The way Hugo discusses religion is so interesting to me. Like, M Myriel is saintly, but he’s not just a kind man who gives a great deal of money to the poor. He actively speaks out about a more radical kindness and charity, emblematic in when he talks about these towns where people always help one another free of charge or grudge.
And part of this is a critique of the Church, the trappings of wealth and power - the bishop’s palace which houses 60 vs the hospital which Myriel insists on switching with. There’s this edge with which Hugo discusses religion, which makes it impossible to feel like he’s simply advocating for the version of Catholicism that was most known in France at the time (and which he was raised in before slowly turning away from it). I haven’t read the rest of the book yet (past 1.1.9) so fair warning, but I think it’s interesting that though God is heavy in the entire brick, most of the people invoking the image of God are the people you’d least expect to. The poor, the criminal, the downtrodden. These are where God is needed most, where charity and kindness are needed most.
It ties into the argument Myriel gets into with the nobleman in Chapter 8 of Book 1. The rich can happily say God is stupid and not worth thinking about. Because they are not in a position that might need help from some omnipotent being when the forces around them are intent on keeping them impoverished and miserable. God is not for the rich, God is not the trappings of a bishop. God is a radical kindness and love for humanity that so often does not exist in the world around us.
To bring the musical into this cause I have to “To love another person is to see the face of God”