Notre Dame Cathedral short. Victor Hugo's novel Notre Dame de Paris and its contemporary reflection in the musical Notre-Dame de Paris. The plot, composition, problems of the work

What educated person doesn't know Victor Hugo's novel Notre Dame? After all, this book is present in any list of obligatory literature recommended for schoolchildren to read during.However, even those who did not bother to get acquainted with this gorgeous work, have at least some idea of ​​the novel, thanks to the sensational French musical throughout the world. But time flies forward, our memory filters out what it doesn't need. Therefore, for those who have forgotten what Hugo's novel "Notre Dame Cathedral" is about, we give an amazing opportunity to remember how events unfolded during the time of King Louis XI. Friends, get ready! We are going to medieval France!

Hugo. Summary of the novel

The story told by the author takes place in France in the 15th century. Here the author creates a kind of historical background against which a whole love drama unfolds between two people - a beauty and a freak, shown to us in rather bright colors by Victor Hugo. Notre Dame Cathedral is, first of all, the love story of a hunchback freak for a charming gypsy woman.

I will sell my soul to the Devil ...

The main character of the novel is a beautiful and young gypsy woman named Esmeralda. It so happened that three men at once were inflamed with passion for her: the archdeacon of the Cathedral - his pupil - the humpbacked and deaf bell-ringer Quasimodo, and also the captain of the riflemen of the royal regiment - the handsome young Phoebus de Chateauper. However, each of them has his own idea of ​​passion, love and honor!

Claude Frollo

Despite his mission to serve God, Archdeacon Frollo can hardly be called a devout man. At one time, it was he who picked up a little ugly boy abandoned by negligent parents near the well, sheltered and raised him. But that doesn't justify him in any way. Yes, he serves the Lord, but he does not really serve, but simply because it is necessary! Frollo is endowed with executive power: he commands an entire royal regiment (the captain of which is our other hero - officer Phoebus), and also mends justice over people. But this is not enough for him. Once, noticing a beautiful young girl, the archdeacon succumbed to voluptuousness. He also has a lust for young Esmeralda. Now Frollo cannot sleep at night: he locks himself in his cell and the gypsy.

Having received a refusal from Esmeralda, the false priest begins to take revenge on the young girl. He accuses her of being a witch! Claude says that the Inquisition is crying for her, and by hanging! Frollo orders his pupil, the deaf and crooked bell ringer Quasimod, to catch the gypsy! The hunchback fails to do this, because a young officer Phoebus snatches it out of his hands, accidentally patrolling the territory in that place.

Beautiful as the sun!

Captain Phoebus is one of the noble persons who served at court. He has a bride - a charming blonde girl named Fleur-de-Lys. However, Phoebe does not stop this. Saving Esmeralda from a humpbacked monster, the officer is carried away by her. Now he is ready to do anything to get a love night with a young gypsy, and he doesn't even care about the fact that she is a virgin. She loves him! Poor young girl falls in love with a lustful officer, mistaking a simple "glass" for a "diamond"!

One night of love ...

Phoebus and Esmeralda arrange an evening meeting in a cabaret called "The Shelter of Love". However, their night was not destined to come true. When the officer and the gypsy are alone, the desperate archdeacon who tracked down Phoebus stabs him in the back! This blow turns out to be non-fatal, but for the trial of the gypsy woman and the subsequent punishment (execution by hanging), this attempt on the captain of the shooters is quite enough.

The beauty and the Beast"

For the fact that Quasimodo could not steal the gypsy, Frollo ordered him to be whipped in the square. And so it happened. When the hunchback asked for a drink, the only person who responded to his request was Esmeralda. She went to the chained freak and gave him a drink from a mug. This made a fatal impression on Quasimodo.

The hunchback, who always and in everything listened to his master (Archdeacon Frollo), finally went against his will. And love is to blame for everything ... The love of the "monster" for the beauty ... He saved her from prosecution by hiding her in the Cathedral. According to the laws of medieval France, which were taken into account by Victor Hugo, Notre Dame Cathedral and any other temple of God was a refuge and shelter for every person persecuted by the authorities for one or another offense.

For several days spent within the walls of Notre Dame de Paris, Esmeralda became friends with the hunchback. She fell in love with these terrible stone chimeras that sat over the Cathedral and the entire Greve square. Unfortunately, Quasimodo never received mutual feelings from the gypsy. Of course, one cannot say that she did not pay attention to him. He became her best friend. The girl saw a lonely and kind soul behind the external ugliness.

True and eternal love erased the outward ugliness of Quasimodo. The hunchback was finally able to find the courage to save his beloved from the death threatening her from Claude Frollo - the gallows. He went against his mentor.

Eternal love...

