"Notre Dame de Paris" by Victor Hugo
The book we are going to talk about today is "Notre Dame de Paris", the masterpiece of French writer Victor Hugo.
In April 2019, Notre Dame Cathedral caught fire in an accident, and the destruction of this building, which has long been regarded as a cultural landmark in France and even Europe, has left people around the world lamenting. Soon after, the reconstruction of Notre-Dame Cathedral began, and the news that the burned spire would be rebuilt as it was, gave some comfort to the public.
The development of human society is almost always characterized by the rise of the new and the decline of the old, and the modern often triumphs over the traditional. However, in the realm of culture and civilization, this linear view of progress does not always apply.
In fact, many ancient buildings, as carriers of culture, need to maintain their original appearance as much as possible, so as not to be washed away and annihilated by the torrent of the times.
As early as the 19th century, the great writer Victor Hugo, who loved Notre-Dame, held this view, and he repeatedly emphasized the importance of preserving historical heritage, and in his book "Notre-Dame de Paris", he devoted a special volume to describe Notre-Dame and Paris in detail in the fifteenth century, and he regarded Notre-Dame Cathedral as a "great symphony of stones", and regretted the destruction of classical architecture due to time, war and people.
Victor Hugo is the leader of the French Romantic literary movement, one of the greatest poets and novelists in the history of French literature. The inspiration for the book "Notre Dame de Paris" came from a string of Greek letters that Hugo found on the walls of Notre-Dame, which translates to "fate".
"Notre-Dame de Paris" represents the highest achievement of French romantic literature in the 19th century, and the story is set in Paris in the 15th century, and by depicting the faces of the beings around Notre-Dame, it shows the light and darkness of the society at that time, the sharp contrast between beauty and ugliness, good and evil, and becomes a microcosm of an era.
Okay, let's follow Hugo into 15th-century Paris and see that strange world.
Carnival night on Madman's Day
On January 6, 1482, the whole of Paris was bustling with activity. It is a solemn day when the Christian feast of Epiphany and the Day of the Madman come together, and according to tradition, a festive bonfire is lit in the river beach square and a religious drama is performed in the halls of the Palace of Justice. Among them, the river beach square is even more popular, because the beautiful gypsy girl Esmeralda is performing here.
Esmeralda's liness and prettyness made her dance on a worn Persian carpet. The onlookers were moved by her dancing and cheered for her.
Of the many appreciative attitudes, only two showed hostility. The first was a hermit who lived in a stone house in the square on the riverbank, and she hated the Gypsies because her young daughter had been abducted by them. In desperation, she took the initiative to choose to live in a stone house for penance, and lived there for more than ten years.
Every time Esmeralda passed by, the monastic cursed loudly, and of course she couldn't say anything good about Esmeralda's performance.
The second person who was hostile to Esmeralda was the vicar of Notre-Dame, whose name was Claude. Born into an aristocratic family, Claude devoted himself to theology at an early age and became vicar at a young age. Over the years, he immersed himself in books, adhered to the rules and precepts, and lived rationally and uprightly.
Not only that, but Claude also adopted a child named Quasimodo. Quasimodo was born with a disability — one-eyed, hunchbacked, loop-legged — and was abandoned in Riverbeach Square when he was about four or five years old. Claude happened to pass by, felt pity for him, and took him back to Notre-Dame. When Quasimodo grew up, he became the bell-ringer of Notre-Dame, and the only person he loved was his adoptive father, Claude.
However, it was such a well-behaved and kind vicar who suddenly began to deliberately target gypsy women. He asked the bishop to issue a decree prohibiting gypsy women from dancing in the riverbank square. However, these performances were not banned during the carnival ceremony of Madman's Day, and Claude was present when Esmeralda danced.
Claude's dislike for Esmeralda is not just a simple dislike, in fact, he is in love with Esmeralda and does not know how to deal with himself.
As a person with normal emotional needs, Claude can't always be pure-hearted, and the appearance of the beautiful and agile Esmeralda makes his originally suppressed heart become restless. He had repeatedly hid in the shadows, secretly keeping an eye on Esmeralda.
That night, as Esmeralda went home after her performance, two men burst out and kidnapped her.
At that time, the streets of Paris were sparsely populated, and only the homeless homeless man Grangoire saw the scene and recognized the two robbers as the vicar Claude and his adopted son Quasimodo.
