Notre Dame de Paris (written in 1831) (also known as The Monster of the Bell Tower) is Hugo's first major romantic novel. It is a story that takes place in France in the 15th century: Claude, the vice-bishop of Notre Dame de Paris, is a moralistic and serpentine man who loves before he hates and persecutes the gypsy girl Esmeralda. Quasimodo, the ugly but kind-hearted bell-ringer, sacrifices his life to save her. The novel exposes the hypocrisy of religion, proclaims the bankruptcy of asceticism, and celebrates the kindness, friendship and self-sacrifice of the lower-class working people, reflecting Hugo's humanitarian thought.
Three, "Notre Dame de Paris" story synopsis:
January 6, 1482, this is a day that can thrill the emotions of the citizens of Paris. Because this day has a double meaning, both Epiphany and April Fool's Day. So the whole city of Paris was immersed in an atmosphere of great joy from morning to night.
On April Fools' Day, people can laugh and enjoy themselves. On this day, there is no bad behavior that is not permitted and considered sacred. Imagine, then, how the citizens of Paris reveled. People poured into the old town from all directions. The crowds were especially large on the roads leading to the Palais de Justice, where the election of the "King of Fools" was taking place, based on the rule that whoever looked the ugliest and laughed the strangest, most hideous laugh, was expected to be elected.
When the lucky King of Fools was brought out, amazement and appreciation were at their peak. He was seen to have a tetrahedral nose, a horseshoe-shaped mouth, one eye, a hunchback, a limp, a body about as high as it was wide, the lower part of his body was square, and his two legs, when viewed from the front, looked as if they were two , the hilts of which were connected to each other by the handles of the knives. In the midst of all his deformities there was an unquestionable firmness, seriousness, and bravery, and he was Quasimodo, the bell-ringer of Notre Dame in Paris, to whom the people dressed in a crown and doily made of cardboard, and carried him in a palanquin painted with flowers toward the Place de Gréveaux.
Amid the parade in the street, someone shouted, "Esmeralda is coming!" Immediately the parade went wild with shouts. People were swarming to the square. In the square, Esmeralda, a gypsy girl who made her living by selling her art, was dancing on a Persian carpet. Her light, airy dance drew rapturous applause from the people. Thousands of people twirled with Esmeralda's dance. At this point, Gangowar, the philosopher and satirical poet who was a skeptic, was mesmerized by this splendid sight. He wondered whether the lady was a human being, a fairy, or an angel. At this time among all the onlookers there was a grave, calm and gloomy middle-aged man, who at this time paid more attention than any one else to the dancing wench, and from time to time a few curses escaped from his lips. He was Claude, the vicar-general of Notre Dame de Paris? Frollo. This man had been educated by the Church since childhood, and was therefore very devout in his religious beliefs and had a strong desire for knowledge. This quickly made him a leading figure in the Church and a knowledgeable scholar. He was withdrawn, usually reticent, hermit, poor and serious, studying alchemy, avoiding all worldly pleasures and enjoyment. Therefore, he always look melancholy, serious, deep look, this may be his unusual experience brought him. In the summer when Frollo was 18 years old, there was a large-scale plague in the city of Paris, only the Viscountship died more than 40,000 people, and Frollo's family lived in a place where the plague is more rampant. Both his parents died of the plague, and left him a little brother in infancy. From that time on, he devoted himself to the cause of religion, and at the same time took zealous care of his brother. His kindness, his erudition, made him highly respected in religious circles.
Frollo had always been puritanical and shunned all worldly pleasures. Ever since he discovered Esmeralda dancing in the square, he has been disturbed all day. Esmeralda's incomparable beauty, provoking Frollo's lust for years of sleep, like a beast breaking the chains, so that he completely lost their ability to restrain themselves. Frollo also knows that his feelings will bring him an unmanageable situation, but he in any case can not let go of this matter, can not forget the gypsy girl. In the end, he felt that one is to possess her by all means, and the other is to put her to death; if he can't have her, no one else can have her. Only in this way could his soul be consoled.
In the Dutch tower at the corner of the square, the hermit nun Gündil, who had been robbed of her daughter by the gypsies fifteen years before, was berating Esmeralda to go quickly in a pious, abhorrent voice, and Esmeralda was y horrified and disturbed by the hermit nun's curse.