The work of Hugo "Notre Dame de Paris" is a book with a very dramatic denouement. The ending of the novel can leave few people indifferent. The terrible Frollo nevertheless sets in motion his plan of revenge - the young Esmeralda finds herself in a noose. But her death will be avenged! The hunchback's love for the gypsy pushes him to kill his own mentor! Quasimodo confronts him with Notre Dame. The poor hunchback is very fond of the gypsy. He takes her to the Cathedral, hugs her and ... dies. Now they are together forever.

Main characters

Victor Hugo created the following famous vivid characters in his novel:

• Quasimodo- bell ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral, deaf hunchback, deaf from the ringing of bells
• Claude Frollo- priest, archdeacon, rector of the Cathedral
• Phoebus de Chateauper- Captain of the Royal Archers
• Pierre Gringoire- poet, philosopher, playwright, later a vagabond
• Clopin Truilfou- Leader of the Court of Miracles, a beggar
• edit] Plot

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  By order of the Cardinal Charles of Bourbon, in the central hall of the Palace of Justice ("Great Hall"), a play was to be presented with the participation of characters from the Bible, as well as the ancient Roman gods - a mystery. The play was dedicated to the planned at that time marriage of "the son of the lion of France", heir to the French throne, Dauphin Charles and Margaret of Austria. After the mystery, the election of the main comedian of Paris, the buffoon's pope, was to take place.

  The cardinal and the guests of honor of Flanders were late for the mystery, as they had listened too long to the speeches of the university lecturer. Lecturers, housekeepers and trustees are bullied by a lazy schoolboy (student) Jean Frollo, the younger brother of one of the main characters (“And in our little shop of all sorts of rubbish there are 4 pieces: 4 holidays, 4 faculties, 4 lecturers, 4 housekeepers, 4 trustees and 4 librarians!”). The author of the mystery, Pierre Gringoire, promised to come to an agreement with the cardinal and the performance began in the absence of Charles. When Charles, the ambassadors of Flanders (in particular, Guillaume Rome and Jacques Copenol) appeared, Pierre “clenched his fists in impotent rage,” because the people were no longer up to the poet's genius. The last hope to complete the mystery "dissipated like smoke" when the people shouted: " Esmeralda on the square!" ran out of the palace.

  The election of a clownish pope took place - he was the humpbacked bell-ringer of Notre-Dame Cathedral Quasimodo... Pierre fled in despair from the palace. He had nowhere to while away the night, because he hoped to pay off the rent with the money he received for the mystery. He decided to share the joy with the people and went to the fire in the square. There Pierre saw a girl dancing "of such beauty that God himself would prefer her to the Virgin Mary." After the dance, Esmeralda began to demonstrate the unusual abilities of her goat Jalli, for which Esmeralda was criticized by a priest standing in the crowd Claude Frollo, mentor of the hunchback Quasimodo. Thieves, beggars and vagabonds honored their new humpbacked king. Seeing this, Claude rips off Quasimodo's clothes, takes the scepter and takes the hunchback away.

  The gypsy collects money for her dance and goes home. Pierre follows her, hoping that, in addition to her beautiful appearance, she has a kind heart, and she will help him with housing. In front of Pierre's eyes, the gypsy was kidnapped by Quasimodo and someone else with a closed face. Esmeralda is saved by a brilliant officer Phoebus de Chateauper... Esmeralda falls in love with him.

  Following the girl, Gringoire finds himself in the Courtyard of Miracles, where the Parisian beggars live. Clopin accuses Pierre of illegal intrusion into the territory of the Court of Wonders and is going to hang him. The poet asks to be accepted into their community, but does not stand up to the difficult test; you need to pull out the wallet from the stuffed animal with bells, so much so that they do not ring. In the last minutes before the execution, the beggars remembered that, according to the law, Pierre must say if there was a woman who would marry him. If there is one, the sentence is canceled. Esmeralda agreed to become the poet's wife. He recognized her. They were "married" for 4 years. However, the girl does not allow Gringoire to touch her. As it turned out, Esmeralda wore an amulet that was supposed to help her find parents, but there was one weighty "but" - the talisman works only as long as the gypsy remains a virgin.

  After the "wedding", Gringoire accompanies Esmeralda during her performances in the square. During the next dance of the gypsy, Archdeacon Frollo recognizes in her new companion his pupil Gringoire and begins to question the poet in detail about how he got involved with the street dancer. The fact of the marriage of Esmeralda and Gringoire outrages the priest, he takes the floor from the philosopher so that he does not touch the gypsy. Gringoire informs Frollo that Esmeralda is in love with a certain Phoebus and dreams of him day and night. This news provokes an unprecedented attack of jealousy in the archdeacon, he decides by all means to find out who this Phoebus is and to find him.

  Frollo's search is crowned with success. Driven by jealousy, he not only finds Captain Phoebus, but also inflicts a serious wound on him during his meeting with Esmeralda, which further turns the gypsy against himself.

