Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Gothic Architecture, History, and Art
Lust, Sin, and Misogyny
Appearances, Alienation, and Hypocrisy
Fate and Predestination
The Supernatural, Rationalism, and Knowledge
Justice, Punishment, and Freedom
Summary
Analysis
Quasimodo and Frollo are both widely feared and disliked in Paris: Quasimodo because of his strength and Frollo because of his severity and his powerful position in the Church. When the pair of them walk through the town, people often mock and jeer them—though no one dares to get too close. Old women often say that Quasimodo looks as ugly as Frollo’s soul is, but the archdeacon and the bell-ringer are too lost in thought to notice what the people say.
The Church was an extremely powerful institution in medieval society and it decided many of the laws. Frollo is feared, therefore, because he symbolizes the power of the Church, which expects extremely high standards of behavior from the populace and will punish those who do not live up to them. This suggests that the Church (and Frollo) are hypocritical because they expect moral purity from people but brutally punish those who do not conform to these morals—which is itself an immoral way to behave. Frollo and Quasimodo are opposites. Frollo is a priest and thus appears holy, while Quasimodo’s deformed appearance makes him look demonic to the superstitious medieval populace. The idea that Frollo may look holy but be demonic inside suggests that people are not always what they appear—and indeed, the reader already knows that Quasimodo is not as fearsome as he looks.
Themes
