HoND, chapters 41-44
In Chapter 41, we discover that Frollo missed out on Quasimodo's daring rescue of Esmeralda. He has instead been wandering all over the countryside, freaking the fuck out. You thought he was having a breakdown in the dungeon? You ain't seen nothin' yet.
pg. 323: The storm which had been raging within him from the moment when he had lost the hope and the will to save the Egyptian had not left in his mind a single sound thought or idea. His reason was laid prostrate, nay, almost utterly destroyed. His mind retained but two distinct images, La Esmeralda and the gibbet; all the rest was black. These two images formed a horrible group; and the more he fixed on them so much attention and thought as he was yet master of, the more they seemed to increase according to a fantastic progression, the one in charm, in grace, in beauty, in light-the other in horror; so that at last La Esmeralda appeared like an enormous fleshless arm.
In conclusion, he's not having a good day. And yet, somehow, things manage to get worse. He stumbles over to Pont St. Michel and peeks in the window of a house, where he spies an old woman, a young woman, and a young man.
pg. 324: The old woman was Falourdel, the girl was a prostitute, and the youth was his brother Jehan.
Well, shoot.
Jehan notices that he's out of booze and leaves the house. Frollo dives headfirst onto the ground to keep Jehan from recognizing him. Jehan, sharp-eyed and sharp-witted, completely fails to recognize his older brother and takes him for a passed-out drunk. He also takes a moment to muse aloud about how it's certainly fortunate that his brother the arch-deacon is always willing to give him money for more booze and whores. With that, he's off.
Frollo's off too, running back to Notre Dame. He tries to comfort himself by reading the Bible, and gets the following passage for his troubles.
pg. 326: "Then a spirit passed before my face, and the hair of my flesh stood up." On reading this fearful text, he felt much the same as a blind man whose fingers are pricked by the staff which he as picked up.
So far, this chapter is succeeding in making me feel sympathetic towards Frollo. Well done Hugo.
Immediately after reading that passage, Frollo spies what would appear to be the ghost of Esmeralda, along with a little ghost Djali. In case the reader is particularly dense, Hugo makes sure to repeat the Bible passage about ghosts. Thanks, Hugo.
Chapter 42 opens with an explanation of the concept of "sanctuaries." Unlike most of Hugo's architecture rants, this one has both a point and a purpose. Short version: anybody who gets into Notre Dame and claims sanctuary is safe from those who would harm them, whether they deserve it or not. The claim to sanctuary is forfeit when the claimant leaves the premises.
Hugo explains it much more prettily than I do.
Anyway, Quasi brings the unconscious Esmeralda into Notre Dame and deposits her in the sanctuary cell. (Why is she unconscious? Because Quasimodo is just that ugly, and also he's been flinging her around the towers of Notre Dame for the last quarter-hour and quite frankly I would have passed out too.)
As soon as Quasi sets Esmeralda down, she wakes up. Upon waking, there are two thoughts in her brain: one, that she is alive (yay!), and two, that Phoebus is also alive (yay!) and no longer loves her (boo!). So her head's in a bit of a funny place right now, and it is not helped by having big ugly face all up in her face. Still, she refrains from freaking out and simply asks why he saved her.
In response, he brings her clothes, food, and a bed to sleep in. Hugo makes note that Quasi has brought her his own dinner and his own bed, meaning he is willing to go hungry and sleepless for the sake of her comfort. Stop tugging my damn heartstrings, Hugo, they are fragile and you will break them.
In Chapter 43, Esmeralda wakes up. Again. But this time it is morning! Also Quasi was watching her sleep.
What.
No, seriously...
pg 331: "Don't be afraid. I am your friend. I came to see you sleep. What harm can it do you, if I come to look at you when your eyes are shut?"
