The Archetype of the Resilient Man

"There is a type of person that can be seen sometimes in literature. The person is usually a religious, upright person with a clear set of morals and motives. This person is also generally dependable, resilient, and mentally strong. These characteristics make the person a perfect candidate to be the victim of hardship, as they are the characters best equipped to deal with it. This person can be identified in three different texts: Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, the play Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein, and the Odyssey by Homer.

The main characters from each of these works fits the image of the archetype being described. It is important to note that there are many differences between the characters that will be studied. However, there are certain common qualities within all of them that bind them together in this category of character. What motivates this person? What makes him the way that he is? Was he always this way? How does he persevere through hardship? From these works of literature, we can learn the answer to these questions.

The first character to be studied is Jean Valjean from Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. Jean Valjean, at his first appearance in Les Misérables does not immediately fit the category. The portion of the book in which Valjean steals the silver, he is simply a common thief, plagued by poverty and starvation. He is by no means righteous or “good” at this point of the story. So, at what point does he become the Person? After he steals the silver from the bishop and the bishop forgives him and gives him the silver, declaring that “it is your soul that I am buying for you. I am withdrawing it from dark thoughts and from the spirit of perdition, and I am giving it to God”, this is a focal point for Valjean (Hugo 63). Though he has not yet attained the qualities that would characterize him as a member of the archetype, he then begins his journey toward it.

When Valjean disappears for a few years and then reappears as the mayor of Montreuil-ser-Mer, going by the name Monsieur Madeleine, he has become the “honest man” that the bishop instructed him to become (Hugo 63). He is also a very wealthy business owner, but he uses his wealth to do good around him. His acts of charity, the good working conditions he provides for his workers, and his generally good money management, are impressive in and of themselves. For example, from his own pocket he refurbished his town’s hospital, built two schools, and built a homeless shelter. This is a completely different man from what is seem previously in the story, who stole from the only person who extended kindness toward him.

The turmoil that France’s revolutionary period causes, becomes of large concern to Valjean when his ward, Cosette, falls in love with one of the revolutionaries, named Marius. Valjean, out of an internal obligation to keep Marius alive, joins the fighters at the barricade. At the barricade, Valjean is sure not to kill anyone, but rather, in one altercation with the enemy, “aimed at the engineer, and, a second afterwards, the helmet, struck by a ball, fell noisily into the street” (Hugo 681). Valjean does not get caught up in the fighting, but keeps his priorities clear. He saves Marius from certain death and brings him to safety.

Valjean is forever haunted by the crimes of his past. Despite the problems in his life, Valjean remains fast in his upright character, which is characteristic of the archetype. Valjean finds his way to relative comfort without compromising any of his morals, except perhaps the ongoing violation of his parole. His circumstances do not change his character. Speaking of Valjean’s endurance of hardship, Hugo says “he had been subjected to fearful trials; no violence of ill fortune had been spared him; the ferocity of fate, armed with every vengeance… had greedily pursued him. He had neither recoiled nor flinched before anything. He had accepted, when he must, every extremity. He had … sacrificed his liberty, risked his head, lost all, suffered all, and he had remained so disinterested and stoical at times one might have believed him selfless, like a martyr” (Hugo 654). Life throws everything it can at Valjean, yet Valjean endures with martyrlike perseverance.

What is it that drives Valjean’s character? We see that early on in his change toward being an upright person, the Bishop’s charge to make himself an honest man certainly moved him. Beyond just the Bishop, he saw God’s hand offering him forgiveness and bestowing grace upon him when the world, namely Javert, would not. Valjean’s redemption turns him toward a life of goodness, where he stays for the remainder of the story. His devotion to Cosette further drives his commitment to a holy way of life. Love is something that Valjean only experiences through Cosette, as “For twenty-five years Jean Valjean had never loved anything. The other tender emotions of his youth … had fallen into the abyss. When he saw Cosette… he felt his soul stirred up; all the passion and affection there was in for him were aroused and rushed toward this child” (Hugo, et. all, 164). He derives his happiness entirely from her. His love for her is what motivates him and gives him joy in life.

