Sunday, August 4, 2019

HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME

Laura Collins-Hughes


On the unadorned stage of a black-box theater two flights below Bleecker Street, the actor Ken Jennings had only a single prop: a compact Bible, worn with use.
He was there, on a Sunday evening in late June, to perform his version of the Gospel of John — not as a sendup or radical rethink, but as an act of testament, the religious text edited down to 90 minutes.
“I memorized this first as a prayer, not as a play,” he told the audience. Then Mr. Jennings, whose Broadway credits include “Urinetown” and “Side Show,” made the sign of the cross, folded his hands for a flickering instant and began his energetic recitation.
It was an embodiment of the idea, much beloved among theater people, that attending the theater is a lot like going to church — perhaps especially if, as one of the drama-loving faithful, you’re seeking some kind of succor from the experience.'

Why does La Esmerelda bring water to Quasimodo when he is being tortured? Does she not remember that he tried to kidnap her the night before? How does this act affect Quasimodo
How does Hugo describe the French justice system in the Middle Ages? Who is put on trial? What role does torture play in the novel?
Why does Sister Gudule despise gypsies, and especially La Esmerelda? Why does she defend La Esmerelda and give her life to protect her at the end of the novel?

Book 1

Summary

The novel opens in medieval Paris on January 6, 1482, during the Festival of Fools. The timing of this yearly feast coincides with the marriage of Louis XI's son to a Flemish princess, and the city is full of revelers and Flemish dignitaries. There is a fireworks display in the Place de Grève, a May tree will be planted at the chapel of Braque, and a "mystery" (or play) will be performed at the Palace of Justice. Most of the Flemish dignitaries go to the Palace of Justice and join the huge mass of Parisians, forming a sea of people swarming around the stage, and impatiently awaiting the play and subsequent election of the Pope of Fools. The resplendent gothic architecture of the Palace and its giant marble floor go unnoticed by the crowd, who begin threatening violence if the play does not begin soon. Pierre Gringoire, the playwright, does not know whether he should wait for the Cardinal, who is running late, or face the wrath of the angry mob. His immediate concern about pacifying the angry citizens, as well his pride in his work, convinces him to order his actors to begin the play, entitled The Good Judgment of Madame the Virgin Mary
Gringoire's actors appear onstage, each representing a different class of French society: Clergy, Nobility, Trade, and Labor. Unfortunately for the playwright, the crowd finds the piece completely uninteresting and soon turns its attention to a beggar, recognized as Clopin Trouillefou, who climbs his way up to the stage, crying out: "Charity, if you please!" Gringoire desperately tries to get the crowd to pay attention to the play, but even the actors have lost interest. Suddenly, the Cardinal enters the Palace. He is so powerful, graceful , and popular that no one minds his tardiness. His entourage of Flemish dignitaries, and not the play, soon becomes the center of attention.
One of the Flemish guests, Jacques Coppenole impresses the crowd with his sense of humor and soon turns their attention toward the imminent election of the Pope of Fools. Gringoire pretends to be a disappointed spectator and yells for the play to continue but the crowd roars back "Down with the mystery!" Crushed at the failure of his work, Gringoire follows the crowd outside.Coppenole convinces the Parisians to elect their "Pope" like they do in Flanders.
Each candidate must stick his head through a hole; the one with ugliest face wins. It is not long before Quasimodo, the bell-ringer of Notre Dame is elected Pope of Fools. Unlike the other candidates, who have to viciously contort their faces to make the crowd hysterical with laughter, Quasimodo doesn't have to do anything. His giant head is covered with "red bristles," while, between his shoulder, an enormous hump rises up above his neck, only to be counterbalanced by a "protuberance" coming out of his chest. He has only one operable eye. The other is completely covered by an oversized wart, and legs and hands that are "strangely put together." Despite his monstrous appearance, Quasimodo still conveys an air of courage and strength. Calling him "Cyclops," the crowd hoists Quasimodo, who turns out to be deaf as well, onto a mock throne and begin parading him through the streets of Paris.
Meanwhile, Gringoire returns to his stage and desperately attempts to get the play going once more. He mistakes a few stragglers for interested spectators and is disappointed to find them gossiping about taxes and rents. Suddenly, someone calls through the window, exclaiming that La Esmerelda is dancing in the Place outside the Palace of Justice. Gringoire does not understand the magic ripple that passes through the crowd, as the remaining people run up to the windows to get a better view. Feeling like a general who has been soundly defeated, Gringoire gives up and abandons his play.

