Clopin Trouillefou Character Analysis

Clopin Trouillefou is a notorious thief and begger in Paris and is known among the “truants” as the “King of Thunes.” Clopin begs for alms in the city and wears a fake wound to try and illicit public sympathy. Despite this, when he returns to the “Court of Miracles” at night, where he lives as leader of the “truants,” Clopin is a virile and fearsome leader. Clopin considers himself a brother to Esmeralda, who lives among the “truants,” and he is the person who doles out justice in the “Court of Miracles.” The thieves who live in the “Court” do not abide by the laws of Paris but live according to their own rules. They hang innocent trespassers as revenge for the many thieves who are hung by the real courts. Clopin nearly hangs Gringoire in this manner, when Gringoire wanders into the “Court” by accident. Clopin explains to Gringoire that the “truants” live by these brutal laws because the official law of the land is also a vicious and brutal one. Although he is a criminal, Clopin is a noble man who keeps his word; he tries to save Esmeralda when she is trapped in Notre Dame, but he is executed for witchcraft.