  Esmeralda is accused of the murder of Phoebus (Claude manages to leave the scene of the crime by jumping through a window into the river), is taken into custody and tortured, unable to bear which the girl admits her "guilt." Esmeralda was sentenced to death by hanging on the Place de Grève. On the night before the execution, the archdeacon comes to the girl's dungeon. He invites the captive to run with him, but in anger she pushes the killer of her beloved Phoebus away. Even before the execution, all her thoughts are occupied by Phoebus. Fate gave her the chance to see him one last time. He stood completely cold-blooded on the balcony of his fiancée Fleur-de-Lys. At the last moment, she is saved by Quasimodo and hides in the cathedral.

  Even then Esmeralda never ceases to dream of the captain of the royal riflemen (his wound was not fatal), not believing that he had long forgotten her. All the inhabitants of the Court of Miracles are going to rescue their innocent sister. They storm Notre Dame Cathedral, which jealously defends Quasimodo, believing that the vagabonds have come to execute the gypsy. In this battle, Clopin Truilfe and Jehan Frollo were killed.

  When the siege of the cathedral began, Esmeralda was asleep. Suddenly, two people come to her cell: her "husband" Pierre Gringoire and a certain man in black clothes. Embraced by fear, she still follows the men. They secretly take her out of the cathedral. Too late, Esmeralda realizes that the mysterious silent companion is none other than Archdeacon Claude Frollo. On the other side of the river, Claude asks for the last time what she chooses: to be with him or to be hanged. The girl is adamant. Then the angry priest gives her under the protection of the hermit Gudula.

  The recluse is cruel and unceremonious with the girl: after all, she is a gypsy. But everything is solved in the most unusual way - it turns out that little Agnes, who was abducted by the gypsies from Gudula (Pucketty Chantfleurie) and Esmeralda, are one and the same person. Gudula promises to save her daughter and hides her in her cell. But when the guards come for the girl, Phoebus de Chateaupert is among them. In a fit of love, Esmeralda forgets about caution and calls him. All the efforts of the mother are in vain. The daughter is taken away. She tries to save her to the last, but in the end she dies herself.

  Esmeralda is again brought to the square. Only then does the girl realize the horror of imminent death. Quasimodo and, of course, Claude Frollo watched this tragic scene from the top of the cathedral.

  Realizing that Frollo was guilty of the death of the gypsy, distraught with anger, Quasimodo threw his adoptive father from the top of the cathedral. Claude Frollo crashed to death. Moving his gaze from the square to the foot of the cathedral, from the body of a gypsy woman beating in its dying convulsions to the mutilated body of a priest, Quasimodo desperately shouted: "That's all I loved!" After that, the hunchback disappeared.

  In the final scene of the novel, two bodies were found in the tomb of the Gallows at Montfaucon, one of which was hugging the other. They were Quasimodo and Esmeralda. When an attempt was made to sever them, Quasimodo's skeleton crumbled to dust.

  Meaning

  The novel was written by Hugo with the aim of bringing as the protagonist the Gothic cathedral of Paris, which at that time was going to be demolished or modernized. Following the publication of the novel in France, and then throughout Europe, a movement unfolded for the preservation and restoration of Gothic monuments (see neo-Gothic, Viollet-le-Duc).

  Translation

  In the Russian translation, excerpts from the novel appeared in the year of its publication (in the Moscow Telegraph) and continued to be published in 1832 (in the Teleskop magazine). Due to censorship obstacles, the Russian translation did not appear in full immediately. The first complete translation of Notre Dame Cathedral (probably by Yu. P. Pomerantseva) appeared in the Dostoevsky brothers' magazine Vremya only in 1862, and in 1874 it was republished as a separate book. ...

In the back streets of one of the towers of the great cathedral, someone's long decayed hand inscribed the Greek word for rock. Then the word itself disappeared. But from him was born a book about a gypsy woman, a hunchback and a priest.