Grangoire tries to stand up to protect Esmeralda, but is pushed to the ground by Quasimodo, who then disappears into the darkness with Esmeralda in his arms, followed by Claude.
Luckily, they crash into the night patrol, and Captain Phobis rescues Esmeralda from Quasimodo and has the soldiers capture Quasimodo. Quasimodo roared loudly and resisted desperately, while Claude took advantage of the chaos to escape.
The next day, Quasimodo was tied to a stake for his crimes. Feeling thirsty, he struggled to open his mouth and begged the onlookers to give him some water. However, the crowd laughed at his deformed appearance and was indifferent to his pain. Just as he was struggling to breathe and shouted for the third time, Esmeralda emerged from the crowd and slowly walked up to him.
Quasimodo recognized that it was the girl he had tried to kidnap. He had thought that Esmeralda had come for revenge. However, Esmeralda took out the kettle and silently brought it to Quasimodo's mouth.
Esmeralda's kindness and recklessness touched Quasimodo deeply, with tears rolling in his eyes. After drinking the water, he tried to kiss Esmeralda's hand as a token of gratitude. But Esmeralda, remembering the events of the previous night, was wary of him, and was so frightened that she quickly withdrew her hand.
Over the years, Quasimodo has been insulted for his humble birth and disliked for his ugliness, but Claude has given him kindness, so he has obeyed Claude with all his heart. And now, the appearance of Esmeralda made him feel warm again, and he remembered this grace of water, and was determined to find an opportunity to repay it in the future.
Esmeralda suffered
Just when Quasimodo was grateful and attached to Esmeralda, Esmeralda also fell in love. The object of her love is the captain of the guard, Phobis, the man who rescued her from Quasimodo.
Phebis is handsome and noble, and he appears like a hero to save Esmeralda from danger, which makes Esmeralda fall in love with him at first sight.
However, Phobis was not a gentleman of good faith, although he was of noble birth and had learned some elegant manners, but because of his years in the barracks, he was tainted with many bad things, frivolous and unprincipled. Moreover, he was already engaged to his cousin, a noble lady. The reason why he dates Esmeralda is not out of love at all, but because he covets her body.
The meeting point between Phobis and Esmeralda was set at a hotel. On his way to his appointment, Furbis finds himself being followed. And the man was wrapped in a black cloak, completely unrecognizable.
Furbis was wary, but when the mystery man offered to give him a gold coin in exchange for watching his date, Furbis happily agreed. In fact, he was worried that he couldn't afford the house, and he didn't mind his date with Esmeralda being watched.
The mystery man followed Phobis into the dilapidated inn and hid in a cubicle in the room, where he could see clearly through the broken door panels.
Esmeralda arrives as promised, she is full of love for Phobis, and she originally expected the two to talk to each other, but as a result, Phobis, who is accustomed to lingering in flowers, only wants to seduce her with rhetoric. The mysterious man, who saw all this, couldn't help but rush out of the cubicle, stabbed Phobis with a dagger, and then jumped into the river and fled.
Esmeralda was so frightened by this series of events that she fainted, and when she woke up, there were already many officers and soldiers patrolling the inn. She was accused of being the murderer of Phobis and was imprisoned.
In fact, the mysterious man in the cloak was none other than Vice-Bishop Claude. Claude is obsessed with Esmeralda, and after failing to snatch her, he accidentally learns of Furbis's date with her, goes out of his way to follow Furbis, and out of jealousy, stabs Furbis.
Fortunately, Forbes was not seriously injured, and after a slight recovery, he quietly left the hospital in case he was sent to court to testify, which would affect his future. During the whole process, he didn't think about Esmeralda at all.
Esmeralda knew nothing about all this, and she was tortured to confess that she was a witch and deliberately hurt Phobis. Eventually, Esmeralda was sentenced to death by hanging.
While awaiting execution, Esmeralda was locked up in a dark underground prison, cold and hungry, grieving for her and her fate. She thought that Phobis was really dead.
However, one day, Claude suddenly appeared in prison. He confessed to Esmeralda and promised that he would leave the prison as soon as Esmeralda accepted him. However, Esmeralda hated the murderer Claude and resolutely rejected him.
On the day of the execution, Esmeralda was paraded through the streets in a prison van, and when she arrived at the riverbank square, she was given a confessional ceremony by Bishop Claude.
