still can't believe

that it happened

the hunch back of notre dame is a novel by victor hugo (who also wrote the famed les miserables, if you don't already know). it is set in the late 1400s in the city of paris. basically, it revolves around the very complicated relationship of la esmeralda and quasimodo.

the novel begins in the day of 'the feast of the fools' wherein quasimodo, who just happened to be visibly in the cathedral at that fateful moment, was crowned 'pope of fools' (a form of mockery back then) because he was a really hideous, cyclops-like, abnormal creature. he was hated by the people of paris because he was a hideous creature. it is even stressed greatly in the novel how ugly he was and how people despised him because of it.

the novel continues and la esmeralda is introduced. la esmeralda is a very beautiful gypsy who dances in the street with her faithful goat, djali. she is basically the apple of every man's eye, bringing even the archdeacon of notre dame, claude frollo, at her mercy although she was completely unaware of this until later on. la esmeralda, being the kind soul she is, offered to quench quasimodo's thirst as he was being punished in front of the parisians (for being ugly, i suppose).

however, she becomes smitten by captain phoebus who abducts her and hopes to seduce her into becoming his lover. the archdeacon, who had an equally burning flame of lust as the captain, followed phoebus into the small house the captain had planned to take la esmeralda to. there, he watched the series progress, and fueled by his love, jumped from his hiding spot in the attic above the room la esmeralda and the captain had been staying in, and stabbed phoebus in his back and escaped.

believing that phoebus had been murdered by la esmeralda, the parliament filed a case against the poor gypsy for being involved in witchcraft. soon, because of the aggressive endeavours of the executioners, she confessed all the bad deeds that had been filed against her. she was sentenced to death, which alarmed the 'court of miracles' or the vast population of the thieves, robbers and peasants of paris who considered la esmeralda as their sister.

quasimodo, having formed a unique relationship with the gypsy girl, took her away to the cathedral of notre dame where he promised to keep her away from harm. however, quasimodo never showed his face, fearing that he might scare her away.

soon, a mob of vagabonds gathered outside the cathedral, demanding the return of the gypsy girl. quasimodo desperately tried to fend them off, but failed in the end when he discovered that la esmeralda was missing. claude frollo, the archdeacon, had taken her away and told her that if she willingly submits to his desires, he would assure a safe future for the girl. la esmeralda, haunted by the wrongdoings of the priest, refused and tried to escape.

claude frollo, who was driven in to the darkest corners of insanity, called the parliament and reported to them about the gypsy girl he had found, that who had caused such a commotion among the people of paris, la esmeralda.

in the end, claude frollo, crushed that he could never receive the love of the object of his desire, jumped off one of the towers of the cathedral and died. captain phoebus, forgetting the love he had once showered la esmeralda with, married the daughter of a very wealthy family. la esmeralda was hanged, just a few moments after she had reunited with her mother who had her sanity taken when they had parted. quasimodo, who had watched the only one who had treated him with human kindness have her life taken away, disappeared. his skeletal remains, which were soon found in the vault where they kept those they executed, held that of la esmeralda's.

so that's the summary, because most of the details were too good to be left out. this novel, in all honesty, touched my heart unlike how those other novels do, although it contains a great amount of violence. LOL anyway, victor hugo is an amazing writer. and i'm not just saying that because he is recognized worldwide.

one of the things that i like about him is how he manages to add comical scenes amidst the dark and gloomy aura the very title of this book gives off. one of the really funny parts that actually made me laugh is when quasimodo was sent to court and he had to face a judge who was also deaf like him. and the judge, who already had a series of questions laid out, continued and continued to ask the hunchback questions he never really answered. well, it goes like that.

another thing i like is how it clearly reflected one of the problems teenagers face nowadays. it's like the hunchback embodies that one teenager who was never really accepted into society because he/she was different, and in the end, although he died a tragic death, he died holding the love of his life, that one true person who accepted him despite his faults.

one note that i would like to add is that the events are not chronologically arranged which adds to the thrill of this book. little snippets of events that happened in the past are snuck into the chapters and slowly, the reader begins to piece everything up until they form the portrait the author wants to deliver.

i recommend this book to those of mature age, perhaps because it contains a lot of explicit stuff and i suppose pedophilia since la esmeralda is only sixteen years old and the captain and the priest are like-- really old people. -_-

anyway, if you have to ask who my favorite character is, i'd say pierre gringoire, the playwright, poet, philosopher and the supposed husband of la esmeralda. he is a really funny man who is, according to the archdeacon, an "everlasting stream of chatter" because he is always a mouthful, saying lines worth huge blocks of paragraphs and making me skip many parts. gringoire is a really funny man who takes much more interest in djali than his wife, la esmeralda; he even ended up saving the goat instead of her. oh, the wicked devil.

anyway, i forgot the events which happened in the disney movie but i am sure that the novel is entirely different in so many ways you can never imagine lol.

next up: wuthering heights by emily bronte. although i find this book a bore -_- i have to read it because it cost me P99. :C

ok that's it for my update. sorry for my horrible addiction to this book. i think i'm going to read it again if i have spare time. sorry also for the rusty review and some minor errors because i was doing a research paper lmao -_-

it's the deadline week and i'm here chillin like yeah

guess whose birthday it is today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111

whooo and i ~casually~ greeted him on faezbuk

but i don't go there anymore because people spam on my newsfeed

ok i don't know anymore bye