Commentary

The Hunchback of Notre Dame was Hugo's first novel after a series of successful plays. The structure of the novel closely follows that of a play, especially in this first section where Hugo uses the technique of exposition to "naturally" introduce the major themes and characters of the novel without emphasizing the presence of the author. For example, by placing Gringoire in an awkward situation, Hugo lets his character introduce himself to any of the spectators that will listen. Indeed, at one point, he simply declares, "My name is Pierre Gringoire." Moreover, the Festival of Fools allows Hugo to introduce Quasimodo and emphasize his physical appearance as seen from the point of view of the outside world. we can form a definite and nuanced impression of him as well as allow for future character development as the reader begins to learn more about him from the inside out. Hugo also introduces Jehan Frollo, the brother of the novel's major antagonist, Dom Claude Frollo, as an anonymous member of the crowd, foreshadowing future plot developments. Even the beggar who disrupts the play will return to threaten Gringoire's life and attack Notre Dame in later sections.
Hugo not only observes strict rules of historical accuracy but also writes a historical novel. The narrator clearly states the exact date of the novel's opening scene and goes out of his way, whenever possible, to discuss the history of various monuments that he mentions. Striving for authenticity, Hugo interjects frequent Latin and Greek quotations, as well as out-of-date expressions, into his characters' speech so they sound medieval. Hugo's conception of historical context centers on architecture, and he immediately introduces the most predominant artistic theme of the novel, Gothic architecture, while discussing the Palace of Justice. The narrator unabashedly exclaims his reverence for Gothic architecture in this paragraph: "how one's eyes are dazzled!" Focusing on the pointed windows "glazed with panes of a thousand" colors, curving up toward finely carved ceilings studded in gold with fleurs de lis (the symbol of the Bourbon royal dynasty), the narrator sets the emotionally nostalgic tone toward Gothic art that figures throughout the novel.\

