Les Misérables, Chapter 12 summary
Chapter 12 of 365 · Book 1: A Just Man · 5 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 12, Monseigneur Bienvenu stands apart from influential bishops because his poverty and self-denial offer ambitious priests no route to promotion. His isolation leads the narrator into an attack on the worship of success, which rewards wealth, luck, and advancement as though they prove genuine merit.
What happens
- The narrator describes young priests gathering around influential bishops in hopes of gaining appointments and rising with their patrons.
- Church advancement appears as a ladder that can carry a favored priest toward the highest religious offices.
- Monseigneur Bienvenu attracts no ambitious followers, and the young men he ordains seek recommendations elsewhere.
- The narrator explains that people avoid the bishop because his self-denial threatens their desire for advancement.
- The discussion broadens into an attack on public admiration that mistakes success and prosperity for talent and greatness.
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Why does Monseigneur Bienvenu attract no ambitious young followers?
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