Hugo attempts to answer a question that might naturally arise for many readers: when the Bernadine sisters with their strict rule came in contact with these sisters from various other orders that made up the little convent, how did those new sisters react to the strict rule?
Hugo tells us that some of the sisters found the strictness and austerity to be too much for them to bear and left. He even says that one or two were driven to insanity by it!
Additionally, having told us about licking the ground in a previous chapter, Hugo wants to make it clear that the children had it better than the nuns. That just makes me feel bad for everyone involved. Here’s a direct quote:
All the nuns were indulgent to the children, reserving their severity for themselves.
What this meant practically, according to Hugo, was:
- only the girls had a fire burning regularly in their quarters
- they consistently ate better fare than the nuns.
- the nuns always treated them well, but maintained their silence.
One interesting side not that comes up in this chapter is that since the sisters maintained silence, most communication was done by bell. There was a somewhat complicated system of rings and patterns that allowed for communication that could specify both who and what was wanted.
Despite these reassurances, this still sounds like a terrible place to be raised.