Context

Written during the July 1830 Revolution, The Hunchback of Notre Dame was profoundly affected by the historical and political trends of the early nineteenth century. Victor Hugo was born at the beginning of the Napoleonic Empire in 1802 and began writing under the Restoration monarchy before becoming one of the most ardent supporters of the French Republic. After the 1789 French Revolution, French society was split into two parts: those who opposed the Republic and those who supported it. From the early days of his youth, Hugo identified with the themes of social and political equality that characterized the legacy of the French Revolution. Moreover, his father was a general in Napoleon's army and, as a result, Hugo was never a strong supporter of the monarchy that began in 1815 after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo.
In July 1830, a new revolution occurred in Paris. The Bourbon family was deposed by the more liberal Orléans family, which supported a constitutional monarchy. Although Hugo did not think the revolution went far enough (he favored a republic), he celebrated the resurgence of the ideas of political liberty, democracy and universal suffrage that dated back to 1789. Hugo thus incorporated the political legacy of the these two revolutions into The Hunchback of Notre Dame, but was also inspired by the artistic and cultural representation of these social upheavals. For example, the political cartoons of Honoré Daumier and the paintings of Eugène Delacroix both made republicanism an aesthetic subject and focused on the city of Paris as a center of revolutionary ésprit. In Delacroix's famous depiction of the 1830 Revolution, Liberty Guiding the People, the two towers of Notre Dame can be seen in the background, evoking the mythic presence of Paris as a symbol of revolutionary fervor. Hugo greatly admired this painting, striving to represent Notre Dame as the cultural and political center of Paris.
Paris itself plays a major role in the novel. Hugo presents Paris as a place that can all be seen from the towers of Notre Dame, reaffirming its place as the center of Paris. The cathedral comes to represent Paris's "Gothic heart," and remind readers of its resplendent past. Even though most of this past has been swept away, Hugo compares the city to a living creature, "talking," "singing," "breathing," and "growing" everyday. He argues that Paris is on the verge of a major change that will forever erase its Gothic past. By evoking the Cité, the Ville, and the Université divisions of the fifteenth century, Hugo presents the reader with a version of Paris that might soon disappear. Indeed, within twenty years of the publication of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Napoleon III and Baron von Haussmann began a massive rebuilding program throughout most of the city, tearing down old quarters and widening streets into boulevards. Artists who had embraced Hugo's movement to safeguard the past were horrified, while Hugo himself moved into self-imposed exile.
Finally, The Hunchback of Notre Dame must be examined in its literary context. Hugo was a pioneer of the Romantic movement, which stressed the individual experience of imagination and emotions. Romanticism was predominantly a reaction against classicism, which found its subjects in Greek and Roman antiquity. For example, the great seventeenth and eighteenth French playwrights Racine and Corneille used Roman and Greek stories for their plays. Romantics stayed away from themes dealing with the past as much as possible. But Hugo broke the mold, boldly suggesting that Romantic themes could be extracted from the recent past of France. One of his major goals in The Hunchback of Notre Dame was to prove that French history offered a rich variety of subjects to represent Romantic ideals and themes.
Paris itself plays a major role in the novel. Hugo presents Paris as a place that can all be seen from the towers of Notre Dame, reaffirming its place as the center of Paris. The cathedral comes to represent Paris's "Gothic heart," and remind readers of its resplendent past. Even though most of this past has been swept away, Hugo compares the city to a living creature, "talking," "singing," "breathing," and "growing" everyday. He argues that Paris is on the verge of a major change that will forever erase its Gothic past. By evoking the Cité, the Ville, and the Université divisions of the fifteenth century, Hugo presents the reader with a version of Paris that might soon disappear. Indeed, within twenty years of the publication of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Napoleon III and Baron von Haussmann began a massive rebuilding program throughout most of the city, tearing down old quarters and widening streets into boulevards. Artists who had embraced Hugo's movement to safeguard the past were horrified, while Hugo himself moved into self-imposed exile.
Finally, The Hunchback of Notre Dame must be examined in its literary context. Hugo was a pioneer of the Romantic movement, which stressed the individual experience of imagination and emotions. Romanticism was predominantly a reaction against classicism, which found its subjects in Greek and Roman antiquity. For example, the great seventeenth and eighteenth French playwrights Racine and Corneille used Roman and Greek stories for their plays. Romantics stayed away from themes dealing with the past as much as possible. But Hugo broke the mold, boldly suggesting that Romantic themes could be extracted from the recent past of France. One of his major goals in The Hunchback of Notre Dame was to prove that French history offered a rich variety of subjects to represent Romantic ideals and themes.
Why is Quasimodo's skeleton found with La Esmerelda's remains?
Why does Pierre Gringoire join the vagabonds? Does Hugo criticize philosophy through Gringoire's character?

Discuss the role of love and family in the novel. Why does Frollo and Quasimodo's love for La Esmerelda drive them to such violent ends? Why are so many characters related by the fact that they are all orphans?

Title[edit]

The novel's original French title, Notre-Dame de Paris, refers to Notre Dame Cathedral, on which the story is centered. Frederic Shoberl's 1833 English translation was published as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (which became the generally used title in English), which refers to Quasimodo, Notre Dame's bellringer.

Background[edit]



Illustration from
Victor Hugo et son temps (1881)
Victor Hugo began writing Notre-Dame de Paris in 1829, largely to make his contemporaries more aware of the value of the Gothic architecture, which was neglected and often destroyed to be replaced by new buildings or defaced by replacement of parts of buildings in a newer style. For instance, the medieval stained glass panels of Notre-Dame de Paris had been replaced by white glass to let more light into the church.[1] This explains the large descriptive sections of the book, which far exceed the requirements of the story. A few years earlier, Hugo had already published a paper entitled Guerre aux Démolisseurs (War to the Demolishers) specifically aimed at saving Paris' medieval architecture.[2] The agreement with his original publisher, Gosselin, was that the book would be finished that same year, but Hugo was constantly delayed due to the demands of other projects. In the summer of 1830, Gosselin demanded that Hugo complete the book by February 1831. Beginning in September 1830, Hugo worked nonstop on the project thereafter. The book was finished six months later.

