Victor Hugo wrote his now famous novel Les Miserables in the mid 1800’s. It was first published in 1862 and is arguably one of the greatest 4 or 5 novels ever written. Number one in my opinion.
I have used the English translation of the title above. It has been variously translated across the last hundred years or so as, The Wretched, The Miserable Ones, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, The Victims … the list goes on. But you get the picture. So why is a book with such a depressing name so famous, so important? Perhaps Victor Hugo himself can answer that question with his words from the preface of the novel below.
So long as there shall exist, by reason of law and custom, a social condemnation, which, in the face of civilization, artificially creates hells on earth, and complicates a destiny that is divine with human fatality; so long as the three problems of the age – the degradation of man by poverty, the ruining of women by starvation, and the dwarfing of childhood by physical and spiritual night – are not solved; so long as, in certain regions, social asphyxia shall be possible; in other words, and from a yet more extended point of view, so long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this cannot be useless. (Hugo, 1862)
It’s a mouthful to be sure. The last sentence is the kicker. So long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this cannot be useless.
Many people know of Les Miserables of course as the famous musical. I love it, I have seen it variously over the years and can pretty much recite every song word for word. The recent movie version with Anne Hathaway as Fantine brought the story back to our attention. That version was harrowing indeed. There is, at the moment, a BBC mini-series of the story (no singing) on Foxtel on a Sunday night which is also very good, I look forward to procuring the DVD when it comes out (can you still get DVD’s?)
The reason I love these renditions so much is because I read the 1200 page epic back in my 20’s and it changed my life. Victor Hugo writes the story of Jean Valjean (essentially) a man who, when he least deserved it was shown unconditional, self-sacrificial love by the Bishop of Digne. One simple act of grace that changed a man who had only known hate and oppression into a man of grace and love himself. The character of Jean Valjean is flawed but noble. He lives a life of self-denial and gracious loving-kindness to the end of his days. When he has opportunities to do the wrong thing to make life easier, he chooses to do the right thing and live with the difficult consequences of the same. It struck a chord with me deeply back then and still speaks so strongly to the quality of character that I aspire to as a Christian man, a man of faith who is undeservedly redeemed.
But what has all that deep stuff got to do with schools, with our school, with our kids? Well, last night I had the great pleasure of watching some of our FLCR choral students perform with Tenori, a trio of tenors. They spent the day workshopping with students from Trinity LC, LORDS and St Andrews LC which culminated in a combined performance. As part of the show Tenori sang Bring Him Home from Les Miserables and it was delightful. The song has been rolling around in my head all morning and all the Les Mis stuff in my brain has been active once again.
And so, I google and research and see Hugo’s quote above. ‘… the dwarfing of childhood by physical and spiritual night.’ And I think about the world our kids are living in. I ask myself, ‘Are our children dwarfed by physical and spiritual night in our society?’ I suspect that physically our children have never been better off, certainly they do not endure the physical hardships of the Parisian urchins of the 1800s. But spiritually?
Yeah, I think our world can still be a dark place for children. I think there is still much in our society that seeks to overwhelm, to mislead, to misdirect or distract our children. I think there is much that seeks to individualise and alienate instead of bind and strengthen, I think that traditional, wholesome things are increasingly portrayed as old-fashioned silly things. That might is right, that bad is good, the list goes on. And I know that there is a God of Love, a Lord of Life, a Good Teacher. I know that in a Lutheran School the Gospel of Jesus Christ informs all teaching and learning and human relationships. And I think.
So long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, schools like this cannot be useless.
Generously provided by Shane Altmann, Principal at Faith Lutheran College, Redlands
