‘Rest from Pain, and Rest from Wrong’: The Role of the Bishop in the Les Misérables Musical

Bishop Myriel, referred to in the musical as simply the Bishop, makes a decision which acts as the catalyst for Valjean’s spiritual and physical transformation in Les Misérables. His acts of kindness in giving Valjean his silverware and lying to the police, allowing Valjean to go free and start a new life, significantly impact Valjean and the musical. Indeed, the Bishop’s role as a saviour repeats itself in Valjean’s actions when he reveals himself at his doppelgänger’s trial, putting the innocent man’s freedom before his own. Later, Valjean’s disbelief of the Bishop’s actions, as stated in, ‘Yet why did I allow this man’[1], is evoked in a reprise of this leitmotif. After Javert’s final encounter with Valjean, he questions ‘How can I now allow this man’[2] to the same tune. Here, Javert questions why Valjean would allow him to live, just as Valjean previously struggled to understand the Bishop’s forgiveness. In the 2012 film adaptation’s ‘Epilogue’, the Bishop joins Fantine, replacing Éponine, to sing, ‘To love another person / Is to see the face of God’.[3] Bringing the Bishop into the final moments of Valjean’s tale, the filmmakers highlighted his significance. Yet, this is still evident on stage, with Valjean’s scenes with the Bishop informing Valjean’s later actions.

When Valjean meets the Bishop in the stage musical, he has faced rejection and isolation from various members of society. This is most evident in the Complete Symphonic Recording of the show, which features the score in full. A farmer, labourer and innkeeper deny him work and board when they learn he is a convict. To society, Valjean is considered insignificant, as is made evident in their rejections of him. ‘I walk the street, / The dirt beneath their feet’[4], he concludes, reducing himself to a subhuman level and seeming to appropriate others’ views of him. It is here, when Valjean is denied warmth and a way of earning a living, that he is approached by the Bishop. Acting as Valjean’s provider, the Bishop extends to the ex-convict comfort and in doing so acknowledges his humanity. Valjean is welcomed with, ‘Come in, Sir, for you are weary’[5], claiming him as an equal through this address. Yet, the most significant moment here comes in the Bishop’s offer of nourishment in, ‘There is wine here to revive you. / There is bread to make you strong’[6]. Shifting the role of ‘bread’ as the agent of Valjean’s downfall, here, it provides sustenance for the weary traveller. This recognisable part of Christian imagery cannot be ignored, with bread being associated with Jesus as representing his ‘body’[7]. Indeed, Valjean’s rebirth as a Christian is foreshadowed and signified. Just as Valjean’s intention to steal the bread was to save his family, the Bishop’s bread provides Valjean with physical sustenance and works as a catalyst for his spiritual rebirth. The Bishop’s generosity here provides the first steps for Valjean’s re-integration into society and leads up to the moment which changes Valjean’s life.

Of course, the Bishop’s most lasting handprint on Valjean and the story is his gift of the silver candlesticks. They change, ‘Valjean’s mind, heart and life’[8], as stated by Benedict Nightingale and Martyn Palmer in Les Misérables: From Stage to Screen, which discusses the musical’s history on stage. At first, the silverware appears as an extension of the food Valjean is given in, ‘He let me eat my fill. / I had the lion's share. / The silver in my hand / Cost twice what I had earned’[9]. The bread and cutlery are interconnected in Valjean’s first experience of comfort since before his imprisonment, and most likely since far before then. The significance of the Bishop’s silverware is made evident in Victor Hugo’s novel, on which the musical is based. These items are the remnants of his former wealth, much of which he gave up to aid the poor. Hugo, by way of Norman Denny’s translation in the referenced edition, notes that ‘of his former possessions he still retained a set of six silver knives and forks and a large silver soup-ladle…To this treasure must be added two massive silver candlesticks which he had inherited from a great-aunt.’[10] As such, giving up the silverware is the Bishop’s final act to redistribute his own inherited wealth to the more deserving. As in the musical, the silverware signifies the wealth of the Bishop and is raised to a superior state due to its trade with Valjean’s soul. Not only connected to the Bishop, the cutlery and candlesticks essentially become physical representations of Valjean’s capability of goodness. Unlike the 2012 film adaptation of the musical, in the stage show, the Bishop leaves the stage with his final lines being, ‘You must use this precious silver / To become an honest man…I have bought your soul for God’[11]. Therefore, Valjean’s rebirth as a better man is inextricably linked to the Bishop’s giving up of the candlesticks in return for Valjean’s spiritual redemption. We continue to see the extent to which his actions change Valjean in his own act of sacrifice.

In the Bishop’s absence, we see that the consequences of their interaction allow Valjean to find himself again and re-shape his identity. In ‘Valjean’s Soliloquy (What Have I Done?)’, Valjean contemplates that, ‘One word from him and I'd be back…Instead, he offers me my freedom. / I feel my shame inside me like a knife’[12]. Here, the imagery of the Bishop’s silverware returns, yet in a distorted form. Valjean calls to mind the ‘knife’, reattributing the silverware as driving into him and causing physical pain, suggesting the guilt he feels before ultimately deciding to fulfil the Bishop’s wish of his self-improvement. Valjean recognises that the Bishop saved his life, a recognition which seems to make him believe in his own humanity. He states, ‘He told me that I have a soul’[13]. The Bishop’s impact in affirming to Valjean that he has a ‘soul’ is evident when he considers revealing himself to save his doppelgänger. In ‘Who Am I? – The Trial’, Valjean, now the mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer, states, ‘My soul belongs to God, I know / I made that bargain long ago’[14]. Here, we see the mirroring of two negotiations made by the Bishop and Valjean. The Bishop’s ‘bargain’ is the catalyst for Valjean’s promise to reject his past identity, declaring that, ‘Another story must begin!’[15] As such, the Bishop’s participation in Valjean’s story buys his freedom and allows for his active participation in society. Indeed, the Bishop’s impact on Valjean reveals itself in these significant moments early in the show. First, to embark on self-development and next, to replicate the Bishop’s sacrifice. For Valjean, this sacrifice of the identity of ‘M’sieur le Mayor’[16], factory owner and respected authority figure, is even more substantial as he offers more than silverware: he offers himself. Therefore, the Bishop’s education through action causes a role on effect to other members of society.