Plot[edit]

The story is set in Paris in 1482 during the reign of Louis XI. The gypsy Esmeralda (born as Agnes) captures the hearts of many men, including those of Captain Phoebus and Pierre Gringoire, but especially Quasimodo and his guardian Archdeacon Claude Frollo. Frollo is torn between his obsessive lust for Esmeralda and the rules of Notre Dame Cathedral. He orders Quasimodo to kidnap her, but Quasimodo is captured by Phoebus and his guards, who save Esmeralda. Gringoire, who attempted to help Esmeralda but was knocked out by Quasimodo, is about to be hanged by beggars when Esmeralda saves him by agreeing to marry him for four years.
The following day, Quasimodo is sentenced to be flogged and turned on the pillory for two hours, followed by another hour's public exposure. He calls for water. Esmeralda, seeing his thirst, approaches the public stocks and offers him a drink of water. It saves him, and she captures his heart.
Later, Esmeralda is arrested and charged with the attempted murder of Phoebus, whom Frollo actually attempted to kill in jealousy after seeing him trying to seduce Esmeralda. She is sentenced to death by hanging. As she is being led to the gallows, Quasimodo swings down by the bell rope of Notre-Dame and carries her off to the cathedral, temporarily protecting her – under the law of sanctuary – from arrest.
Frollo later informs Gringoire that the Court of Parlement has voted to remove Esmeralda's right to the sanctuary so she can no longer seek shelter in the cathedral and will be taken away to be killed. Clopin, the leader of the gypsies, hears the news from Gringoire and rallies the citizens of Paris to charge the cathedral and rescue Esmeralda.
When Quasimodo sees the gypsies, he assumes they are there to hurt Esmeralda, so he drives them off. Likewise, he thinks the king's men want to rescue her, and tries to help them find her. She is rescued by Frollo and Gringoire. But after yet another failed attempt to win her love, Frollo betrays Esmeralda by handing her to the troops and watches while she is being hanged. When Frollo laughs during Esmeralda's hanging, Quasimodo pushes him from the height of Notre Dame to his death. Quasimodo goes to the cemetery, hugs Esmeralda's body, and dies of starvation with her.

Characters[edit]

Major[edit]

  • Esmeralda (born Agnes) is a beautiful 16-year-old Gypsy street dancer who is naturally compassionate and kind. She is the novel's protagonist. A popular focus of the citizens' attentions, she experiences their changeable attitudes, being first adored as an entertainer, then hated as a witch, before being lauded again by Quasimodo. She is loved by both Quasimodo and Claude Frollo, but, unfortunately she falls hopelessly in love with Captain Phoebus, a handsome soldier whom she believes will rightly protect her but who simply wants to seduce her. She is one of the few characters to show Quasimodo a moment of human kindness, as when she gives him water after the hunchback's flogging. She is eventually revealed to not actually be a gypsy, but to have been kidnapped by them and replaced by the deformed Quasimodo.
  • Claude Frollo, the novel's main antagonist, is the Archdeacon of Notre Dame. His dour attitude and his alchemical experiments have alienated him from the Parisians, who believe him a sorcerer. His parents died from the plague when he was a young man, leaving his dissolute younger brother Jehan as his only family whom he unsuccessfully attempts to reform towards a better life. Frollo also helps care for Quasimodo. Frollo's numerous sins include lechery, failed alchemy and other listed vices. His mad attraction to Esmeralda sets off a chain of events, including her attempted abduction, leading to Quasimodo's sentence to be lashed in the square, and Frollo almost murdering Phoebus in a jealous rage, leading to Esmeralda's execution.
  • Quasimodo is a deformed 20-year-old hunchback, and the bell ringer of Notre Dame. He is half blind and deaf, this because of all the years ringing the bells of the church. Abandoned by his mother as a baby, he was adopted by Claude Frollo. Quasimodo's life within the confines of the cathedral and his only two outlets —ringing the bells and his love and devotion for Frollo—are described. He rarely ventures outside the Cathedral because the citizens of Paris despise and shun him for his appearance. The notable occasions when he does leave include taking part in the Festival of Fools (which is celebrated on January 6)—during which he is elected the Pope of Fools due to his perfect hideousness—and his subsequent attempt to kidnap Esmeralda, his rescue of Esmeralda from the gallows, his attempt to bring Phoebus to Esmeralda, and his final abandonment of the cathedral at the end of the novel. It is revealed in the story that the baby Quasimodo was left by the Gypsies in place of Esmeralda, whom they abducted.
  • Pierre Gringoire is a struggling poet. He mistakenly finds his way into the "Court of Miracles", the domain of the Truands. In order to preserve the secrecy, Gringoire must either be killed by hanging, or marry a Gypsy. Although Esmeralda does not love him, and in fact believes him to be a coward rather than a true man, she takes pity on his plight and marries him. But, because she is already in love with Phoebus, much to his disappointment, she will not let him touch her.
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    The cour des miracles as imagined by Gustave Doré in an illustration to The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
    Cour des miracles ("court of miracles") was a French term which referred to slum districts of Paris, France where the unemployed migrants from rural areas resided. They held "the usual refuge of all those wretches who came to conceal in this corner of Paris, sombre, dirty, muddy, and tortuous, their pretended infirmities and their criminal pollution."[1] The areas grew largely during the reign of Louis XIV (1643 – 1715) and in Paris were found around the Filles-Dieu convent, Rue du Temple, the Court of Jussienne, Reuilly Street, Rue St. Jean and Tournelles Beausire, Rue de l'Echelle and between the Rue du Caire and Rue Reaumur. The latter served as inspiration for Victor Hugo's Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
    n, William (1899).     Paris from the earliest period to the present day. G. Barrie & son. pp. 230–235

