the trinity revisited

I was thinking about the Trinity (yes, it is the Pantheon now, but Godspell is still of a very different sort than the other three - Wicked, Fiddler, Les Mis), and I thought of something they have in common that I hadn't thought of before. Speaking of Robert Cormier's books, Lisette Allred said that they encourage hope and noble behavior despite, and even partly because of, their sadly-ever-after endings because "we understand whom we are meant to imitate." Even when the hero's story ends badly, we know we should imitate him because it is his motives, his thoughts, his actions, that the author shows us; we understand who we are meant to imitate.

But in these plays - in the Trinity - we see different characters. Yes, we love and admire Jean Valjean. We know that Marius and Cosette love each other. But we also see why Javert thinks himself a good man. We see that Eponine certainly loves Marius as much as Cosette does. We agree with the choice Elphaba makes, but we see why Galinda makes hers too. We understand Chava's decision to marry Fyedka, but we understand also why Tevye cannot accept them. It's as if the authors of these plays are saying, "I don't have any corner on the truth market. You have to decide what to believe for yourself." It's like in 'No One is Alone' from Into the Woods. (By the way, if any one song could singlehandedly deify a show, I think it would be this one.)

Mother cannot guide you,
Now you're on your own.
Only me beside you,
Still you're not alone.
No one is alone.
Truly, no one is alone.
Sometimes people leave you
Halfway through the wood
Others may deceive you;
You decide what's good.
You decide alone;
But no one is alone.