On January 6, 1482, on the occasion of the feast of baptism in the Palace of Justice, they give the mystery "The Righteous Judgment of the Blessed Virgin Mary." A huge crowd gathers in the morning. The Ambassadors from Flanders and the Cardinal of Bourbon are to be welcomed to the spectacle. Gradually, the audience begins to grumble, and the schoolchildren rage most of all: among them stands out the sixteen-year-old blond imp, Jehan, the brother of the learned archdeacon Claude Frollo. The nervous author of the mystery, Pierre Gringoire, orders to begin. But the unfortunate poet is unlucky; as soon as the actors uttered the prologue, the cardinal appears, and then the ambassadors. The townspeople from the Flemish city of Ghent are so colorful that Parisians only stare at them. The stocker maitre Kopinol evokes general admiration for his unbeatable, friendly conversations with the disgusting beggar Clopin Truilfou. To Gringoire's horror, the accursed Fleming honors his mystery with the last words and invites him to do a much more fun thing - to elect a jester pope. He will be the one who makes the most terrible grimace. Applicants for this high title stick their faces out of the chapel window. The winner is Quasimodo, the bell ringer Notre Dame Cathedral, who does not even need to grimace, he is so ugly. The monstrous hunchback is dressed in a ridiculous robe and carried on his shoulders to walk, according to custom, through the streets of the city. Gringoire is already hoping for a continuation of the ill-fated play, but then someone shouts that Esmeralda is dancing on the square - and all the remaining spectators are blown away like a wind. Gringoire in anguish wanders to the Place de Grève to look at this Esmeralda, and an inexpressibly charming girl appears in his eyes - either a fairy or an angel, who, however, turns out to be a gypsy. Gringoire, like all the spectators, is completely mesmerized by the dancer, however, the gloomy face of the not old, but already bald man stands out in the crowd: he viciously accuses the girl of witchcraft - after all, her white goat beats a tambourine with its hoof six times in response to the question, what is today number. When Esmeralda begins to sing, a female voice full of frenzied hatred is heard - the recluse of Roland's Tower curses the gypsy offspring. At this moment, a procession enters Greve Square, in the center of which Quasimodo flaunts. A bald man rushes to him, frightening the gypsy, and Gringoire recognizes his hermetic teacher - the father of Claude Frollo. He rips off the tiara from the hunchback, tears his robes to shreds, breaks the staff - the terrible Quasimodo falls to his knees in front of him. The day, rich in spectacles, comes to an end, and Gringoire, without much hope, wanders after the gypsy. Suddenly, a shrill scream comes to him: two men try to clamp Esmeralda's mouth. Pierre calls the guards, and a dazzling officer appears - the head of the royal riflemen. One of the kidnappers is captured - this is Quasimodo. The gypsy does not take her enthusiastic eyes off her savior, Captain Phoebus de Chateaupera.

Fate brings the unfortunate poet to the Yard of Miracles - the kingdom of beggars and thieves. The stranger is seized and taken to the King of Altyn, in which Pierre, to his surprise, recognizes Clopin Truilfe. The manners here are harsh: you need to pull out the wallet from a stuffed animal with bells, so that they do not ring - a loop awaits the loser. Gringoire, who made a real ringing, is dragged to the gallows, and only a woman can save him - if there is one that wants to marry him. No one was in love with the poet, and he would have swayed on the crossbar if Esmeralda had not freed him out of the kindness of her soul. The emboldened Gringoire tries to assert marital rights, but the fragile songstress has a small dagger for this case - in front of the astonished Pierre's eyes, the dragonfly turns into a wasp. The unfortunate poet lies down on a skinny bed, for he has nowhere to go.

The next day, Esmeralda's kidnapper is brought to trial. In 1482 the disgusting hunchback was twenty years old, and his benefactor Claude Frollo was thirty-six. Sixteen years ago, a little freak was put on the porch of the cathedral, and only one person took pity on him. Having lost his parents during a terrible plague, Claude was left with breast Jean in his arms and fell in love with him with passionate, devoted love. Perhaps the thought of his brother made him pick up the orphan, whom he named Quasimodo. Claude fed him, taught him to write and read, put him to the bells, so Quasimodo, who hated all people, was loyal to the archdeacon like a dog. Perhaps he loved only the Cathedral more - his home, his homeland, his universe. That is why he unquestioningly fulfilled the order of his savior - and now he had to answer for this. Deaf Quasimodo gets to a deaf judge, and it ends in tears - he is sentenced to lashes and a pillory. The hunchback does not understand what is happening until they begin to flog him to the hooting of the crowd. The torment does not end there: after the scourging, the good townspeople throw stones and ridicule at him. He hoarsely asks for a drink, but he is answered with bursts of laughter. Esmeralda suddenly appears in the square. Seeing the culprit of his misfortunes, Quasimodo is ready to incinerate her with a glance, and she fearlessly climbs the stairs and brings a flask of water to his lips. Then a tear rolls down the ugly face - the changeable crowd applauds "the majestic spectacle of beauty, youth and innocence, who came to the aid of the embodiment of ugliness and malice." Only the recluse of Roland's Tower, barely noticing Esmeralda, bursts into curses.

