine (Myriel’s sister) to her friend, we have a seemingly mundane conversation about the way cheese was made in that part of France used as a vehicle for re-humanizing Valjean.
We’re at the table and initially Valjean is eating “as one who was starving”. He points out that though this meal is too good for him (once again an indicator that he cannot escape the way his past crime has shaped his identity), it seems more humble than one would expect from a priest (he does not know that Myriel is in fact a bishop). As conversation unfolds in becomes clear that Valjean has been ordered to go to Pontarlier, a place Myriel is familiar with.
Using this as an opportunity, rather than asking Valjean his story, something that inevitably would have re-centered Valjean’s crime, punishment, and the way it had resulted in such terrible treatment from the rest of the residents of Digne, Myriel speaks to Valjean about Pontarlier as he would any other man who was headed there and may be looking to start fresh. Without preaching at him, moralizing, or directly addressing the need for a new beginning, Myriel consistently and repeatedly talks to Valjean as he would any other man, something that has probably been entirely absent from Valjean’s life for the past 19 years.
This “re-humanization through basic respect and dignity” is basic enough that it would be easy to miss it’s power. So often when we talk about empowerment or assistance for those who are in need, our verbiage creates a clear dichotomy between “us” who are doing the helping and “them” who are in need of help. There is an altogether different approach that can build community and solidarity using the language of we and centering the things that everyone brings to the table for the benefit of all. This is in essence what we see from Myriel, and it is something we would all do well to imitate.