Fiddler on the Roof’s Tevye is another character who falls under this category. Tevye is a poor milkman in a remote village in Russia during a period of unrest and persecution of the Jews in the early twentieth century. Tevye has five daughters whom he must marry off to various suitors, which happens amid growing tension with the government. The conflict with his daughter’s relationships rises along with the conflict with the government, until he chooses to disown his daughter and is force to leave his town and immigrates to America.

Tevye himself is very devoted to his religion as a Jewish man. In fact, conflicts between his traditional religion and the changes in society form the underlying internal conflict of the story. Tevye “encapsulated the world of tradition coming to terms with modernization” (Wolitz 514). Working as a milk man in a rural area of Russia, he lives a hard life with hard physical labor, which is exacerbated by the persecution received from the government. Throughout the story, Tevye is faced with many hardships. From his horse going lame in the beginning of the story, to his daughter deciding to marry a non-Jew, to eventually being force to leave Anatevka, Tevye is hounded by trouble. Tevye’s struggle to deal with his daughters’ husbands is especially challenging, as “the continuous challenges of each daughter to choose a mate, regardless of her father’s convictions, tested Tevye’s world view” (Wolitz 517). Tevye approaches these trials with an amazing amount of resilience, and all the way to the end of the story, he pushes on through his struggles.

So, what motivates Tevye to carry on throughout the increasingly difficult circumstances he is presented with? First of all, Tevye talks about the structure in his life that helps his and everyone in his community to carry on, “We stay because Anatevka is our home .... And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in a word ... Tradition” (Stein schnitffv). The tradition that Tevye is talking about is the tradition that comes with his religion of Judaism. Often, we see Tevye’s close relationship with God. His candid conversation with God about his horse shows his closeness to God, “Dear God, did you have to make my poor old horse lose his shoe, just before the Sabbath? That wasn't nice… It's enough you pick on me, Tevye… bless him with five daughters, a life of poverty. What have you got against my horse?” (Stein). His connection to God and desire to achieve intimacy with him is further exemplified when he goes into his daydream about what he would do is he was wealthy in his song, “If I were a Rich Man.”
Even amid his daydream about riches, he still shows his devotion to God. This is one of the greatest showcases of Tevye’s faith; this shows that he really cherishes the study of God’s word. Tevye makes his faith the focal point around which his whole life revolves.

Comparing Tevye to Valjean, we can see some of the details of their character that are similar, and some that are different but do not disqualify them from falling into the category. First of all, they are both the victims of many hardships in their lives, which they handle well without compromising their character or giving up. Valjean differs from Tevye in that Valjean personally committed the crime that caused him to be chased by the law for a majority of his life, while Tevye really had no choice in his socioeconomic status. However, the Valjean who stole the bread is an entirely different person than the Valjean who took Cosette under his wing. Both Valjean and Tevye are victims of poverty. However, this is not to indicate that the Person must experience poverty in order to fall under this category being discussed. Poverty is a means that the authors of these two works used to bring about desperate circumstances for these characters.

Aside from their hardships, Valjean and Tevye are similar in one crucial way, they are both devoted to God. As previously discussed, Valjean made his relationship with God his top priority, and his piety is an evidence of an intimate, yet concealed, devotion to God. With Tevye, it is much easier to see evidence that he holds his religion in high regard. Religion and a desire to follow God is a crucial characteristic of these characters and the category that they fall in to.

These men are also both devoted to their families. When we first see Valjean as the mayor, he does not have Cosette as his ward, however, Cosette grows in importance I his life until she is the sole source of happiness for him, as Hugo states, saying “Cosette was his nation. Cosette sufficed for his happiness” (Hugo 653). Tevye’s love for his family is displayed throughout the play. He works hard to provide for them. He wants his daughters to be happy, and lets them marry for love and not for riches. Even after disowning one of his daughters for marrying a Gentile, he cannot resist from relaying the message “God be with you” as they leave Anatevka. In reference to his daughter’s decision to marry a Gentile, “This act goes beyond Tevye’s tolerance… by disowning Khava and proclaiming her dead (following Jewish law), Tevye reaffirms his Jewish identity… and asserts the validity of his world view” (Wolitz 519) Some might argue that disowning his daughter means he didn’t love her, but it was a conflict between his religion and his family that forced the decision. It is obvious that in making the decision to disown his daughter, Tevye is in anguish. He loves his religion and he also love his family. This deep-felt distress proves his devotion to both his God and his family.

