Bishop Myriel

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. Bienvenu was the name of the factual contemporary Bishop of Digne that formed the basis of Myriel.
== In the novel ==
He earned the title of Bishop through a chance encounter with Napoleon; he is not of the typical disposition of a bishop but more like a common, compassionate country priest. That is how he earned the name "Monseigneur Bienvenu" ("Bienvenu" meaning "welcome"). His acts and words are lengthily described in the novel. For example, he moved into the small town hospital, so that the episcopal palace could be used as a hospital; he keeps only a tenth of his salary for himself, spending the rest on alms; he once accompagnied a condemned man to the scaffold, after the village priest had refused to do so. 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, unable to sleep in a comfortable bed after years of sleeping on boards in Toulon, sneaks away, taking most of the Bienvenu's silver with him. Valjean is taken back to face the Bishop by the police and the police inform Bienvenu of their findings: namely, a load of silver in his knapsack. Bienvenu tells the police that he, indeed, had given them to Valjean as a gift and informs Valjean that he was a fool for not taking the candlesticks as well, as they are worth much more.
== Quotes ==
As written by Hugo, the Bishop tells Valjean:
Forget not, never forget that you have promised me to use this silver to become an honest man.... Jean Valjean, my brother: you belong no longer to evil, but to good. It is your soul that I am buying for you. I withdraw it from dark thoughts and from the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God!
A parallel quote from the musical, the Bishop sings:
But remember this, my brotherSee in this some higher planYou must use this precious silverTo become an honest manBy the witness of the martyrsBy the Passion and the BloodGod has raised you out of darknessI have bought your soul for God!
== Songs in the musical ==
* On Parole — In this song he welcomes the starving and tired Valjean into his house and offers him food, wine and a "bed to rest till morning."
* Valjean Arrested, Valjean Forgiven — In this is the bishop's solo which is sung directly after the song Valjean Arrested where two policemen arrest Valjean for trying to steal the bishop's silver plates. The bishop misleads the policemen by saying he gave them to Valjean as a gift to save him from arrest, and further aids Valjean by giving him two additional sliver candlesticks to sell. Myriel tells Valjean his pity is for a greater cause — he instructs Valjean to use the silver "to become an honest man," and states that he has bought Valjean's soul for God.
== Adaptations ==
Actor 	Version
George Moss 	1917 adaptation
Paul Jorge 	1925 adaptation
Henry Krauss 	1934 adaptation
Cedric Hardwicke 	1935 adaptation
Massimo Pianforini	1948 adaptation
Edmund Gwenn 	1952 adaptation
Fernand Ledoux 	1958 adaptation
François Vibert 	1972 adaptation
Claude Dauphin 	1978 adaptation
Louis Seigner 	1982 adaptation
Ken Caswell 	1985 London musical
Norman Large 	1987 Broadway musical
Paul Monaghan 	1995 concert
Peter Vaughan 	1998 adaptation
Otto Sander 	2000 adaptation
James Chip Leonard	2006 Broadway revival
== References ==
Category:Fictional bishops