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
Outside the rat-hole, a crowd has gathered to watch the punishment at the pillory. The prisoner, Quasimodo, is strapped to the pillory, ready to be beaten. The crowd is excited to see him: they recognize him as their “fool’s pope” from the day before. They do not observe the irony that, the day before, they cheered for him and carried him through the streets, while today they cheer to see him publicly flogged.
The crowd are very fickle. This suggests that, although the people of Paris are very powerful and could easily overthrow injustice if they united behind this cause, they lack the knowledge to do so and behave cruelly instead, because they live in a cruel society and learn by example.
Themes
Quasimodo has been tightly bound with ropes and shackles—a practice still used on prisoners in modern France. He does not protest and seems confused and resentful about this treatment. The king’s torturer, Pierrat Torterue, climbs onto the pillory, removes Quasimodo’s shirt, and begins to flog him. The crowd laughs and jeers. Quasimodo seems shocked by the punishment—though he utters no sound—and he struggles against the straps that hold him. When he cannot break them, he hangs his head and remains silent as the torturer does his work.
Hugo suggests that both medieval French society and modern French society are extremely brutal and careless in their treatment of prisoners. In 1830, when Hugo was writing, public punishment was still common and a popular entertainment in France. This implies that society has, in some ways, not learned from its past mistakes and that 19th-century Parisians still have work to do to build a just society.
Themes
Finally, the beating is finished. The torturer climbs down from the platform and Quasimodo is left strapped to the pillory, where he must remain for another hour. No one in the crowd feels sorry for Quasimodo. They are all glad to see him punished and feel that he deserves it. They are as pitiless as young children and will remain so until society teaches them to sympathize with others.
Hugo suggests that the people in the medieval crowd lack the ability to empathize with Quasimodo not because they are innately cruel, but because they do not yet have the tools to understand other people’s perspectives. Hugo implies that knowledge destroys ignorance, which often causes people to be cruel, and teaches people to communicate with others so that they can become kinder and more understanding. This became increasingly possible after the medieval period because the invention of the printing press meant that literacy increased, knowledge spread faster, and ignorance declined.
Themes
The crowd begins to approach Quasimodo one by one. They insult him and jeer in his face. Although he cannot hear them, Quasimodo can tell by their faces that they hate him. He tries to break his bonds once more but, when he cannot, he quietly lowers his head and his face grows dark with bitterness and hatred.
Quasimodo is ostracized from society and cannot understand why people hate him. His alienation is both literal—he is deaf—and metaphorical—he has grown up in isolation and does not understand that people hate him because he is different. Quasimodo learns to hate them in return, which again suggests that cruel treatment breeds further cruelty.
Themes
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A few moments later, Frollo rides into the square on a mule and approaches the pillory. Quasimodo looks hopeful and his face is full of love as he watches Frollo approach. However, when Frollo sees that it is Quasimodo, he looks ashamed and hurriedly rides away. Quasimodo sadly lowers his head once more.
Frollo is a hypocrite; he only cares about his reputation and how he appears to the public. He does not help Quasimodo because he does not want people to discover that Frollo ordered Quasimodo to kidnap Esmeralda—which is why he is being punished. This suggests that Frollo cares more about his own reputation than Quasimodo’s wellbeing or justice, even though Quasimodo is completely devoted to Frollo.
Themes
After Quasimodo has been tied to the pillory for half an hour, he suddenly begins to struggle once more and cries out for a drink. Even if someone in the crowd did pity him, they would not offer him water for fear of the mob, who seem to grow more excited by Quasimodo’s pitiful cries. Suddenly, the crowd parts and Esmeralda and Djali walk towards Quasimodo.
Nobody wants to go against the crowd because this may put them in danger if the crowd turns on them. This scene again emphasizes that the people of Paris are very powerful, even though they haven’t yet learned to harness that power to end their own oppression.
Themes
Quasimodo recognizes Esmeralda because he tried to abduct her the previous evening. He has a vague sense that this is the crime he is being punished for and he thinks that Esmeralda has come to insult him. Instead, she kneels beside him and offers him a drink. Quasimodo is shocked and a single tear rolls down his cheek. Esmeralda presses the water on him, and he drinks for a long time. When he is finished, he tries to kiss her hand to show his gratitude, but Esmeralda instinctively withdraws.
Esmeralda is genuinely brave and virtuous, and her internal character matches up with her outward beauty. Unlike the others in the crowd, Esmeralda does not shun Quasimodo because of his appearance and she is kind to him even though he is ugly. She is frightened of him because he tried to abduct her, but she doesn’t let this stop her, suggesting that kindness has to start with someone setting aside fear and embracing compassion instead.
Themes
The fickle crowd is moved by the strangeness of this spectacle—the beautiful girl giving water to the hunchback—and they begin to cheer for Esmeralda. Another voice interrupts their cries, however, as Paquette la Chantefleurie screams a curse at Esmeralda.
Esmeralda and Quasimodo reflect the two aspects of Gothic architecture, its beauty and its grotesque aspects, which Hugo feels reflect medieval culture more generally. The people’s appreciation of this odd contrast highlights how Gothic architecture has the power to tap into the true complexity of human emotion.
Themes
