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Jun. 22nd, 2013 10:45 amSo most people who have not read The Hunchback of Notre-Dame think that Quasimodo is the main character, or maybe Esmeralda, or possibly Creepy Frollo, Stalker Priest.
This is not true, because the book has no main character, and what's fascinating is that the book is a completely different story if read through any of their perspectives. The main cast is as follows:
ESMERALDA: A beautiful singing dancing symbol of exotic beauty
DJALI: Her adorable pet goat
CLAUDE FROLLO: A stalker priest, with a crush on Esmeralda
QUASIMODO: An unfortunately disabled and deaf bell-ringer, with a crush on Esmeralda
GRINGOIRE: A failure poet and Esmeralda's fake husband, with a crush on Esmeralda's goat
PHOEBUS: A douchebag soldier, on whom Esmeralda has a crush
JEHAN FROLLO: A douchebag student, who is Frollo's baby brother
THE SACK WOMAN: A nun buried in the floor who spends all her time either screaming or staring at a tiny adorable baby shoe
NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS: A cathedral, with a crush on Quasimodo
My personal favorite version of Hunchback is the story you get if you read it through Gringoire's perspective, because it is the least depressing of the lot. A tale, indeed, of true love triumphant in a WORLD GONE MAD!
( Fake Husband of the Love Interest of the Hunchback of Notre Dame )
Much to my delight, the introduction of the edition I was reading firmly agrees with me about the importance of Gringoire/Djali in the story. "It's the only happy marriage of two living things in the entire book," says Elizabeth McCracken. "Do not scorn the love of a goat: it is a powerful, touching thing, at least in Hugo's hands." INDEED. Elizabeth McCracken also believes that "the central couple of the novel is not Quasimodo/Esmeralda, but Quasimodo/the Cathedral of Notre-Dame," which I hope she has entered properly as a tag on AO3.
Okay, all that aside, I do have some other thoughts on my reread of the book, unrelated to pure and true goat love but possibly related to Les Miserables.
( Some other thoughts about Hunchback, unrelated to failure poets but possibly related to Les Miserables )
This is not true, because the book has no main character, and what's fascinating is that the book is a completely different story if read through any of their perspectives. The main cast is as follows:
ESMERALDA: A beautiful singing dancing symbol of exotic beauty
DJALI: Her adorable pet goat
CLAUDE FROLLO: A stalker priest, with a crush on Esmeralda
QUASIMODO: An unfortunately disabled and deaf bell-ringer, with a crush on Esmeralda
GRINGOIRE: A failure poet and Esmeralda's fake husband, with a crush on Esmeralda's goat
PHOEBUS: A douchebag soldier, on whom Esmeralda has a crush
JEHAN FROLLO: A douchebag student, who is Frollo's baby brother
THE SACK WOMAN: A nun buried in the floor who spends all her time either screaming or staring at a tiny adorable baby shoe
NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS: A cathedral, with a crush on Quasimodo
My personal favorite version of Hunchback is the story you get if you read it through Gringoire's perspective, because it is the least depressing of the lot. A tale, indeed, of true love triumphant in a WORLD GONE MAD!
( Fake Husband of the Love Interest of the Hunchback of Notre Dame )
Much to my delight, the introduction of the edition I was reading firmly agrees with me about the importance of Gringoire/Djali in the story. "It's the only happy marriage of two living things in the entire book," says Elizabeth McCracken. "Do not scorn the love of a goat: it is a powerful, touching thing, at least in Hugo's hands." INDEED. Elizabeth McCracken also believes that "the central couple of the novel is not Quasimodo/Esmeralda, but Quasimodo/the Cathedral of Notre-Dame," which I hope she has entered properly as a tag on AO3.
Okay, all that aside, I do have some other thoughts on my reread of the book, unrelated to pure and true goat love but possibly related to Les Miserables.
( Some other thoughts about Hunchback, unrelated to failure poets but possibly related to Les Miserables )
