Notre-Dame de Paris

Author: Victor Hugo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: The novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is one of the sensational romance novels by the French literary giant Victor Hugo. Set against the backdrop of 15th-century France under the rule of Louis XI, the story depicts the tragic persecution of an innocent Bohemian girl, exposing the hypocrisy of clergymen, the barbarity of the Inquisition, the debauchery of nobles, and the tyranny of the king. The work vividly reflects anti-feudal and anti-clerical sentiments, as well as praise for the common people. Esmeralda is a pure and passionate Gypsy girl who earns a living by performing in Paris. Due to her refusal to succumb to the lust of the Archdeacon of Notre-Dame Cathedral, Frollo, she is framed and killed. The grotesque bell ringer of Notre-Dame, Quasimodo, becomes after losing the idol he had in his heart, Esmeralda. In a fit of rage, he pushes Frollo to his death from the rooftop and commits suicide beside Esmeralda's body in the cemetery. The protagonist of this book is the ugly, one-eyed bell ringer—Quasimodo, who deeply loves the Gypsy girl, Esmeralda, capable of singing and dancing. He even kills his foster father, who was to have shown him kindness, and willingly lies beside Esmeralda's corpse, dying by her side out of love. In this novel, the beautiful and kind-hearted Gypsy girl Esmeralda, while dancing in the square in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral, attracts the attention of the Archdeacon Claude Frollo, stirring up his monstrous and deformed lust. He abducts Esmeralda along with his foster son, the ugly bell ringer, Quasimodo. However, they are unexpectedly rescued by the royal guard, Phoebus, on the way. Esmeralda is then captivated by his handsome appearance and falls deeply in love with him.