  • Phoebus de Chateaupers is the Captain of the King's Archers, and a minor antagonist in the novel. After he saves Esmeralda from abduction, she becomes infatuated with him, and he is intrigued by her. Already betrothed to the beautiful but spiteful Fleur-de-Lys, he wants to lie with Esmeralda nonetheless but is prevented when Frollo stabs him. Phoebus survives, but Esmeralda is taken to be the attempted assassin by all, including Phoebus himself, who no longer wants her. He is condemned to a miserable married life with Fleur-de-Lys.
  • Clopin Trouillefou is the King of Truands. He sentences Gringoire to be hanged, and presides over his "wedding" to Esmeralda. He rallies the Court of Miracles to rescue Esmeralda from Notre Dame after the idea is suggested by Gringoire. He is eventually killed during the attack by the King's soldiers.

Minor[edit]

  • Jehan Frollo "du Moulin" (alternately named Joannes Frollo "de Molendino") is Claude Frollo's 16-year-old dissolute younger brother. He is a troublemaker and a student at the university. He is dependent on his brother for money, which he then proceeds to squander on alcohol. After his brother stops giving him money, he becomes rogue. He briefly enters the cathedral by ascending one of the towers with a borrowed ladder, and when Quasimodo sees him, he tries to shoot an arrow at the hunchback's eye, but Quasimodo throws him down to his death.
  • Fleur-de-Lys de Gondelaurier is a beautiful and wealthy noblewoman engaged to Phoebus. Phoebus's attentions to Esmeralda make her insecure and jealous, and she and her friends respond by treating Esmeralda with contempt and spite. Fleur-de-Lys later neglects to inform Phoebus that Esmeralda has not been executed, which serves to deprive the pair of any further contact—though as Phoebus no longer loves Esmeralda by this time, this does not matter. The novel ends with their wedding.
  • Madame Aloïse de Gondelaurier is Fleur-de-Lys' mother.
  • Sister Gudule, also known as Sachette and formerly named Paquette Guybertaut "la Chantefleurie", is an anchoress, who lives in seclusion in an exposed cell in central Paris. She is tormented by the loss of her daughter Agnes, whom she believes to have been cannibalised by Gypsies as a baby, and devotes her life to mourning her. Her long-lost daughter turns out to be Esmeralda, a fact she discovers only moments before Esmeralda is hanged. Gudule is accidentally killed by one of the King's soldiers while attempting to prevent them from taking her daughter.
  • Djali is Esmeralda's pet goat. In addition to dancing with Esmeralda, Djali can do tricks for money, such as tell time, spell Phoebus' name, and do impressions of public figures. Later during Esmeralda's trial when Esmeralda is falsely accused of the stabbing of Phoebus, Djali is falsely accused of being the devil in disguise. In the end of the novel, Djali is saved by Gringoire (who has become fond of the goat during his marriage to Esmeralda) after Esmeralda is captured and hanged.
  • Louis XI is the King of France. He appears as an old and sick man, but his personality is very sly and Machiavellian, as well as self-centred. He appears briefly when he is brought the news of the rioting at Notre Dame. He orders his guard to kill the rioters, and also the "witch" Esmeralda, because of being misinformed about the reason of rioting.
  • Tristan l'Hermite is a friend of King Louis XI. He leads the band that goes to capture Esmeralda.
  • Henriet Cousin is the city executioner, who hangs Esmeralda.
