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Bishop Charles-François-Bienvenu Myriel, referred to as Bishop Myriel or Monseigneur Bienvenu, is a fictional character in Victor Hugo's ''Les Misérables''.〔''Les Misérables'' as written by Victor Hugo in 1862. 1992 Modern Library Edition copyright Random House Inc.〕 Myriel is the Bishop of Digne in southeastern France. The actual Bishop of Digne during the time period in which Myriel's appearance in the novel is set was Bienvenu de Miollis (1753-1843). He served as Hugo's model for Myriel.〔Edward Behr, ''The Complete Book of Les Miserables'' (Arcade, 1993), 29〕 In both the novel as well as the film and musical adaptions of it, the Bishop is a heroic figure who personifies compassion and mercy. As Hugo set to work on the novel in 1848 after a long interruption, his anti-clerical son Charles objected to presenting Myriel as "a prototype of perfection and intelligence", suggesting instead someone from "a liberal, modern profession, like a doctor". The novelist replied: == Bishop Myriel in the novel == The novel begins with an account of the life and practices of Myriel. He was born into a noble family: "the whole of the first portion of his life had been devoted to the world and to gallantry."〔Victor, Hugo, ''Les Misérables'', Kindle Edition (English language), 17〕 His wife died while they were living in Italy as exiles from the French Revolution. The narrator reports his next transformation with a rhetorical question:〔Victor, Hugo, ''Les Misérables'', Kindle Edition (English language), 17-18〕 While a little-known priest, he had a chance encounter with Napoleon and praised him, as a result of which he was made a bishop. He continues to act like a common, compassionate, country priest, generally known by the name "Monseigneur Bienvenu" ("welcome"). He moved into the small town hospital, so that the episcopal palace could be used as a hospital and keeps only a tenth of his salary for himself, spending the rest on alms. He once accompanied a condemned man to the scaffold, after the village priest refused to do so. Hugo devotes one chapter to a transformative episode for Myriel, in which the Bishop visits an old revolutionary on his deathbed. They discuss the politics and morality of revolution, and Myriel comes to marvel at his "spiritual radicalism", asking his blessing as he dies.〔Victor Brombert, "''Les Misérables'': Salvation from Below," in Harold Bloom, ed., ''Modern Critical Views: Victor Hugo'' (Chelsea House, 1988), 221-3〕 The narrator summarizes Myriel's philosophy:〔Victor, Hugo, ''Les Misérables'', Kindle Edition (English language), 54; Vol. 1, Book 1, Chapter 14〕 One night Jean Valjean shows up at his door, asking a place to stay the night. Bienvenu graciously accepts him, feeds him, and gives him a bed. Valjean takes most of Bienvenu's silver and runs off in the night. The police capture Valjean and take him back to face Bienvenu. When the police inform Bienvenu they have found the silver in Valjean's knapsack, Bienvenu tells the police that he had given them to Valjean as a gift. He chastises Valjean for not taking the silver candlesticks as well. After the police leave, Bienvenu tells Valjean to use the silver to become an honest man. Myriel is referenced several times later in the novel. In 1821, Valjean, while serving as a mayor under the name Monsieur Madeleine, learns from a local newspaper of Myriel's death at 82.〔Victor, Hugo, ''Les Misérables'', Kindle Edition (English language), 125; Vol. 1, Book 5, Chapter 4〕 Not long after, as Valjean contemplates allowing Champmathieu to be convicted in his stead, a "terrible voice" tells him: "Destroy these candlesticks! Annihilate this souvenir! Forget the Bishop! Forget everything! Destroy this Champmathieu, do! ... Yes, it is well arranged thus. Ah, wretch!" The voice then warns that one person, presumably Champmathieu, will curse him if he follows that advice. The voice is not identified, but the passage implies that it is the recently deceased Myriel as it concludes with Valjean asking who is there:〔Hugo, ''Les Misérables'' (English language) Kindle Edition, 169-70〕 Just before Valjean's death, when a female porter asks if he wants a priest, he replies "I have one," and points upward. The narrator adds: "It is probable that the Bishop was indeed a witness of this death-agony."〔Victor, Hugo, ''Les Misérables'', Kindle Edition (English language), 954; Vol. 5, Book 9, Chapter 5〕 The silver candlesticks, Myriel's gift to Valjean, are mentioned several times near the novel's end, and Valjean dies in the glow of their candles.〔Vol. 5, Book 5, Chapter 5; Vol. 5, Book 9, Chapter 3; Vol. 5, Book 9, Chapter 5〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bishop Myriel」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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