The novel we are interested in was created by Victor Hugo in 1831. “Notre Dame Cathedral” is the first historical work that was written in French. This novel is still very popular today. There are numerous film adaptations, as well as musical works based on the work, authored by Victor Hugo. “Notre Dame de Paris” is a work, like all novels, large in volume. We will describe only the main events and also present characteristics of the main characters.
First, we will introduce the reader to the plot of such a work as “Notre Dame Cathedral.”
Contents by chapter: the beginning of the novel
By someone's hand, in one of the towers of the cathedral, the word “rock” was inscribed in Greek. After some time it disappeared. This is how a book about a hunchback, a priest and a gypsy arose.
On January 6, 1482, on the feast of Epiphany, a mystery called “The Righteous Judgment of the Blessed Virgin Mary” was to take place in the Palace of Justice. A crowd of people gathers at the palace to watch it. However, after the performance begins (the author of the mystery is Pierre Gringoire), the cardinal appears with the ambassadors. The audience's attention is immediately drawn to the appearing officials. The guest mocks Pierre's performance and suggests having fun differently - choosing a buffoonish dad. The one who makes the most creepy grimace will be the winner.
Esmeralda's failed kidnapping
At this moment, attention is drawn to the bell ringer Quasimodo, known for his ugliness. He is dressed, as he should be, in a robe, and then taken away to walk with him through the streets. After this, Gringoire hopes to continue the play, but someone’s cry that Esmeralda is dancing in the square leads the audience in that direction. Esmeralda is a gypsy who entertains the gathered crowd with her goat. After Quasimodo appears in the square, the girl is almost kidnapped. Gringoire, who heard her screams, immediately calls for help. Phoebe de Chateaupert, captain, becomes Esmeralda's savior.
The Rescue of Gringoire and the Punishment of Quasimodo
Pierre, by the will of fate, gets to the block where thieves and beggars live. They want to test Gringoire. He must pull out a wallet from the stuffed animal on which the bells are hung, without making any noise. Otherwise, death awaits him. However, Pierre fails and is awaiting execution. Only a woman can save Gringoire, and Esmeralda takes on this role. The day after the failed kidnapping attempt, Quasimodo is put on trial. He will have to be scourged. A large crowd watches his punishment. Quasimodo is then stoned. But then Esmeralda appears. She rises to Quasimodo and brings a flask of water to his lips.
Meeting with Chateaupert, attempted murder by Claude Frollo
After some time, Esmeralda is invited to the house of Phoebus de Chateaupert. Here he wants to have fun with his bride and her friends. When Esmeralda appears, her beauty amazes everyone, as Victor Hugo (Notre Dame de Paris) notes. When this gypsy’s goat puts together the word “Phoebus” from letters, the bride faints. The gypsy is in love with the captain and is even ready to stop searching for her parents. During a meeting with Chateaupert, Esmeralda is confronted by a priest with a dagger who hates her. The girl loses consciousness. When she comes to her senses, she finds out that she allegedly killed Chateaupere.
Character history
The main representative of French romanticism, Victor Hugo, was distinguished by his harsh views on life.
His works described the entire surrounding reality, which, unfortunately, causes not joy, but sadness. Book "Notre Dame Cathedral"
One need only recall the novels “Les Miserables” or “The Man Who Laughs,” which had a huge influence on Charles Dickens, Albert Camus, Fyodor Dostoevsky and other representatives of the literary diaspora. But in his track record, Hugo also has another work that has become a classic of world literature - “Notre Dame Cathedral.” The images of the characters from this book became recognizable, and the beautiful Esmeralda migrated to cinema, theater, ballet and animated works.
The court verdict and the rescue of Esmeralda
Gringoire, worried about Esmeralda, learns a month later that she is to be tried at the Palace of Justice. Since the girl is innocent, she denies everything. However, after torture, Esmeralda still admits the crimes attributed to her: the murder of de Chateaupert, prostitution and witchcraft. She is sentenced to repentance, after which she is to be hanged near Notre Dame Cathedral. Claude Frollo, in love with her, offers to escape to Esmeralda, but the girl rejects his offer. The priest responds by stating that Phoebus is alive. This is confirmed on the day of the execution, when Esmeralda sees her lover in one of the windows. Quasimodo picks up the gypsy who has fallen unconscious. He takes her hastily to the Cathedral, thereby providing refuge for the girl.