A few weeks later, at the beginning of March, Captain Phoebus de Chateaupert is courting his fiancee Fleur-de-Lys and her bridesmaids. For fun for the girl's sake, they decide to invite into the house a pretty gypsy who dances on Cathedral Square. They quickly regret their intention, for Esmeralda outshines them all with grace and beauty. She herself gazes at the captain, puffed up with complacency. When the goat puts together the word "Phoebus" from letters - apparently well known to her, Fleur-de-Lys faints, and Esmeralda is immediately expelled. She attracts the eyes: from one window of the cathedral, Quasimodo looks at her with admiration, from the other - Claude Frollo sullenly contemplates. Next to the gypsy girl, he spotted a man in a yellow and red tights - before she always performed alone. Going downstairs, the archdeacon recognizes his student Pierre Gringoire, who disappeared two months ago. Claude eagerly asks about Esmeralda: the poet says that this girl is a charming and harmless creature, a true child of nature. She is celibate because she wants to find her parents through an amulet, which supposedly helps only virgins. Everyone loves her for her cheerful disposition and kindness. She herself believes that in the whole city she has only two enemies - the recluse of the Roland Tower, who for some reason hates gypsies, and some priest who constantly persecutes her. With the help of a tambourine, Esmeralda teaches her goat tricks, and there is no witchcraft in them - it took only two months to teach her to add the word "Phoebus". The archdeacon becomes extremely agitated - and on the same day he hears his brother Jean calling the captain of the royal riflemen by name in a friendly manner. He follows the young rakes into the tavern. Phoebus drinks a little less than the schoolboy, since he has an appointment with Esmeralda. The girl is so in love that she is ready to sacrifice even an amulet - since she has Phoebus, why does she need a father and mother? The captain begins to kiss the gypsy, and at this moment she sees a dagger raised above him. The face of the hated priest appears in front of Esmeralda: she loses consciousness - waking up, she hears from all sides that the witch had stabbed the captain.

A month passes. Gringoire and the Court of Wonders are in great alarm - Esmeralda has disappeared. Once Pierre sees a crowd at the Palace of Justice - he is told that the devil who killed the soldier is on trial. The gypsy stubbornly denies everything, despite the evidence - a demonic goat and a demon in a priest's cassock, whom many witnesses have seen. But she cannot stand the torture with the Spanish boot - she confesses to witchcraft, prostitution and the murder of Phoebus de Chateaupera. According to the totality of these crimes, she is sentenced to repentance at the portal of Notre Dame Cathedral, and then to be hanged. The goat should be subjected to the same execution. Claude Frollo comes to the casemate, where Esmeralda is looking forward to death. He begs her on his knees to run with him: she turned his life upside down, before meeting her he was happy - innocent and pure, lived only by science and fell, seeing a wondrous beauty not created for human eyes. Esmeralda rejects both the love of the hated priest and the salvation offered by him. In response, he angrily shouts that Phoebus is dead. However, Phoebus survived, and the light-haired Fleur-de-Lys once again settled in his heart. On the day of the execution, the lovers coo gently, looking curiously out the window - the jealous bride will be the first to recognize Esmeralda. The gypsy, seeing the beautiful Phoebus, falls unconscious: at that moment she is picked up by Quasimodo and rushes to the Cathedral with a cry of "refuge". The crowd greets the hunchback with enthusiastic cries - this roar reaches the Place de Grève and the Roland Tower, where the hermit does not take her eyes from the gallows. The victim escaped into the church.

Esmeralda lives in the Cathedral, but cannot get used to the terrible hunchback. Not wanting to annoy her with his ugliness, the deaf man blows her whistle - he is able to hear this sound. And when the archdeacon attacks the gypsy woman, Quasimodo almost kills him in the dark - only the ray of the month saves Claude, who begins to be jealous of Esmeralda's ugly bell ringer. At his instigation, Gringoire raises the Court of Wonders - beggars and thieves storm the Cathedral, wanting to save the gypsy. Quasimodo desperately defends his treasure - young Jean Frollo dies from his hand. Meanwhile, Gringoire 'taycom leads Esmeralda out of the Cathedral and unwittingly hands her over to Claude - he takes her to Greve Square, where he offers his love for the last time. There is no salvation: the king himself, having learned about the riot, ordered to find and hang the sorceress. The gypsy woman recoils from Claude in horror, and then he drags her to the Roland Tower - the recluse, sticking out her hand from behind the bars, grabs the unfortunate girl tightly, and the priest runs after the guards. Esmeralda begs to let her go, but Pucketta Chantfleury only laughs viciously in response - the gypsies have stolen her daughter from her, let their offspring die now. She shows the girl the embroidered shoe of her daughter - in Esmeralda's amulet, it is exactly the same. The recluse almost loses her mind with joy - she has found her child, although she has already lost all hope. Too late, the mother and daughter remember the danger: Pucketta tries to hide Esmeralda in her cell, but in vain - the girl is dragged to the gallows, In the last desperate impulse, the mother digs her teeth into the executioner's hand - she is thrown away, and she falls dead. From the height of the Cathedral, the archdeacon looks at the Greve Square. Quasimodo, already suspecting Claude of kidnapping Esmeralda, sneaks up after him and recognizes the gypsy - a noose is put on her neck. When the executioner jumps on the girl’s shoulders, and the body of the executed woman begins to beat in terrible convulsions, the priest’s face is distorted with laughter - Quasimodo does not hear him, but he sees a satanic grin, in which there is already nothing human. And he pushes Claude into the abyss. Esmeralda on the gallows, and the archdeacon prostrating at the foot of the tower - that was all that the poor hunchback loved.