Quite a bit of harm, actually, mostly in the form of her mistaking you for EDWARD FUCKING CULLEN OH MY GOD QUASI YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BE ADORABLE AND CREEPY ON THE SAME PAGE. I need at least a chapter for this sort of transition, goddamnit.
pg. 332: "Well, well, I am going. There, now I am behind the wall. Now you can open your eyes."
There was something still more plaintive than these words in the accent with which they were uttered. The Egyptian, affected by them, opened her eyes. He was actually no longer at the window. She went to it, looked out, and saw the poor hunchback cowering under the wall, in an attitude of grief and resignation.
...Damnit Quasi, what did I just tell you?
Esmeralda is far more forgiving than I am, and takes pity on Quasi, bidding him to come closer. Quasi, being deaf and only noticing that she is speaking to him after being frightened, assumes that she wants him to go away, and leaves. Esmeralda runs after him and drags him back to her cell so they can stare at each other in silence and I can get more Twilight-related heebie-jeebies. My only saving grace is that Hugo differs from Meyer somewhat, having the girl muse on the boy's ugliness instead of his everlasting diamond-studded beauty.
Once they're done looking at each other, Quasi asks what the crap Esmeralda wants with him, and when she answers verbally, informs her that he is deaf. This would have been pertinent information for her to know, oh, idk, about a chapter ago, but at least we're not dancing around the issue any more.
They persist in talking to each other, and Quasi finally understands her question of "why did you save me?" His answer is as follows.
pg. 333: "You have forgotten a wretch to whom, the very next day, you brought relief on the ignominious pillory. A draught of water and a look of pity are more than I could repay with my life. You have forgotten that wretch-but he has not forgotten."
D'aww...
pg. 334: "We have very high towers here; a man falling from one of them would be dead almost before he reached the pavement. When you wish to be rid of me, tell me to throw myself from the top-you have but to say the word; nay, a look will be sufficient."
Annnnd we're right back in creepy manipulative boyfriend territory. Are there no decent men in Paris?
Quasi finishes this conversation of mood swings by giving Esmeralda a whistle, the sound of which is the only sound he can still hear.
Esmeralda spends Chapter 44 thinking about ~boys~, mostly Phoebus and Quasimodo. Quasi spends it watching Esmeralda and wishing he were an animal or a statue. They go on like this until they spy Phoebus wandering about outside. Quasimodo, seeing how delighted the prospect of talking to Phoebus makes Esmeralda, offers to go fetch him for her.
Phoebus is immediately repulsed by Quasi, and is even more repulsed when the hunchback tells him Esmeralda wants to see him. Quasi is forced to return to the cathedral sans Phoebus, which pisses Esmeralda off.
On the one hand, Quasi has been kind of a creeper by modern standards, what with the sleep-watching. On the other hand, he's also done everything in his power to make her happy (food, clothing, shelter, whistle, pet bird, breaking the faces off of statues that scare her, attempting to get her the man she loves), and the way she yells at him for failing kind of pisses me off.
Hugo brings out one of his most obvious metaphors, which between you and me is saying something.
pg. 342: One morning, on opening her eyes, she saw two nosegays standing in her window. One was in a bright handsome crystal vase, but cracked. The water with which it was filled had run out, and the flowers were faded. The other was a pot of coarse common stoneware, but which retained all the water, and the flowers in it were fresh and fragrant. I know not whether it was done intentionally, but La Esmeralda took the faded nosegay, and carried it all day at her bosom.
Seriously, this book must be a literature student's dream come true. Every single metaphor has a big blinking neon sign on it. We're talking Animal Farm levels of subtlety here.
The chapter itself ends with this paragraph:
pg. 343: One night, however, unable to sleep for thinking of her handsome captain, she heard a sigh near her cell. Somewhat alarmed, she rose, and by the light of the moon she saw a shapeless mass lying outside across the doorway. It was Quasimodo asleep on the stones.
STOP. DOING. THAT.
-
Other adventures in Hunchback of Notre Dame reading include:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7 (You Are Here)
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12