When the members of the Friends of the Fools arrived in the square carrying Quasimodo, it was instantly the new hot spot of attention. The Fools defended their King of Fools from the swarming crowds, while the triumphant Quasimodo was as meek as a lamb when he caught a glimpse of Frollo. It turns out that 16 years ago, the deformed Quasimodo was abandoned in front of Notre Dame in Paris, the vice bishop out of pity to adopt him, and named him Quasimodo. Quasimodo was ashamed to know what he was doing, and was grateful to Frollo for his obedience.
In the evening, the high point of the Feast of Fools had passed and the people were dispersing. Esmeralda left the festival square with her beloved goat. As she traveled down the alley beside the square, Quasimodo, who was under the command of Frollo, prepared to abduct Esmeralda, who fought back and cried out for help. At that moment, Phoebus, the captain of the king's archery guard, led his soldiers through the neighborhood and arrived at the scene, freeing Esmeralda and capturing Quasimodo. Esmeralda, impressed by Vorbis' handsome features and the kindness of his rescue, asked the young officer his honorable name and then scampered back to the "Dynasty of Miracles," a gathering place for vagabonds and beggars.
"Miracle Dynasty" is a very large square, inhabited by the lower classes of people, who are French, Spaniards, Italians, Germans ...... who have different religious beliefs, beggars by day and thieves by night. Esmeralda lived here, and she had great magic among these beggars and thieves. When she returned, the beggars of both sexes were gently arrayed, and their fierce faces were enlightened by the sight of her. At this time, the beggar king of the dynasty, Klopan, was judging the poor poet, Gangowar, who had wandered into the place. According to the law of the "dynasty", Gangowa would be hanged unless someone would marry him. Time passes, and Gandharva's life is in danger. The kind and beautiful Esmeralda unexpectedly came forward and declared her willingness to be Gandharva's "wife". After he was rescued, Esmeralda fed him and sheltered him, but did not allow him to get close to her.
The next day, a makeshift execution platform was set up in Gravois Square. Quasimodo, who yesterday was the King of Fools, today knelt on the turnstile to be flogged. The crowd in the square frolicked in a hundred different ways, abusing the ugly form of the man. When Quasimodo sees Frollo in the crowd, his eyes light up and his heart rejoices, but the man who adopted him as his father panics and avoids Quasimodo's gaze. Tied up on the torture table, Quasimodo is whipped mercilessly, and, thirsting, he cries out in desperation, "Give me water to drink!" The people watching mock him and do nothing. Esmeralda, looking at all this, stepped up from the crowd to the torture platform and tenderly brought the water gourd in her arms to Quasimodo's parched mouth. One saw a line of tears roll from Quasimodo's ever-dry eyes. Perhaps this was the first time that Quasimodo shed tears. The crowd on the stage was moved by the fact that such a beautiful, pure, charming, and frail maiden was able to show such compassion for an incredibly ugly and vicious man. But the cloistered nuns in the Dutch tower saw this and cursed the abominable gypsy woman. Quasimodo returned to Notre Dame as a bell ringer. Esmeralda continued to dance in the square, and Quasimodo leaned against the bell tower of Notre Dame to enjoy Esmeralda's dance, showing a tender and lovely look in Quasimodo's eyes.