The plot of the novel “Notre Dame Cathedral”
The events of the novel take place at the end of the 15th century in Paris, in its very heart - a medieval cathedral. It is the majestic figure of Notre Dame Cathedral that is the main character of the work, against the background of which we recognize other heroes and their fates. This is a novel about love in all its manifestations: sacrificial, jealous, passionate and even murderous.
Charles Vouaimo - Esmeralda Dancing (c. 1882), illustration for the novel. Charles Voillemot
Life of Esmeralda in the Cathedral, assault
Staying here is also not easy for Esmeralda. She cannot get used to such an ugly hunchback. Quasimodo gives her a whistle so that if necessary, the gypsy can call for help. However, the archdeacon, in a fit of jealousy, attacks the girl. She is saved by Quasimodo, who almost kills Claude Frollo. However, the archdeacon cannot calm down. He calls through Gringoire thieves and beggars in order to storm the Cathedral. Pierre, no matter how much Quasimodo defends the gypsy, manages to take her from the Cathedral. When news of the riot reaches the king, he orders Esmeralda to be executed. Claude drags her to Roland's Tower.
Final Events
Hugo's book “Notre Dame de Paris” is already approaching its finale. The author transfers the action to Roland's Tower, where Paquette Chant-Fleury, who hates Esmeralda, lives. Once upon a time, her daughter was taken away from her. However, it suddenly turns out that Esmeralda is her missing girl. The mother fails to save the gypsy from execution. She falls dead when they try to stop her from being taken away. The work created by Victor Hugo (“Notre Dame de Paris”) ends with the following events: Esmeralda is executed, and then Quasimodo pushes Claude into a cliff. Thus, everyone whom the unfortunate hunchback loved is dead.
So, we have described the main events that are depicted in the work “Notre Dame Cathedral”. Its analysis, presented below, will introduce you closer to the main characters of this novel.
Careful preparation
The abbot of Notre Dame Cathedral of Egge helped Hugo understand the symbolic signs of Hugo's architectural masterpiece. Most likely, this priest became the prototype of Claude Frollo. When Hugo was working on creating a novel, he studied the works of historians, and not just studied, but took notes on them. It's worth noting that the prep work was incredible; after all, the author did not even invent any of the names of the non-main characters, including Pierre Gringoire.
"Quasimodo" (1839). Artist Antoine-Joseph Wirtz. Royal Museums of Fine Arts (Brussels)
Quasimodo
Quasimodo is the central character of the work. His image is powerful and bright, of amazing strength, simultaneously attractive and repulsive. Perhaps, of all the other characters we meet while reading the work “Notre Dame Cathedral,” it is Quasimodo who most closely matches the aesthetic ideals of romanticism. The hero rises like a gigantic giant above a series of ordinary people absorbed in everyday activities. It is customary to draw parallels between him and Esmeralda (the opposition is ugliness and beauty), between Claude Frollo and Quasimodo (selfishness and selflessness); and also between Phoebus and Quasimodo (the deceit of an aristocrat, petty narcissism and the greatness of the human spirit) in the work “Notre Dame Cathedral”. These images are interconnected, their characters are largely revealed when interacting with each other.
What else can you say about this bell ringer? The image of Quasimodo from the work “Notre Dame Cathedral”, the analysis of which interests us, in terms of its impact can only be compared with the image of the Cathedral, which exists on the pages of the novel on an equal footing with living characters. The author himself more than once emphasizes the connection between his hero, who grew up at the temple, and Notre Dame.
In terms of events, the life story of Quasimodo is extremely simple. It is known that the hunchback of Notre Dame Cathedral was planted 16 years ago in the cradle from which Esmeralda was kidnapped. He was about four years old then. Already in childhood, the baby was distinguished by striking deformity. He only disgusted everyone. The boy was baptized, thus expelling the “devil,” and then sent to Paris, to Notre Dame. Here they wanted to throw him into the fire, but Claude Frollo, a young priest, stood up for the child. He adopted him and named him Quasimodo (this is what Catholics call the first Sunday after Easter - the day the boy was discovered). Since then, Notre Dame Cathedral has become his home. The content of his future life is as follows.
Quasimodo became a bell ringer. People didn't like him because he was ugly. They laughed at him and insulted him, not wanting to see the selfless, noble soul behind the ugly appearance. Quasimodo's passion was bells. They replaced the joy of communication for him and at the same time led to a new misfortune: Quasimodo became deaf from the ringing of bells.