Not just one of the most famous works of French classical literature. It is, for example, the first historical novel in its country. It is also a source of inspiration for the creators of 14 films, 1 cartoon, 2 operas, ballet and musical. are familiar with the plot of the novel, but even those who read it once excitedly do not pay attention or do not remember some interesting details.

There is definitely something in the novel, although it seems to many that there is

Esmeralda is a gypsy for many readers, although the book clearly states that she is a French woman who was stolen as a child. It seems to a modern person that this does not matter, because in this case the girl was brought up as a gypsy. But at the beginning of the nineteenth century in Europe they believed in innate qualities, including those inherent in different races and peoples. So for Hugo there was a direct connection between Esmeralda's noble behavior and the fact that she is French by birth.

Notre Dame Cathedral is often called a love story. But in fact, if you read carefully, few characters are capable of love. Actually, Esmeralda and Quasimodo. All the other men who surround Esmeralda think only of their carnal desires. Even the poet saved by her from the gallows, instead of just humanly experiencing gratitude to the girl, immediately tries to "enter into marital rights." Fortunately, he is not a rapist.

What Frollo is obsessed with has little to do with love, although it is customary for us to sing of such a dark passion. With Phoebus, everything is clear too. He hardly ever loved in his life. For Fleur-de-Lys, he does not feel a drop of tenderness and at some point, out of boredom, thinks of raping her, but she, guessing his thoughts, runs out of the room onto the balcony, where both of them will be visible.

In fact, Esmeralda is tortured and killed because of someone else's lust, just broken, like a strange toy that for some reason did not want to participate in the game.

Not everyone remembers where Frollo got Quasimodo from. Initially, the hunchback boy was planted on Esmeralda's mother to replace the stolen girl. Then the woman herself threw him to the cathedral. Judging by the fact that Quasimodo is a redhead, the gypsies and he was once stolen or picked up, according to the author's idea, in the villages of Europe they often carried children born with disabilities out of the village to die. If we turn to another novel by Hugo, “The Man Who Laughs,” one might suspect that they wanted to teach the boy some simple tricks or dance, so that he would amuse the audience with his performances. In the Middle Ages (and even in the time of Hugo), this was perhaps the best life for a disabled child, considering how many were simply left to die.

There is not a single hint of why, in the end, the gypsies threw the baby into someone else's children's bed. This will forever remain a mystery.

Frollo brings up Quasimodo not just out of philanthropy, but in order to win God's forgiveness to an unlucky younger brother, a student and an ugly person with his kindness to a disabled person.

The custom that gypsies marry for as many years as the jug will fly in pieces at their wedding, in fact, hardly ever existed. Even in Byzantium, Gypsies were already Christians and got married (or married in front of the community) for life.

Gypsies in the plot of the novel

As you know, Hugo wrote his novel to draw the attention of the French to the historical value of Notre Dame Cathedral. It is almost impossible to imagine it now, but they were going to demolish it or, in extreme cases, modernize it. Hugo, a big fan of the architecture and history of Paris, decided to make readers fall in love with the cathedral as he loves it himself. And sat down at the book.

Why did he choose the end of the fifteenth century as the time of events? Why didn't you describe, for example, the history of the creation of the cathedral?

The fact is that in the nineteenth century, Europeans began to change their attitude towards small peoples from utilitarian to humanistic. Unfortunately, this did not concern the politics of governments, but now the indigenous inhabitants of the colonies, for example, were recognized for their own culture and the right to be proud of their history. The turn also influenced the attitude of Europeans towards the Roma. If in the same France the anti-Romani laws, adopted in the Middle Ages and later, were executed so zealously that all the local gypsies were destroyed, now the gypsies arriving from Spain, Italy, Hungary, Bohemia aroused curiosity. On the farms, Roma began to be hired for seasonal work, Catholic pastors remembered that even the Inquisition considered Roma to be good Christians, and some young ladies and ladies tried to talk about morality with Roma women.

If you look back at history, then all the most famous literary works about Gypsies were created precisely in the nineteenth century: Notre Dame Cathedral, Pushkin's Gypsies, and Carmen Merimee. They began to be actively drawn, used as an image in songs and poetry. Gypsies seemed to Europeans people, somehow especially close to nature and full of its original strength.

So getting the gypsies into the story was almost a win-win way to get the audience interested. And Hugo, from the entire history of the Middle Ages, chose the moment when the gypsies first appeared in Europe, fleeing the Ottomans, which were capturing Byzantium. The procession of the camp with the duke at the head was written off by him from the chronicles. I must say, it is still unclear who were the people who called themselves Gypsy dukes. They knew many languages ​​and possessed court-level manners. They could well have been representatives of the Byzantine nobility, but how did they manage to lead the gypsies? Mystery.

In some ways, Hugo was wrong. The Gypsies at that time did not have close contacts with the French criminal world and did not stay in the Courtyard of Miracles, but outside the city gates, in the field. So it was more convenient to set up a camp, and the gypsies had no reason to hide especially until the adoption of widespread laws against vagabonds and nomads. On the contrary, it was in their interests to attract the curiosity of the public: after all, they earned money through performances. Including, like the heroine of Hugo, with trained animals.

