Les Misérables · Chapter
The Solitude of Monseigneur Welcome explained
This chapter reflects on the isolation of Monseigneur Bienvenu, a humble and poor bishop, who lacks the entourage of ambitious young priests that typically surrounds influential bishops.
What happens
This chapter reflects on the isolation of Monseigneur Bienvenu, a humble and poor bishop, who lacks the entourage of ambitious young priests that typically surrounds influential bishops. It contrasts his selfless, renunciant life with the worldly pursuit of success and power in the Church and society, criticizing how success is often mistaken for merit.
Themes in this chapter
The Human Condition and Fate
The chapter explores the human tendency to equate success with merit and the societal pressure to pursue advancement, contrasting it with the solitary path of genuine virtue.
Social Injustice and Poverty
The bishop's voluntary poverty and isolation highlight the injustice of a society that values wealth and status over true moral worth.
Characters to notice
- Monseigneur Bienvenu
The humble, poor bishop who lives in isolation, avoided by ambitious young clergy because his virtue of abnegation is seen as a hindrance to worldly advancement.
Key passages
“A saint who dwells in a paroxysm of abnegation is a dangerous neighbor; he might communicate to you, by contagion, an incurable poverty, an anchylosis of the joints, which are useful in advancement, and in short, more renunciation than you desire; and this infectious virtue is avoided.”
A saint who is utterly self-denying is seen as a risky companion, because his example might inspire a poverty and lack of ambition that hinders worldly success, so people keep their distance.
This illustrates why ambitious clergy avoid Monseigneur Bienvenu, fearing his virtuous influence would impede their careers.
“Success; that is the lesson which falls drop by drop from the slope of corruption. Be it said in passing, that success is a very hideous thing. Its false resemblance to merit deceives men.”
Society teaches that success is the ultimate goal, but success is ugly because it is often mistaken for true worth, deceiving people into valuing mere achievement over genuine virtue.
The author critiques the societal obsession with success, arguing it corrupts and misleads.