Character Analysis
Quasimodo
Quasimodo, the main character of the novel, is a most compelling character. With his hunched back, his one-eyed and disfigured face, and his deafness, he becomes a perfect and exaggerated example of ugliness. In appearance, he seems to be almost half-beast and half-human.
As an infant, Quasimodo was abandoned by his own mother, who found his misshapen body horrifying and intolerable. Belonging to a wild band of gypsies, his mother exchanged her deformed infant for the lovely infant daughter of Pacquette. When Pacquette discovers that her own baby has been kidnapped and replaced with the little hunchback, she refuses to have anything to do with him. Being orphaned, Quasimodo is given over to the church at Notre-Dame.
Under the guidance of Frollo, the little hunchback tries to learn to speak and takes on the responsibility of ringing the great bells of the cathedral. Even though their loud noise causes him to go completely deaf, Quasimodo thinks of the bells as his friends. He often shares his feelings with them since he has no one else to talk to. Because of his ugliness, no one other than Frollo will have anything to do with Quasimodo. In fact, he often must endure the insults and accusations of the people of Paris. As a result, he feels sad, isolated, and lonely.
Claude Frollo
In the beginning of the novel, Claude Frollo is portrayed in a favorable way. Serving as one of the priests of Notre-Dame, he is a man of intellect and knowledge who has the capacity to influence others and to become a great figure in the community. He proves that he has a kind heart when he adopts and raises Quasimodo, the deformed and orphaned infant that nobody else wants.
When Claude Frollo was a youth, his own parents died. He took it upon himself to raise his younger brother, Jehan. He poured all of his efforts and energy into caring for him and trying to make a man out of Jehan. Unfortunately, Jehan became a worthless and shiftless loser who constantly badgers his older brother for money.
La Esmeralda
In contrast to Quasimodo, the beast in the novel, La Esmeralda is the beauty. Both of them, however, are characterized by a kind heart. Like Quasimodo, La Esmeralda reaches out to others in time of need. She saves Gringoire from execution by marrying him, even though she does not really know the playwright. When Quasimodo has been flogged on the pillory and begs for water, she is the only one who is willing to help him. Born to a young country girl named Pacquette, La Esmeralda is stolen by a band of Egyptian gypsies when she is an infant. She is then raised by them in the Court of Miracles, the gypsy community in Paris. As a young adult, she becomes a street entertainer, performing tricks with her pet goat. Because of her physical loveliness, she always attracts a crowd. La Esmeralda, not realizing her own beauty, believes the people are charmed by her performance.
Because of her beauty and kindness, a variety of men fall in love with La Esmeralda. Gringoire loves her because she saves him from execution in the Court of Miracles by marrying him. Although she is his wife, La Esmeralda makes it clear that their relationship is only platonic. Claude Frollo falls in love with her for her beauty and lusts after her body. He is determined that if he cannot have her for his own, no one else will have her either. Quasimodo falls in love with her because she is the only person who has ever shown him a kindness. As a result, he becomes her savior