We first meet him when he is elected the pope of jesters for his ugly appearance. That same day, late in the evening, he tries to kidnap Esmeralda at the request of his mentor and is put on trial for this. The judge was as deaf as Quasimodo, and, fearing that his deafness would be revealed, he decided to punish the bell-ringer more severely, without even imagining why he was punishing him. Quasimodo ended up in the pillory as a result. The crowd that had gathered here mocked him, and no one allowed the hunchback to drink except Esmeralda.
Two destinies are intertwined - a rootless freak and a beauty. Quasimodo saves Esmeralda, gives her his cell and food. Noticing that she reacts painfully to his appearance, she tries to catch the girl’s eye as rarely as possible. He sleeps at the entrance to the cell on the stone floor, protecting the gypsy’s peace. Only when the girl is sleeping does he allow himself to admire her. Quasimodo, seeing how she suffers, wants to bring Phoebus to her. Jealousy, like other manifestations of selfishness and egoism, is alien to him.
As the novel progresses, the image of Quasimodo changes, he becomes more and more attractive. At first they talked about his savagery and viciousness, but later there is no basis for such characteristics. Quasimodo begins to write poetry, trying in this way to open the girl’s eyes to what she does not want to see - the beauty of his heart. Quasimodo is ready to destroy everything, even the Cathedral, in the name of saving the gypsy. Only Claude Frollo, who is the root cause of troubles, until his hand is raised. Quasimodo was only able to speak out against him when he saw how he laughed triumphantly when Esmeralda was executed. And the bell-ringer pushed him into the abyss with his own hands. The author does not describe the last moments of Quasimodo's life. However, the tragic ending is revealed when, looking at the figure of Esmeralda in the noose and the silhouette of Frollo from the heights of the Cathedral, he says that this is all he has loved.
Esmeralda
Of course, in the novel Notre-Dame de Paris, Esmeralda is one of the main characters. This girl is a true genius of pure beauty. It's not just her appearance that is perfect. The author repeatedly emphasizes that everything is illuminated with a magical radiance when Esmeralda appears. She is like a torch illuminating the darkness. It is impossible to imagine that this girl would deliberately cause harm to anyone, as the other main characters of the novel we are interested in are capable of. She, without hesitation, saves Gringoire from the gallows, agreeing to recognize him as her husband for 4 years, according to Gypsy laws. She is the only one of the entire crowd who feels sorry for Quasimodo, who is dying of thirst, having given him a drink from a flask. If you can find a small flaw in this gypsy, it relates to the sphere of intuition and reason. The girl is completely blind and also very trusting. It’s not worth any effort to lure her into the net. She is too carried away by her own dreams and fantasies to foresee danger and look at things realistically.
Esmeralda naturally has self-esteem and pride. She is beautiful when she sings or dances. However, having fallen in love with Phoebus, the girl forgets about these qualities of hers. She tells her lover: “I am your slave.” Her inherently beautiful love for Phoebus sometimes makes her cruel to the people around her, who truly idolize her. The girl is ready to force Quasimodo to spend day and night waiting for her lover. She shows displeasure when she notices that the hunchback is returning alone, and even drives him away in a fit of irritation, forgetting what she owes to the bell-ringer. Moreover, she cannot believe that Phoebus did not want to come to her. She blames Quasimodo for what happened. Esmeralda also forgets about her mother, whom she found so unexpectedly. All she needs is the distant sound of her lover’s voice to reveal her presence, thereby predetermining her own death, as well as the death of her mother and Quasimodo.
