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
The next morning, Esmeralda wakes to find the sun shining into her cell. She is frightened, however, when Quasimodo’s face appears at the window. He tells her not to be afraid and says that he only wanted to watch her sleep. Quasimodo seems sad and Esmeralda invites him into her room. At first, he thinks she is shooing him away, but she calls him back and he explains that he is deaf.
Quasimodo expects Esmeralda to reject him and to fear his ugliness because this is how most people treat him. This suggests that people are products of their environment and that they learn to behave according to how they are treated.
Themes
Esmeralda is horrified by Quasimodo’s appearance, but she tries to see through this to his gentleness underneath. Quasimodo knows she pities him, however, and he laments that her beauty reminds him of his own deformity. Quasimodo is at her service, though. He tells her that, if she says the word, he will die for her. He gives her a whistle, which makes the only pitch he can hear, and he tells her to use it if she needs him. Esmeralda is touched, but before she can respond, Quasimodo hurries away.
Unlike the rest of medieval society, Esmeralda is genuinely compassionate and tries to see through Quasimodo’s appearance and judge him on his personality. Quasimodo and Esmeralda are extreme opposites of each other—he is extremely ugly, and she is extremely beautiful—and Hugo suggests that these aspects come together in Gothic architecture (inside Notre Dame) just as they do in day-to-day life. Although Esmeralda’s beauty makes Quasimodo sad, he does not blame her for this and instead takes responsibility for his own emotions.
Themes
