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
Jacques Charmolue escorts Esmeralda to the torture chamber, where Pierrat Torterue waits. When she sees the instruments of torture and the leather bed on which prisoners are interrogated, Esmeralda flies into a panic. Charmolue and Torterue strap her onto the bed and attach an iron “boot” to her foot. As they tighten the boot, the men ask Esmeralda to confess. Overcome by the pain in her foot—pain like she has never before experienced—Esmeralda desperately confesses.
Esmeralda is innocent but has no way to defend herself against the corrupt justice system, which persecutes her based on false evidence (and because Frollo wants to have her imprisoned to prevent her from sexually tempting him) rather than because they genuinely suspect her of witchcraft. Esmeralda’s love of life and freedom is symbolized throughout the novel by her love of dancing, so the “boot” (which crushes her foot) symbolizes the ultimate destruction of these things.
Themes
Jacques Charmolue adds many terrible charges of demonology and witchcraft to Esmeralda’s confession. Esmeralda admits blindly to every one of them. Charmolue then tells her that she will be executed, but Esmeralda seems resigned to her fate. She has clearly gone mad. The men untie Esmeralda and lead her back to the court to be convicted.
The medieval justice system is extremely corrupt and does not sentence people based on rational evidence. The trial is rigged against Esmeralda because Frollo wants to see her condemned and, as a powerful man in a misogynistic society, has been able to organize this. Furthermore, Hugo suggests that people will confess to most things under torture, not because they are guilty but to spare themselves pain. Therefore, a confession given under torture should not be used in a trial because it is not reliable evidence.
Themes