Notre Dame Cathedral
It’s been a long time since I’ve had a situation where, after reading a work of fiction, I didn’t want to pick up another book. “Notre Dame de Paris” completely distracted me from the outside world and made me forget that there were other equally fascinating and delightful creations. Another miracle of art. And it’s true: this book is a book, a symphony, a performance, and a monument at the same time. My soul was convulsing in aesthetic overdose, my heart was crying drops of blood. How can one read with indifference the descriptions of the Cathedral, Paris, its cruelty and poverty? I don’t understand people who don’t see the beauty in this and read casually, following only the plot. The plot….the plot…what the hell is the plot! There are only three people, each with their own grief. And there is a society that does not like them. There is Paris, which is not going through the best of times, namely a change of eras. The clash of two spiritual forces - architecture and printing, truly "the stone Bible and the paper Bible" - is also cruel. And the characters are so different, but each is so significant and holds a special place in the heart. Call me a pop philistine, but like any person in the novel, I felt a share of disgust and some strange combination of fear and pity for the image of Quasimodo. The hunchback’s face, expressing a mixture of anger, amazement and sadness, did not allow me to see WHAT was going on in his soul. And this is how the evaluation of a person works, yes - you can’t see the soul, and even with such a face, then don’t hope for sympathy. And even sincere love for Esmeralda, which did not require anything in return, just like Esmeralda herself, could not make her fall in love with this freak. At some moments I felt a despicable kind of pity - I wanted to free Quasimodo, like an old sick dog that is killed so that it does not suffer. And the very feeling of pity is very cruel towards a person. The character I really cared about was Claude Frollo. Yes Yes. I know that this is another idealistic hero who despises pitiful people and is looking for his purpose in life. I'm a sucker for such characters. But how can you not grieve when you see how this man, having experienced a passion for a gypsy woman, having let a “sinful fire” into his heart, is disappointed in science, in his faith, in his ideals. Frollo's internal struggle, which I witnessed, did not allow me to call him a monster. After all, he also loved Esmeralda. Truly loved. It’s just that this love was perverted, dirty, distorted. Well, how else can smart people love? Esmeralda at first seemed to me like a naive, stupid fool who, when choosing a man, puts appearance and physical strength first, not noticing his attitude towards other people. And then I realized that she was just a young girl, she was 16 years old and she dreams of a knight on a white horse who will save her from the hands of scoundrels, she wants to find her mother, whose affection she was deprived of, she is afraid of pain, as we see in the chapter with torture. She is pure and chaste. And unfortunately, she is blind. And of course, the novel has another invisible, but no less important character. This is the Cathedral itself. This is a great creation of man and people, and at the same time the epicenter of the passions unfolding in the plot. Wandering through its corridors, it was as if I could hear his breathing, heard his pulse beat. He sheltered Quasimodo, rejected by the world, became his own mother and gave the poor hunchback brothers and sisters in the form of bells, which, stunning the freak, further protected him from the terrible world. The cathedral gave refuge to Esmeralda, protecting her with all its might with its stone gargoyles. And the same Cathedral pushed Claude Frollo from its towers, although I am sure that he did it not without pain and regret.
Since childhood, I dreamed of visiting Notre-Dame de Paris. But now, after so many words written by Hugo, I doubt whether it is necessary? Was the Cathedral really once so alive, beautiful, and majestic? And now? The majesty remains, but it is a kind of pathetic, serious majesty that looks down on you. And now... An era has passed. Quasimodo has disappeared. And the Cathedral disappeared along with them - we will never again see its true face. Everything now is just a copy. His look is stupid. The smile is fake. The soul is empty. Once upon a time, as a child, I traced pictures through carbon paper and the result of my work never satisfied me. It's just a tasteless comparison, but still...
PS: Thank you for your attention, sir.
Claude Frollo
This is the archdeacon serving at Notre Dame Cathedral. He is wise in various sciences. This is a rational and proud person who is overwhelmed by passion for Esmeralda. Frollo pursues the girl relentlessly and is ready to commit any crime in order to get her. He instructs Quasimodo, his pupil, to kidnap the gypsy, and also tries to kill Captain de Chateaupert, her beloved. The girl is accused of attempted murder and sentenced to death. Then Frollo invites her to flee in exchange for satisfying his fatal passion. When Esmeralda refuses, he incites the ragamuffins of Paris to take the Cathedral in which the girl has taken refuge by storm. Claude, in the midst of this massacre, kidnaps Esmeralda. The girl again rejects his love. Enraged by the death of his younger brother, who took part in the attack, Frollo gives his beloved to death.
Being the main driver of the action of the work, Claude himself is a rather traditional figure. He embodies a type of demonic churchman who is obsessed with passion for a woman. This type was inherited from the Gothic novel, which depicts similar protagonists. The image of Frollo, on the other hand, resembles Doctor Faustus in his learning and dissatisfaction with it. This side of the character connects the archdeacon with the line of Hugo’s novel.
Victor Hugo "Notre Dame Cathedral"
What struck me most about this book was my superficiality. How did I imagine her? A polygonal love story that happened in Paris somewhere on the outskirts of history. A! And Petkun also sang in a musical... probably for Quasimodo, although there was something about demons. But this is a masterpiece! Classics of world literature! Must read!