Esmeralda fears death and looks forward to a quick end to this torment. However, just as she was about to be put on the gallows, a man suddenly pulled a rope from the outer wall of Notre-Dame and swung down, knocked down the executioner with several punches, and then picked up Esmeralda and stormed into Notre-Dame. He ran to the high platform of Notre-Dame, held Esmeralda aloft, and shouted: "Take refuge! ”
It all happened in an instant, and the soldiers didn't have time to react. Hearing the man's shout, the crowd also shouted "take refuge" and applauded enthusiastically.
This hero who suddenly appeared was Quasimodo, the bell ringer. The reason why he rescued Esmeralda in this way was not out of reckless bravery, but because he took advantage of the policies of the time.
In the Middle Ages, the judiciary and criminal law were severe, and people were sentenced to capital punishment if they were not careful. In order to reduce the deaths caused by the cruel penal law, the king set up refuge in many cities, and the refuge in Paris was Notre-Dame.
The sanctuary is above human justice, and as long as the offender stays inside, he is protected. That is, as long as Esmeralda stayed at Notre-Dame, she could avoid the fate of being hanged.
Quasimodo is a man of love and retribution, and he takes Esmeralda's kindness to heart and is willing to risk her to save her. And, he also fell in love with Esmeralda.
Esmeralda took up residence in Notre Dame, and Quasimodo was considerate and provided her with clothes and food, but Quasimodo barely appeared in front of her for fear that his appearance would frighten Esmeralda.
Esmeralda had indeed been frightened by Quasimodo's deformed appearance before, but in her daily interactions, she also found that Quasimodo was a gentle and kind person, and her vigilance was lowered a lot.
During this time, Quasimodo slept at the door of Esmeralda's room every night to guard her, and tried to confess his love, but Esmeralda stumbled upon the fact that Phobis was not dead, and was overjoyed. Quasimodo is clearly aware that it is impossible for his ugly self to win Esmeralda's love.
Ending with death
On the day of his execution, Claude quickly left the riverbank square and wandered around the city after presiding over Esmeralda's confessional ceremony. Therefore, he was unaware of Quasimodo's actions, and thought that Esmeralda was dead, and thus gained peace of mind.
However, suddenly one day, Claude saw Esmeralda in Notre-Dame and was strongly shaken. He locked himself in his cabin in the backyard and didn't attend any events, just keeping his face against the glass window all day and watching Esmeralda's every move. His pent-up emotions were revived again.
One night, Claude, tormented by lust, rushed to Esmeralda's cottage with the intention of raping her, but Quasimodo appeared in time to capture Claude. However, Quasimodo was reluctant to do anything to his adoptive father, Claude, but knelt at the door of Esmeralda's room, handed the knife in his hand to Claude, and said firmly: "You kill me first, and do whatever you want after killing me." ”
However, Esmeralda was one step ahead of Claude, snatching the knife from Quasimodo's hand and pointing it at Claude, saying that if Claude dared to take another step, she would not hesitate to slit his throat.
Claude hesitated, knowing that Esmeralda would not be soft on himself. Amid Esmeralda's ridicule, he finally relented, kicked Quasimodo to the ground, and left in a rage.
Exhausted by the fierce struggle, Esmeralda threw herself on her bed and cried, worried about the future. Her fears were well founded, for a resentful Claude swore that no one would want Esmeralda but him.
For some time after that, Claude often tortured Quasimodo and scolded him, but Quasimodo kept his anger out of loyalty and love, and only kept his guard when he saw Claude go up the clock tower.
Claude knew that as long as he was close to Esmeralda, Quasimodo would not sit idly by. Therefore, he tried his best to restrain himself and did not appear in front of Esmeralda again. But he is also plotting how to take Esmeralda away from Quasimodo's side.
Claude approached Esmeralda's friend, the homeless man Grangoire, and lied to him that the court was going to use the army to arrest Esmeralda and hang her. Grangoire brought the news back to the camp of the homeless, who considered Esmeralda a loved one and decided to rescue her. They gathered at night and headed for Notre-Dame.
Quasimodo was deaf and had no communication with the outside world, and when he saw the arrival of the large army of black press, he thought that they were going to harm Esmeralda, and resisted with all his might. He threw beams, stones, and even molten lead from above the church, killing and injuring countless homeless people.
Eventually, the king's army arrived, crushed the ranks of the homeless, and hunted Esmeralda around Notre-Dame to punish her. However, neither the army nor Quasimodo found Esmeralda.