The Notre Dame Collecting novel is one of the most famous works of the French classic Victor Hugo. Published in 1831, it does not lose its relevance to this day. Its central characters - the hunchback Quasimodo, the gypsy Esmeralda, the priest Claude Frollo, the captain Phoebus de Chateauper - have become real myths and continue to be replicated by modern culture.

Victor Hugo conceived the idea of ​​writing a historical novel about the Middle Ages around 1823, when Walter Scott's book "Quentin Dorward" was published. Unlike Scott, who was a master of historical realism, Hugo planned to create something more poetic, ideal, truthful, majestic, something that would "put Walter Scott in the frame of Homer."

To concentrate the action around the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is the idea of ​​Hugo himself. In the 20s of the XIX century, he showed a particular interest in architectural monuments, repeatedly visited the Cathedral, studied its history and layout. There he also met the abbot Abbot Egge, who partly became the prototype of Claude Frollo.

The history of the creation of the novel
Due to Hugo's busyness in the theater, the writing of the novel progressed rather slowly. However, when, on pain of a substantial penalty, the publisher told Hugo to finish the novel by February 1, 1831, the prose writer sat down to work. The writer's wife, Adele Hugo, recalls that he bought himself a bottle of ink, a huge toe-length sweatshirt, in which he literally drowned, locked his dress so as not to succumb to the temptation to go out, and entered his novel like in prison.

Having completed the work on time, Hugo, as always, did not want to part with his beloved heroes. He was determined to write sequels - the novels "Kikangron" (the popular name for the tower of an ancient French castle) and "Son of a Hunchback." However, due to work on theatrical productions, Hugo was forced to postpone his plans. The world never saw "Kikangroni" and "Son of the Hunchback", but he still has the brightest pearl - the novel "Notre Dame Cathedral".

The author thought hard about the deep meaning of this message from the past: "Whose suffering soul did not want to leave this world without leaving the ancient church with this stigmata of crime or misfortune"?

Over time, the cathedral wall was restored, and the word disappeared from her face. So everything is consigned to oblivion through time. But there is something eternal - this word. And it gave birth to the book.

The story, which took place at the walls of Notre Dame Cathedral, began on January 6, 1482. A lavish Epiphany celebration takes place in the Palace of Justice. They stage the mystery "The Righteous Judgment of the Blessed Virgin Mary", composed by the poet Pierre Gringoire. The author is worried about the fate of his literary brainchild, but today the Parisian public is clearly not in the mood for reuniting with beauty.

The crowd is endlessly distracted: now it is occupied by the mischievous jokes of raging schoolchildren, now exotic ambassadors who have arrived in the city, now the election of a funny king, or a foolish pope. According to tradition, they are the one who makes the most incredible grimace. The undisputed leader in this competition is Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre Dame. His face is forever bound by an ugly mask, so that no local jester can compete with him.

Many years ago, with an ugly bundle, Quasimodo was thrown to the threshold of the Cathedral. He was raised and raised by the church rector Claude Frollo. In his early youth, Quasimodo was assigned to the bell ringers. The sound of the bells burst the boy's eardrums and he became deaf.

For the first time, the author paints the face of Quasimoda through the opening of a stone rosette, where it was necessary to stick a face to each participant in a comic competition. Quasimodo had a disgusting four-sided nose, a horseshoe-shaped mouth, a tiny left eye was covered with a red eyebrow, and an ugly wart hung over his right, his teeth were crooked and resembled the battlements of a fortress wall that hung over a cracked lip and a forked chin. In addition, Quasimodo was lame and hunchback, his body bent in an incredible arc. “Look at him - a hunchback. If he goes, you see that he’s lame. Looks at you - a curve. If you talk to him, you’re deaf, ”the local cheerleader Kopenol jokes.

This turns out to be the clownish pope of 1482. Quasimodo is dressed up in a tiara, a robe, presented with a staff and raised on an impromptu throne in his arms to carry out a solemn procession through the streets of Paris.

Beauty Esmeralda

When the elections of the foolish pope come to an end, the poet Gringoire sincerely hopes for the rehabilitation of his mystery, but that was not the case - Esmeralda begins her dance on Greve Square!

The girl was short, but she seemed tall - so slender was her slender stature. Her dark skin gleamed gold in the sunlight. The tiny foot of a street dancer walked lightly in her elegant shoe. The girl fluttered in a dance on a Persian rug casually thrown at her feet. And whenever her radiant face appeared in front of a mesmerized viewer, the gaze of her large black eyes dazzled like lightning.

However, the dance of Esmeralda and her learned goat Jali is interrupted by the emerging priest Claude Frollo. He rips off his pupil Quasimodo "royal" robes and accuses Esmeralda of charlatanism. This is how the celebration on Greve Square ends. The people gradually disperse, and the poet Pierre Gringoire goes home ... Oh, yes - he has no home and no money! So the would-be scribbler has no choice but to just go wherever they look.

