The Second Life of Mirielle West

“Mirielle met [Hector’s] eyes and nodded. He might be a leper, but he was also a man and didn’t deserve what the railway men had done to him.”

Mirielle is prejudiced against Hector because he has been infected with the disease. She sees herself—despite also having leprosy—as above him. This moment of kindness not only foreshadows the friendship that will develop between them, but it shows that Mirielle is skilled at providing medical care. Her ability to see beyond the disease to their shared humanity is a trait that will develop during Mirielle’s time at Carville.

“There are two types of patients at Carville: those who count themselves among the dead, and those who have the pluck to claim their place among the living. The choice is yours.”

Dr. Ross’s words challenge Mirielle not to wallow in a state of helplessness but to take action and assist with the care of her fellow patients. She is motivated, too, by her husband, who believes Mirielle is lacking in the resolve needed to overcome both the disease’s stigma and its physical limitations. Throughout her time at Carville, Mirielle resolves to help find a cure instead of remaining passive and hopeless. This resolve is an essential component of her characterization.

“But she [Mirielle] couldn’t help thinking again of Ben-Hur – the horrified face of the guard when he discovered Ben-Hur’s mother and sister in the dungeon, the way the crowds scattered at the cry of ‘Leper!’ ‘Not a sound,’ his sister said when they’d seen Ben-Hur sleeping. ‘He belongs to the living – we to the dead.’

Was that true? Was Mirielle only fooling herself with her hopes for a cure? Did she too belong to the dead? It certainly felt that way when she looked around the colony. And not because of ruined faces and missing limbs. It was in their eyes.”

The bulk of Mirielle’s knowledge of Hansen’s disease comes from films, which perpetuate stereotypes and stigmas about the condition. Here, she tries to reconcile the horror portrayed in the film (and the physical marks of the disease on many of the patients at Carville) with her image of herself as being above such a condition.