In fact, while Quasimodo was dealing with the homeless attack, Claude instructed Grangoire to go to the shelter to take Esmeralda with him. Believing that she was in danger, Esmeralda left with Grangoire, but she was terrified of the stranger who was following her the whole time, shrouded in black.
The group left through the back door of Notre-Dame and boarded a small boat, the Glengoire talking incessantly and the men in black silent the whole time.
Out of fear, Esmeralda stayed next to Grangoire, but when the boat docked, Grangoire left Esmeralda behind and left on his own. In fact, he didn't care about saving Esmeralda at all, and was only forced by Claude to join the plan.
The man in black dragged Esmeralda all the way to the beach square, where he stopped next to the gallows. Then he took off his hat, revealing the face that terrified Esmeralda—he was Bishop Claude, vicar.
Claude confides in Esmeralda once again, asking her to choose between the gallows and herself. Esmeralda hated the hypocritical and vicious Claude and would rather be hanged than commit to him.
Claude was furious and decided to hand over Esmeralda to the soldiers who were searching for her. He asked the hermit in the stone house on the river beach square to catch Aisui Meralda and go to the soldiers to report the news.
The Friar had always hated the Gypsies, and she was more than happy to see Esmeralda being sent to the gallows, and happily agreed to Claude's request.
In the midst of the muttering of the monita, sometimes normal and sometimes crazy, Esmeralda suddenly realized that she was the real mother she was looking for. The mother and daughter took out their respective tokens and finally recognized each other. However, the soldiers who captured Esmeralda are also arriving.
The hermit hid Esmeralda in the corner of the stone house and tried to get by, and almost succeeded. However, when Esmeralda heard the voice of Phobis coming from the square, she suddenly rushed to the window of the stone house and shouted, "Phobis! Come and save me, my Phobis! ”
Unfortunately, Phobis had already galloped away from the beach square, and did not hear her call. Moreover, Phobis, who only cares about self-protection in case of trouble, is impossible to come forward to shelter her.
The other soldiers in the square burst into the stone house and captured Esmeralda, but the hermit could not stop hermitage and had to hold Esmeralda tightly by the waist and be dragged with her to the gallows.
During this time, Quasimodo was utterly desperate. He had made countless trips around Notre-Dame, searching everywhere he could, but he had found no trace of Esmeralda. He suspects that Claude has taken Esmeralda away, but suddenly on the roof of Notre-Dame, he sees Claude who is looking into the distance and is motionless.
Quasimodo crept closer and found that Claude's eyes were on the riverbank square, where the execution was taking place, and Claude let out a devilish grin when Esmeralda, dressed in a white dress, was placed on the gallows.
Quasimodo was so angry that he lunged on him and pushed Claude downstairs. However, instead of falling to his death all at once, he grabbed the edge of the sink and struggled to climb up.
Quasimodo could have saved Claude's life with just one hand, but he stared at the beach square, watching Esmeralda fade from the gallows, and tears flowed from the one eye. Claude finally lost his strength and fell from the roof of Notre-Dame, killing him instantly.
As is customary, Esmeralda's body was sent to Hayabusa's grave to be placed with other people who had died as a result of their crimes. And after that day, Quasimodo disappeared from Notre-Dame.
A year or two later, people stumbled upon two skeletons in the graveyard of Hayabusayama, in which the bones of the male were hugged by the bones of the female.
The man's spine is curved, his head is shrunk between his shoulder blades, and his legs are of different lengths, which makes people guess that he is Quasimodo. There are no scars on his spine, indicating that he was not hanged, but came here to die on his own. People tried to separate the bones that he was holding, and he was turned to dust.
The light of humanity in tragedy
Well, this is the end of the story of "Notre Dame de Paris". Set in medieval France and set in Notre-Dame, this book tells a story full of tragedy.
In Hugo's writings, the vicar Claude, who cannot deal with the conflict between desire and reason, the frivolous and selfish captain of the guard, Phobis, the beautiful and kind, loyal but always let down and hurt, and the ugly but sincere, passionate and courageous bell ringer Quasimodo, present the darkness and light of human nature, and also reflect the impression of a chaotic, disorderly, crazy and brutal era.
In the end, this legendary story of beauty and ugliness, good and evil, love, desire, faith and fate intertwined, ends in the tragedy of death.
However, the reflection on human nature, the reflection on individual moral responsibility, and the pursuit of noble personality contained in the story have a strong vitality, allowing us to see that even in the darkest times, the brilliance of human nature can penetrate the haze and sow the dawn of hope.