Searching for a night's lodging in the streets of Paris, Gringoire arrives at the Courtyard of Miracles - a place where beggars, vagabonds, street performers, drunkards, thieves, bandits, thugs and other wicked people gather. The locals refuse to welcome the midnight visitor with open arms. He is offered to pass a test - to steal a wallet from a stuffed animal, hung with bells, and to do it so that none of the bells makes a sound.

The writer Gringoire with a crash fails the test and condemns himself to death. There is only one way to avoid execution - to immediately marry one of the residents of the Court. However, everyone refuses to marry the poet. Everyone except Esmeralda. The girl agrees to become Gringoire's fictitious wife, provided that this marriage does not last more than four years and does not impose marital duties on her. When the newly-made hubby still makes desperate attempts to seduce his pretty wife, she courageously pulls out a sharp dagger from her belt - the girl is ready to defend her honor with blood!

Esmeralda protects her innocence for several reasons. Firstly, she firmly believes that an amulet in the form of a tiny bootie, which will point her to her true parents, helps only virgins. And secondly, the gypsy is recklessly in love with Captain Phoebus de Chateaupera. Only to him she is ready to give her heart and honor.

Esmeralda met Phoebus on the eve of her impromptu marriage. Returning from the performance to the Courtyard of Miracles, the girl was captured by two men and rescued in time by the handsome police captain Phoebus de Chateauper. Looking at the savior, she fell in love desperately and forever.

Only one criminal was caught - he turned out to be the Notre Dame hunchback Quasimodo. The kidnapper was sentenced to public beating at the pillory. When the hunchback was thirsty, no one gave him a helping hand. The crowd rolled with laughter, because what could be more amusing than beating a freak! His secret accomplice, the priest Claude Frollo, was also silent. It was he, bewitched by Esmeralda, who ordered Quasimodo to steal the girl, it was his unshakable authority that made the unfortunate hunchback keep silent and endure all the torture and humiliation alone.

Quasimodo saved Esmeralda from thirst. The victim brought a jug of water to her captor, the beauty helped the monster. Quasimodo's embittered heart melted, a tear slid down his cheek, and he fell in love with this beautiful creature forever.

A month has passed since the events and fatal meetings. Esmeralda is still passionately in love with Captain Phoebus de Châteaupera. But he has long cooled down to the beauty and resumed relations with his blonde bride Fleur-de-Lys. However, the windy handsome man still does not refuse a night date with a beautiful gypsy. During a meeting, a couple is attacked. Before she faints, Esmeralda only has time to make out the dagger raised above Phoebus's chest.

The girl regained consciousness already in the prison dungeon. She is accused of attempted murder of a police captain, prostitution and witchcraft. Under torture, Esmeralda confesses to all the alleged atrocities. The court sentenced her to death by hanging. At the last moment, when the doomed has already ascended the scaffold, she is literally snatched from the hands of the executioner by the hunchback Quasimodo. With Esmeralda in his arms, he rushes to the gates of Notre Dame, shouting "refuge"!

The girl, alas, cannot live in captivity: she is frightened by a terrible savior, tormented by thoughts of her beloved, but most importantly, her main enemy, the rector of the Cathedral, Claude Frollo, is nearby. He is passionately in love with Esmeralda and is ready to exchange faith in God and his own soul for her love. Frollo invites Esmeralda to become his wife and run with him. Having received a refusal, he, despite the right to a "sacred refuge", steals Esmeralda and sends her to a lonely tower (Rat Hole) under the protection of the local hermit of Gudula.

The half-crazy Gudula hates gypsies and all their offspring. A little less than sixteen years ago, the gypsies stole her only child from her - a beautiful daughter, Agnessa. Gudula, then her name was Pucketta, lost her mind from grief and became the eternal recluse of the Rat Nora. In memory of her beloved daughter, she only has a tiny newborn bootie. What was Gudula's surprise when Esmeralda took out a second one of the same booties. Mother has finally found her stolen child! But now the executioners, led by Claude Frollo, approach the walls of the tower to take Esmeralda and take her to death. Gudula protects her child until her last breath, dying in an unequal duel.

You've probably heard about the novel by Victor Hugo "", based on which more than ten film adaptations have been filmed, and the plot of which delays from the very first page.

A talented work touches on the problem of human cruelty and heartlessness, which can destroy human lives and other people's happiness.

This time Esmeralda will be executed. Quasimodo fails to save his beloved. But he takes revenge on her killer - the hunchback throws Claude Frollo from the tower. Quasimoda himself lies down in the tomb next to Esmeralda. They say he died of grief near the body of his beloved. After many decades, two skeletons were found in the tomb. One, hunched over, hugged the other. When they were separated, the hunchback's skeleton crumbled to dust.