  • Florian Barbedienne is the judge who presides over Quasimodo's case for kidnapping Esmeralda. He is also deaf, which makes it more difficult because when he asks Quasimodo for his name, age and profession, Quasimodo does not respond. He sentences the hunchback to be tortured in the public square: one hour of flogging for attempted kidnap, and another hour of public disgrace after he thought Quasimodo was mocking him.
  • Jacques Charmolue is Claude Frollo's friend in charge of torturing prisoners. He gets Esmeralda to falsely confess to killing Phoebus. He then has her imprisoned.
  • Jacques Coppenole is a man who appears in the beginning of the novel as one of the Flemish guests at the Feast of Fools. He convinces the Parisians to select the Pope of Fools.
  • Pierrat Torterue is the torturer at the Châtelet. He tortures Esmeralda after her interrogation to the point in where he hurts her so badly she falsely confesses, sealing her own fate. He was also the official who administered the savage flogging to which Quasimodo was sentenced by Barbedienne.
  • The unnamed magistrate is the one who presides over Esmeralda's case after she is falsely accused of stabbing Phoebus. He forces her to confess to the crime and sentences her to be hanged in the gallows.
  • Robin Poussepain is Jehan Frollo's companion who appears with him during the Feast of Fools and Quasimodo's flogging in the public square.
  • Olivier le Mauvais (literally "Olivier the Evil") is King Louis XI's close advisor.
  • La Falourdel is the innkeeper of the hotel where Phoebus and Esmeralda meet.
  • Marc Cenaine is a magician Jacques Charmolue and Claude Frollo torture for practicing witchcraft while they try to pry alchemy secrets from him.
  • Bérangère de Champchevrier is Fleur-de-Lys' friend.
  • Jacques Coictier is King Louis XI's physician.
  • Robert d'Estouteville is the chamberlain to King Louis XI. He is in a bad temper the day Quasimodo is pilloried, and he does not realize Quasimodo and the judge on duty are both deaf.
  • Colo

    Major themes[edit]

    The novel's original French title, Notre-Dame de Paris, indicates that the cathedral itself is the most significant aspect of the novel, both the main setting and the focus of the story's themes.[3] The building had fallen into disrepair at the time of writing, which was something Hugo felt strongly about. The book portrays the Romantic era as one of extremes in architecture, passion, and religion.[citation needed] The theme of determinism (fate and destiny, as set up in the preface of the novel through the introduction of the word "
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    External links[edit]

    ") is explored, as well as revolution and social strife.[4] mbe is Fleur-de-Lys' friend.
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Micromégas is a 1752 novella by the French philosopher and satirist Voltaire.[1] Along with his story "Plato's Dream", it is an early example in the literary genre of science fiction, and is a significant development in the history of literature.
The tale recounts the visit to Earth of a being from a planet circling the star Sirius, and of his companion from the planet Saturn.
The technique of using an outsider to comment on aspects of Western culture was popular at this period; Voltaire also used it in Zadig. Montesquieu, too, applied it in Persian Letters, as did José Cadalso in Cartas marruecas and Tomás Antônio Gonzaga in Cartas Chilenas.[citation needed]






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