There is no point in describing my bummer. In fact, it turned out that this is really the story of a love polygon and is really set against the backdrop of Paris. Just not Esmeralda, Quasimodo or anyone else is the main character here. The hero here is the City itself! It is him that Victor Hugo loves, cherishes and develops. I don’t presume to say, but it feels like there are more chapters that describe the streets of the capital of France, sights and their history than chapters with human characters. We will find out where Paris came from, by whom and how it was built, how it changed, who made decisions about changes and who implemented them. The first thought was: “Should I look through the city chapters? I came here for love,” then I let go of this thought, relaxed, and read for three months for my own pleasure.
As for the human appearance of “Notre Dame Cathedral,” my delight is even greater than from a free trip to the City of Light. The arsenal of characters with whom the author acts is small. At least relative to the size of the book. But this is a whole encyclopedia! A cross-section of not only geography, but also society, morals, and way of life. I really liked how the torment of Archdeacon Claude Frollo was conveyed. A man lived his whole life in one world, and then it turned out that everything was wrong. Moreover, as much generosity as he showed by adopting Quasimodo and raising his younger brother, he showed the same amount of cowardice in his love for Esmeralda. Perhaps for me this was the most interesting hero.
The rest more or less did not disappoint. Esmeralda is wonderful. Quasimodo is terrible on the face, kind inside. Phoebus de Chateaupert - Lieutenant Rzhevsky. The recluse also interested me... Her unfounded hatred of the gypsy is actually close and understandable to me. And evolution is interesting. Fleur de Lis is a scarlet flower. At the very end, Hugo was also amazed - he laughed very unexpectedly at the denouement. The night scene of the defense of Notre Dame de Paris was... heroic, but ordinary. Haven’t we read about exploits during the War? But Esmeralda’s torture, her feelings and the quick surrender of her position as proud and independent – this is subtle. I understand that there were many of them who testified against themselves in the Spanish boot, but it seems to me that to describe weakness you need to feel life more acutely and subtly. The most intimate discovery was the shameless description of man’s attraction to animals... I read, of course, Balzac... and Zola... and was ready for a lot, but I didn’t expect this from the Classic... in a word!
This book took a lot of my time! Even more strength! But! I grew up with her myself. Has changed. It was a lot of hard work reading her, but it turned out to be beneficial. I can't describe what has changed. Me myself. If earlier I had been captivated only by a love story, specifically Phoebe and the gypsies, now... the negative character seemed clearer and more attractive. Boring descriptive parts - informative and necessary. The fine line between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance could not be conveyed more accurately. Everything changed - cities, people, morals... and I changed along with them.
Therefore, no matter how difficult it is, read! Grow above yourself!
Image of the Cathedral
The image of the Cathedral in the novel “Notre Dame de Paris” is very important. Hugo created his novel with the goal of featuring Notre Dame as the main character. At that time, they wanted to either modernize the building or demolish it. First in France, and then throughout Europe, a movement began for the restoration and preservation of Gothic monuments after the publication of Victor Hugo’s novel “Notre Dame de Paris.”
Notre Dame is a typical Gothic building. This architectural style is characterized by a desire to rise, combined with the understanding that without earthly support the sky is unattainable. Gothic buildings seem to float in the air, they seem weightless. However, this is only at first glance. The cathedral was actually built by hundreds of craftsmen who were endowed with wild, truly popular imagination.
Notre Dame, first of all, is the center of the folk and religious life of Parisians. Commoners who are capable of fighting for a better future gather around him. It is also a refuge for those expelled: while a person is outside its walls, no one has the right to arrest him. The cathedral is also a symbol of oppression (feudal and religious).
Hugo did not at all idealize the Middle Ages. In the novel we find a fiery love for the Motherland, for its art and history, high poetry, and a depiction of the dark sides of feudalism. Notre Dame Cathedral is an eternal structure that is indifferent to the vanity of human life.
The history of the novel
“Notre Dame de Paris” is the first historical novel in French (the action, according to the author, takes place about 400 years ago, at the end of the 15th century). Victor Hugo began to hatch his plan back in the 1820s, and published it in March 1831. The prerequisites for the creation of the novel were a rising interest in historical literature and in particular in the Middle Ages.
In the literature of France of that time, romanticism began to take shape, and with it romantic trends in cultural life in general. Thus, Victor Hugo personally defended the need to preserve ancient architectural monuments, which many wanted to either demolish or rebuild.
There is an opinion that it was after the novel “Notre Dame Cathedral” that supporters of the demolition of the cathedral retreated, and an incredible interest in cultural monuments and a wave of civic consciousness arose in society in the desire to protect ancient architecture.
