The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

 When I was about eleven years old, I absolutely fell in love with Disney's animated version of The Hunchback of  Notre Dame. I had the VHS tape, the coloring book, the soundtrack, and a barbie doll version of Esmeralda (with both her normal outfit AND her dancing outfit, thank you very much). I don't know what about that movie fascinated me so much, but I couldn't get enough. I was even Esmeralda for Halloween that year.  So obviously, I have a history with the Hunchback.  

I knew that the original novel was going to be pretty different from the Disney version, and part of my interest in reading this was to see just how different from each other they were. As I started in on the 500 page tome, it didn't take me very long at all to discover the answer to that question...

Very.  This book is very different from the Disney movie.

 The Hunchback of Notre Dame combines a lot of different characters and story threads into a single narrative set against the backdrop of the Notre Dame cathedral in medieval Paris. Most of the story revolves around the orphaned gypsy teenager, La Esmeralda, and the men who are interested in her. 

The first man, Phoebus de Chateaupers, is a handsome and decorated military hero. He rescues Esmeralda one night from an attempted kidnapping and she instantly falls in love with him. Phoebus is engaged to be married to a wealthy, high society girl, but his heart isn't in the match. He'd much rather spend his time with wine and women. He takes advantage of Esmeralda's naivety and adoration of him and tries to spend a night with her, plying her with words of love and empty promises. His attempt is eventually interrupted, but Esmeralda remains devoted to him.

The second man, Claude Frollo, is a deeply conflicted priest. He becomes obsessed with Esmeralda after seeing her dancing in the streets one day. He tries to quash his feelings for her, since as a holy man he can never enter into a relationship with a woman, but is ultimately unable to do so. Soon, he gives into his desires and attempts to force himself on Esmeralda, but she steadfastly refuses. He is old, scary, and, most importantly, not Phoebus. Frollo eventually decides that the only way to free himself from his obsession is to arrange for Esmeralda's death, which he immediately begins to make preparations for.

The third man, Quasimodo, is the eponymous hunchback. Adopted by Claude Frollo when he was an infant, he is hideously deformed and completely deafened from his job of ringing the massive bells in Notre Dame.  He stays inside the cathedral most days, far away from the judgement and cruelty of the outside world. His isolation and unusual upbringing have made him mean, impish, generally unpleasant. However, when Quasimodo sees Esmeralda in the streets one day, he falls hopelessly in love. When Frollo's schemes place Esmeralda in danger of being executed for a crime she didn't commit, Quasimodo becomes her fierce protector, carrying her off to claim sanctuary in Notre Dame and watching over her. He scares and repulses her, but her fear doesn't weaken his devotion.  

The actions of these three men, plus those of several other minor characters, combine to draw Esmeralda inexorably towards her fate. What ultimately emerges is a story full of injustice, cruelty, pain and the messiness of human emotions and desires.

I had mixed feelings about this one. I did enjoy reading it, and I thought Hugo's writing was masterful and clever. Some parts of the novel were hilarious, others were suspenseful, and others were shockingly risque for a classic novel. The plot was engaging and the characters were extremely well-drawn and memorable. Even Esmeralda's little pet goat, Djali, had an endearing personality.

What I struggled with was the sexism. The actions of the three main male characters pull Esmeralda around the novel like a puppet. She is a character completely without agency; her every move is determined by the actions of the men surrounding her, and she meets with an awful, unjust end because of their attentions. It's not really fair to judge an older work by modern standards, but her situation was pretty horrifying. I found myself wishing that Hugo could have written Esmeralda a little bit braver. A gypsy who spends her days hustling in the streets to support herself should have been able to kick a little butt, wouldn't you think? It's too bad she stayed so bland throughout the story.

Another element of the novel that I struggled with were the numerous sections that broke away from the plot and explained different aspects of France. Hugo includes several chapters about French history, architecture and geography. He elaborates quite extensively, with these sections ranging from 20-30 pages apiece. He is obviously very proud of his French heritage, and his knowledge of his country is impressive, but for a modern American trying to read his work, these parts are almost incomprehensible. The names of people and places are difficult to pronounce and remember, so the information presented didn't stick in my head. Plus, these chapters definitely ruined the momentum of the story.

In the end, I think I may have missed the point of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I enjoyed the story and I'm glad I got to see the iconic literary moments it contained for myself, but I don't know what I was supposed to take away from the experience. This is an unhappy story with an ending that rivals a Shakespearean tragedy. Both the good and bad characters are punished. I'm not sure what message I was supposed to receive from this.

Disney's version was easy - Quasimodo was kindhearted, Phoebus was heroic, Esmeralda was brash and sassy and Frollo was evil. You knew who to trust there. Hugo's work is much more complicated, and not in a way that's particularly fun to unravel. At the same time, this was a very unique reading experience with a lot of great moments. Ultimately, The Hunchback of Notre Dame was okay for me - not a favorite, but one that I'm happy to have read.