Esmeralda has not been able to forget the handsome young officer since she was rescued by the captain of the archers, Vorbis. Captain of the Guard Vorbis had left a deep impression on Esmeralda, he was not only her savior, but also the idol of her love and worship. Vrbis came from a noble family; he was young, handsome, and beautiful. He was engaged to his cousin and frequented his aunt's house, where he was a guest of honor. By chance, Esmeralda was dancing in the street and was recognized by Forbes, who was visiting his aunt's house, and he greeted her and asked her to perform at her house. Esmeralda arrives at Aunt Forbes' house with her cute little goat. One of the ladies at the aunt's house took advantage of Esmeralda's inattention while she was speaking with Forbes to lure the goat to a corner of the house with candy. Curious, she unhooked the pouch around the goat's neck, opened it, and dumped its contents on the floor. It was an alphabet, with each letter inserted separately into a small piece of boxwood. The sheep went to plucking the letters skillfully with his hoofs, and in a moment they were lined up in a word, which the people were astonished to find was the name of a man, Forbes. This trick of the sheep was the result of Esmeralda's two months of attentive coaching. Esmeralda blushed when she saw the stupidity of what Goat had done. All this was seen by Forbes, a veteran of playing with women, who knew the secret in the heart of the beautiful gypsy girl. On seeing Esmeralda out, he asked her for an evening rendezvous at the inn. This sweet fruit from the sky makes Fabi so pleased with himself that he tells Florentine's brother the secret of his rendezvous with the girl. Florent soon learns of this and, jealous that the woman he covets is about to fall into the arms of another man, he arrives at the inn in disguise. Just as Fabi was about to make merry with Esmeralda in his arms, Frollo leaped from the room, drew his dagger, and plunged it into Fabi's breast. Frollo flees. News of the gypsy girl's assassination of the Captain of the Guard soon spread throughout the city. Esmeralda was arrested. The Inquisition tried Esmeralda and flatly accused the witch Esmeralda of driving the Devil in Black to assassinate the officer; Esmeralda was bent over backwards to confess, and the court sentenced her to be hanged. She was sent to a cold and damp cell. Suddenly, the iron door of the cell opened, and Frollo, dressed in a robe, secretly came to the dungeon, where he knelt down in front of Esmeralda, confessed that he had killed Forbes, and unabashedly expressed his love and inner pain to Esmeralda. Offering to escape with Esmeralda, he was sternly refused by Esmeralda. Esmeralda was escorted to the square for execution. Phoebus, who had recovered from his injuries, was sitting on the upper floor of his aunt's house, looking at Esmeralda with a cold face. For the sake of his own honor, he dared not come forward to prove Esmeralda's innocence. At this point, Quasimodo, out of gratitude to Esmeralda, rescued her from the torture chamber and snatched her into Notre Dame. Notre Dame was a "holy place" not governed by law. In Notre Dame, Quasimodo cared for and protected her with a tenderness mixed with gratitude, sympathy, and respect, and was willing to go through fire for her. Finding out that Esmeralda wanted to see Forbes, he went to him on his own accord and begged him to meet Esmeralda, who, confronted by Quasimodo, disdained him and spurred his horse away. Several ill-intentioned attempts by the deputy bishop were also defeated by Quasimodo's protection.
The Church and the Crown were annoyed that Esmeralda had taken refuge in Notre Dame, and soon the Church was in a religious frenzy, threatening Esmeralda with witchcraft and desecration of the church's holy places, and the courts were out to arrest Esmeralda in spite of her right of sanctuary. Upon hearing the news, the vagabonds and beggars of Paris, led by Clopan, rushed to attack Notre Dame, ready to rescue Esmeralda. The unknown Quasimodo thought that they came to harm Esmeralda and resisted to the death. King Louis XI, seeing the flames from his window, thought it was the citizens of Paris rising up against the French government, which was at war with him, and gloated. But when the news came to the vagabonds, beggars in the attack on Notre Dame, he will reveal his hideous face, immediately ordered the suppression of the masses, hanged "witches". Vagabonds, beggars in front of Notre Dame dead, blood flow into the river.
While the melee was going on, Frollo took advantage of Esmeralda's trust in Gamboa to convince Gamboa to persuade Esmeralda to quietly follow Frollo in disguise, sneak out the back door of Notre Dame, and then cross the river to escape from the danger. Frollo's lust for Esmeralda was not to be denied, and he took her to the gallows in the Piazza del Greve and threatened her with obedience. Esmeralda will die rather than submit. Frollo was at his wit's end, and in his rage, he gave her to the cloistered nun Gudiel, who lived beside the square, and went to call for the soldiers, knowing that the cloistered nun was Esmeralda's own mother, who recognized her daughter by the little shoe hanging on her breast, and was overcome with grief and joy. At that moment the officers arrived, and although the mother tried her best to save her daughter, she was kicked down by the executioner and died with her head touching the stone. Esmeralda is taken to the gallows, and as the noose is placed around her neck, Frollo, triumphant, hides on the roof of the church and lets out a hideous, maniacal laugh. Quasimodo had recognized Frollo's true nature long ago, and in a fit of rage, he pushed Frollo off the roof of the high building, killing him alive.
The next day, Quasimodo disappeared. Two years later, two joined bones were found in the crypts of Mount Falcon, one of a deformed man and one of a young girl. The strange thing was that they embraced each other, and when people separated them, the bones immediately turned into dust.