The Bishop’s role in the musical is often acknowledged as evidencing the impact of Christianity on Valjean. In discussing Colm Wilkinson’s casting as the Bishop in the 2012 film adaptation, producer Cameron Mackintosh stated that, ‘With Colm Wilkinson, that voice from God is still there. And that is what the Bishop represents, it is the voice of God through this story which guides and changes the life of Jean Valjean’[17]. Certainly, Christianity is introduced through the Bishop and Valjean’s subsequent connection with the Christian God is evident in the musical. Valjean prays, ‘God on high’[18], in his final moments of life. Yet, the Bishop’s role also conveys the significance of human to human compassion and upholds the importance of social justice. Valjean’s life post-prison and prior to his encounter with the Bishop in the ‘Prologue’ displays the subhuman treatment he experiences from members of society. These judgements are not evidenced by the bourgeoisie whom we may expect this behaviour from. Instead, verbal rejections that, ‘You’ll have to go’[19] and ‘You leave my house’[20], come from the mouths of a farmer and an innkeeper. As such, the classism within society and the desperation to not suffer the same fates as the Misérables, results in the self-preservation evidenced here. It is the Bishop, the privileged man who gives away his wealth so that the underprivileged suffer less, who can afford to make his sacrifice. He has society’s respect and enough to live comfortably. Ultimately, the Bishop’s role in the musical is to be a catalyst for Valjean’s development. Not only spiritually, but he provides a monetary way out of his station. This results in Valjean’s role as provider to others, as the Bishop helped him. He subsequently adopts Cosette and saves Fauchelevent’s life from the runaway cart, despite Javert’s presence almost ensuring his imprisonment as a result of seeing his strength. As such, the story of Valjean’s, as told in Les Misérables, is made possible by the Bishop’s compassion and recognition that those whom society rejects are victims deserving of compassion. After all, the Bishop encourages Valjean to ‘Rest from pain, and rest from wrong’[21] in the comfort of his home as his equal. In the Bishop’s domain, away from social condemnation, Valjean is given the tools for his transformation, the results of which are felt throughout the musical.

Sources [1] Alain Boublil and Herbert Kretzmer, ‘Valjean’s Soliloquy (What Have I Done?)’, in Les Misérables: The Complete Symphonic Recording (London: First Night Records, 1988) [on CD]. [2] Boublil, Kretzmer and Jean-Marc Natel, ‘Javert’s Suicide’, in Les Misérables: The Complete Symphonic Recording (London: First Night Records, 1988) [on CD]. [3] Boublil, Kretzmer and Natel, ‘Epilogue’, in Les Misérables: Highlights from The Motion Picture Soundtrack (UK: Polydor Records, 2012) [on CD]. [4] Boublil and Kretzmer, ‘Prologue’, in Les Misérables: The Complete Symphonic Recording (London: First Night Records, 1988) [on CD]. [5] Ibid. [6] Ibid. [7] Matthew 26. 26 [8] Benedict Nightingale and Martyn Palmer, Les Misérables: From Stage to Screen (London: Carlton Books, 2013), p. 34. [9] Boublil and Kretzmer, ‘Prologue’, in Les Misérables: The Complete Symphonic Recording (London: First Night Records, 1988) [on CD]. [10] Victor Hugo, Les Misérables, trans. by Norman Denny (London: Penguin Books, 1976), p. 38. [11] Boublil and Kretzmer, ‘Prologue’, in Les Misérables: The Complete Symphonic Recording (London: First Night Records, 1988) [on CD]. [12] Boublil and Kretzmer, ‘Valjean’s Soliloquy (What Have I Done?)’, in Les Misérables: The Complete Symphonic Recording (London: First Night Records, 1988) [on CD]. [13] Ibid. [14] Boublil, Kretzmer and Natel, ‘Who Am I? – The Trial’, in Les Misérables: The Complete Symphonic Recording (London: First Night Records, 1988) [on CD]. [15] Boublil and Kretzmer, ‘Valjean’s Soliloquy (What Have I Done?)’, in Les Misérables: The Complete Symphonic Recording (London: First Night Records, 1988) [on CD]. [16] Boublil, Kretzmer and Natel, ‘The Runaway Cart’, in Les Misérables: The Complete Symphonic Recording (London: First Night Records, 1988) [on CD]. [17] Universal Pictures UK, Les Misérables - On Set: Colm Wilkinson, online video recording, YouTube, 27 December 2012, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dXYOR3QAUE> [18] Boublil, Kretzmer and Natel, ‘Epilogue (Finale)’, in Les Misérables: The Complete Symphonic Recording (London: First Night Records, 1988) [on CD]. [19] Boublil and Kretzmer, ‘Prologue’, in Les Misérables: The Complete Symphonic Recording (London: First Night Records, 1988) [on CD]. [20] Ibid. [21] Boublil and Kretzmer, ‘Prologue’, in Les Misérables: The Complete Symphonic Recording (London: First Night Records, 1988) [on CD].