The Hunchback of Notre Dame
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The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (French: Notre-Dame de Paris, "Our Lady of Paris") is a novel by Victor Hugo published in 1831.
| The Hunchback of Notre Dame | |
|---|---|
1831 illustration from the
first edition of Hunchback | |
| Author | Victor Hugo |
| Original title | Notre-Dame de Paris |
| Illustrator | Alfred Barbou (original) |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Genre(s) | Romanticism |
| Publisher | Gosselin |
| Publication date | January 14, 1831 |
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Background
Hugo began to write Hunchback in 1829. The agreement with his original publisher, Gosselin, was that the book would be finished that same year. However, Hugo was constantly delayed due to the demands of other projects. By the summer of 1830, Gosselin demanded the book to be completed by February 1831. And so beginning in September 1830, Hugo worked non-stop on the project; he bought a new bottle of ink, a woolen cloak, and cloistered himself in his room refusing to be bothered or to leave his house (except for nightly visits to the cathedral). The book was finished six months later.
[edit] Synopsis
The story dates back to January 6, 1482, the day of the Festival of Fools in Paris. Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer, is introduced by his crowning as Pope of Fools.
Esmeralda, a beautiful 16-year-old gypsy with a kind and generous heart, captures the hearts of many men but especially those of Quasimodo and his adopted father, Claude Frollo. Frollo is torn between his lust and the rules of the church. He orders Quasimodo to get her. Quasimodo is caught and whipped and ordered to be tied down in the heat. Esmeralda, seeing his thirst, offers him water. It saves her, for she captures the heart of the hunchback.
She is later accused of the attempted murder of Phoebus, whom Frollo attempted to kill in jealousy, and is sentenced to death by hanging. Quasimodo saves her by bringing her to the cathedral under the law of sanctuary. Clopin rallies the Truands (criminals of Paris) to charge the cathedral and rescue Esmeralda. The king, seeing the chaos, vetoes the law of sanctuary and commands his troops to take Esmeralda out and kill her. When Quasimodo sees the Truands, he assumes they are there to hurt Esmeralda, so he drives them off. Frollo betrays Esmeralda by handing her to the troops and watches while she is hanged. Quasimodo pushes him from Notre-Dame to his death. Quasimodo then goes to Mount Faucon (a huge graveyard in Paris where all hanged bodies are thrown), lies next to her corpse and eventually dies of starvation. Two years later, excavationists find the skeletons of Esmeralda with a broken neck and Quasimodo locked in an embrace.
[edit] Characters in The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- Pierre Gringoire is a struggling poet. He mistakenly finds his way into the "Court of Miracles", the secret lair of the Gypsies. 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 a coward rather than a true man (he, unlike Phoebus, failed in his attempt to rescue her from Quasimodo), she takes pity on his plight and marries him—although, much to his disappointment, she refuses to let him touch her.
- Esmeralda is a beautiful young barefoot Gypsy dancer, innocent, close to nature, and naturally compassionate and kind. She is the center of the human drama within the story. 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 for her dramatic rescue by Quasimodo; when the King finally decides to put her to death, he does so in the belief that the Parisian mob want her dead. She is loved by both Quasimodo and Claude Frollo, but falls deeply in love with Captain Phoebus, a handsome military man who only has a passing infatuation with her.
- Djali (pronounced like "Jolly") is Esmeralda's pet goat. She performs tricks such as writing the word "Phoebus" in moveable letter-blocks, and tapping the number of beats to indicate the month and hour of the day. These tricks delight the citizens at first, but later horrify them, causing them to believe Esmeralda is a witch.
- Quasimodo is the hunchback of Notre Dame. He lives in the bell tower of Notre Dame and rings the bells, which has made him deaf. When he was a hideous and abandoned 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 ventures outside the Cathedral rarely, since people despise and shun him for his appearance. The notable occasions when he does leave include his taking part in the Festival of Fools—during which he is elected Fools'-Pope 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.
- Claude Frollo is the Archdeacon of Notre Dame. Despite his celibacy vows as a priest, he finds himself madly in love with Esmeralda. He nearly murders Phoebus in a jealous rage from seeing Phoebus on top of Esmeralda. He is killed when Quasimodo pushes him off the cathedral. His dour attitude and his alchemical experiments scared and alienated him from the Parisians, who believed him a sorcerer, and so he lived without family, save for Quasimodo and his spoiled brother Jehan.
- Jehan Frollo is Claude Frollo's over-indulged 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. Quasimodo kills him during the attack on the cathedral.
- Phoebus de Chateaupers is the Captain of the King's Archers. After he saves Esmeralda from abduction, she becomes infatuated with him, and he himself is intrigued by her. He is already bethrothed, but just wants to lie with her. As he continues talking and kissing her, Frollo comes from behind and stabs him. Esmeralda runs away but is framed with killing him. After the events of the novel, he suffers the 'tragedy' of marriage to the beautiful but spiteful Fleur-de-Lys de Gondelaurier.
- Fleur-de-Lys de Gondelaurier is a beautiful and wealthy socialite 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. Phoebus and Fleur-de-Lys marry at the end of the novel.
- Sister Gudule, formerly named Paquette la Chantefleurie, is an anchorite, 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.
- Louis XI is the King of France. Appears briefly when he is brought the news of the rioting at Notre Dame.
- 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.
- Florian Barbedienne is the judge who sentences Quasimodo to be tortured. He is also deaf.
- Jacques Charmolue gets Esmeralda to falsely confess to killing Phoebus. He then has her executed.
- Clopin Trouillefou is the King of Truands. 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.
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1 commento:
GREAT POSTING....I LOVE VICTOR HUGO...!!!!
My sister lives in Guernsey Not far from the house where he lived.(channel island)
'grazie the best'
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