The last character that fits under this category is Odysseus from the Odyssey. Odysseus leaves his wife and young son, Telemachus, to go and fight in the infamous Trojan war. Odysseus faces multiple struggles that cause his trip home to take 10 years. We gather from how Odysseus deals with his struggles what kind of person he is. Even more than this, he is characterized by Athena in her address to the gods as being “that noble prince Odysseus, who ruled them like a kind father” (Homer 62). Even before his struggles begin in earnest, Odysseus is characterized as an upright, kind leader to his people. However, once he begins to face some serious struggles, his resilience is put on display. His deep desire to be with his family can be seen as he longs to leave Calypso’s island to be rejoined with his family and country. We see that he spends his time on the island “sitting upon the shore. The tears were never dry in his eyes; life with its sweetness was slowly trickling away… at night he was forced to sleep by [Calypso’s] side in the cave… he spent the days sitting upon the rocks or the sands staring at the barren sea and sorrowing” (Homer 65). This sorrowing is evidence of his strong relationship with his family, and Penelope’s loyalty to her husband even after he had been gone for years is more evidence of a strong bond. Although Odysseus is faced with many temptations, such as Calypso, the sirens, or Circe, that would possibly convince another man to delay his journey homeward, “they did not persuade him, for nothing is sweeter than home and parents. His aim is to obtain homeward passage” (Hogan 199).

Taking a look at Odysseus’ relationship with religion is a little different from Tevye and Valjean, namely due to the fact that the gods in the Odyssey aren’t always good and right, and are therefore underserving of faith. However, his relationship with his patron goddess, Athena, is comparable to a faith like that of Valjean and Tevye. He prays to Athena, trusts her for protection, and in the end, it is Athena that aids him in regaining his throne. Athena’s favor for Odysseus is instrumental to his success in the story. Through her counsel, protection, and help, Odysseus returns home. Athena’s loyalty to Odysseus is displayed when she says “Of course, I will stand by you; I will not forget you” (Homer 169). Although the system of gods in the Odyssey makes them to be like mere humans, Odysseus trusts Athena with his life, and she in return favors him and protects him.

From looking at these characters, we can see the archetype being described. All of these characters are morally upright, righteous people. Though Valjean is evil in his early days, he is redeemed and turns his life around. Tevye strives to feed his family, do his work, and live in a peaceful society, although ultimately this turns out to be impossible. Odysseus is a good king to his people, is regarded highly by the gods, and frees his wife from the suitors. All of these character’s issues are primarily those of circumstance, and not internal fault. Valjean deals with being chased by the police and having to hid his identity, having to protect Marius in the barricade and bring him out safely, and the injustice done to him in the judicial system which damned him to a life of misery. Tevye is born into a life of poverty and hardship, all the while being oppressed by an anti-Semitic government. Odysseus is faced with a treacherous ten-year journey back home filled with storms, hostile gods, and imprisonments. Because of these characters’ internal fortitude, they are able to persevere through these conflicts.

Their devotion to their families is also a common thread they all share. Valjean reaps his only happiness from his relationship with Cosette, and does everything he can to protect her. Tevye wants the best for his daughters, not only from a materialistic standpoint, but more so from an emotional standpoint. He allows his daughters to marry for love, unless of course, this allowance conflicts with his first loyalty, his faith. Odysseus long for years to return to Ithaca to be reunited with his wife and son, and is heartbroken when his journey is long delayed. A strong family connection is imperative to this type of character.

In addition, all of these characters hold highly their religious beliefs. Valjean is inspired by the bishop to live a holy life for God, and because of this, enriches the lives of the thousands of people who he came in contact with. Tevye has a deep, personal relationship with God, and wishes that he could spend even more time in the study of the scriptures. Lastly, Odysseus shows unwavering devotion to his patron goddess and trusts in her to assist him on his journey. A dedication to their gods gives these characters a foundation to build their lives on.

This type of character is so compelling is because since he has strong internal resilience, he is able to deal with many difficult circumstances and heroically prevail where the average person’s flaws would cause him to fail. This is not to say that these characters are perfect, rather, they are strong, which makes for entertaining, story-driven entertainment and literature."

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