A brief retelling of Victor Hugo's novel "Notre Dame de Paris." Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral (Notre Dame Cathedral) Summary of Notre Dame de Paris
The novel “The Gathering of Notre Dame of Paris” is one of the most famous works of the French classic Victor Hugo. Published in 1831, it remains relevant to this day. Its central characters - the hunchback Quasimodo, the gypsy Esmeralda, the priest Claude Frollo, captain Phoebus de Chateaupert - have become real myths and continue to be replicated in modern culture.
The idea of writing a historical novel about the Middle Ages arose from Victor Hugo around 1823, when Walter Scott's book Quentin Durward was published. Unlike Scott, who was a master of historical realism, Hugo planned to create something more poetic, ideal, truthful, majestic, something that would “put Walter Scott in the frame of Homer.”
Concentrating the action around the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was Hugo’s own idea. In the 20s of the 19th century, he showed particular interest in architectural monuments, repeatedly visited the Cathedral, studied its history and layout. There he also met the abbot Abbot Egge, who partly became the prototype of Claude Frollo.
The history of the novel
Due to Hugo's busyness in the theater, writing the novel progressed rather slowly. However, when, under pain of a substantial penalty, the publisher told Hugo to finish the novel before February 1, 1831, the prose writer sat down to work. The writer's wife, Adele Hugo, recalls that he bought himself a bottle of ink, a huge sweatshirt that reached to his toes, in which he literally drowned, locked his dress so as not to succumb to the temptation to go out, and entered his novel as if into a prison.
Having completed the work on time, Hugo, as always, did not want to part with his favorite characters. He was determined to write sequels - the novels “Kicangron” (the popular name for the tower of an ancient French castle) and “The Son of the Hunchback.” However, due to work on theatrical productions, Hugo was forced to postpone his plans. The world never saw "Kikangroni" and "The Son of the Hunchback", but it still had the brightest pearl - the novel "Notre Dame Cathedral".
The author thought hard about the deep meaning of this message from the past: “Whose suffering soul did not want to leave this world without leaving behind the ancient church this stigma of crime or misfortune”?
Over time, the cathedral wall was restored, and the word disappeared from its face. So everything falls into oblivion over time. But there is something eternal - this word. And it gave birth to a book.
The story that unfolded at the walls of Notre Dame Cathedral began on January 6, 1482. The Palace of Justice hosts a magnificent celebration of Epiphany. They are performing the mystery play “The Righteous Judgment of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” composed by the poet Pierre Gringoire. The author is worried about the fate of his literary brainchild, but today the Parisian public is clearly not in the mood for a reunion with beauty.
The crowd is endlessly distracted: either it is occupied by the mischievous jokes of raging schoolchildren, or by exotic ambassadors who have arrived in the city, or by the election of a funny king, or a clownish pope. According to tradition, this is the one who makes the most incredible grimace. The undisputed leader in this competition is Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre Dame. His face is forever shackled with an ugly mask, so that not a single local jester can compete with him.
Many years ago, an ugly package of Quasimodo was thrown at the threshold of the Cathedral. He was raised and educated by the church rector Claude Frollo. In his early youth, Quasimodo was assigned to be a bell-ringer. The roar of the bells caused the boy's eardrums to burst and he became deaf.
For the first time, the author paints Quasimode’s face through the opening of a stone rosette, where each participant in the comic competition had to stick his face. Quasimodo had a disgusting tetrahedral nose, a horseshoe-shaped mouth, a tiny left eye covered by a red eyebrow, and an ugly wart hanging over his right eye, his teeth were crooked and looked like the battlements of a fortress wall that hung over a cracked lip and a cleft chin. In addition, Quasimodo was lame and hunchbacked, his body bent in an incredible arc. “Look at him - he’s a hunchback. If he walks, you see that he is lame. He will look at you - crooked. If you talk to him, you’ll be deaf,” jokes local ringleader Copenol.
This is how the clownish pope of 1482 turns out. Quasimodo is dressed in a tiara, a mantle, handed a staff and raised on an improvised throne in his arms to carry out a solemn procession through the streets of Paris.
Beauty Esmeralda
When the election of the buffoonish pope comes to an end, the poet Gringoire sincerely hopes for the rehabilitation of his mystery, but that was not the case - Esmeralda begins her dance on Greve Square!
The girl was short in stature, but seemed tall - that was how slender her figure was. Her dark skin shone gold in the light of the sun's rays. The street dancer's tiny foot walked easily in her graceful shoe. The girl fluttered in a dance on a Persian carpet, carelessly thrown at her feet. And every time her radiant face appeared before a captivated viewer, the gaze of her large black eyes blinded like lightning.
However, the dance of Esmeralda and her learned goat Djali is interrupted by the appearance of the priest Claude Frollo. He tears off the “royal” robe from his pupil Quasimodo and accuses Esmeralda of charlatanism. Thus ends the celebration on Place de Greve. The people little by little disperse, and the poet Pierre Gringoire goes home... Oh, yes - he has no home and no money! So the would-be scribbler has no choice but to just go wherever his eyes lead.
Scouring the streets of Paris in search of accommodation, Gringoire wanders to the Court of Miracles - a gathering place for beggars, vagabonds, street performers, drunkards, thieves, bandits, thugs and other wicked people. The local inhabitants refuse to welcome the midnight guest with open arms. He is asked to undergo a test - to steal a wallet from a scarecrow covered with bells, and to do it in such a way that none of the bells make a sound.
The writer Gringoire fails the test with a bang and dooms himself to death. There is only one way to avoid execution - to immediately marry one of the residents of the Court. However, everyone refuses to marry the poet. Everyone except Esmeralda. The girl agrees to become Gringoire's fictitious wife on the condition that this marriage does not last longer than four years and does not impose marital obligations on her. When the new hubby makes desperate attempts to seduce his pretty wife, she bravely pulls a sharp dagger from her belt - the girl is ready to defend her honor with blood!
Esmeralda protects her innocence for several reasons. Firstly, she firmly believes that an amulet in the form of a tiny bootie, which will point her to her true parents, helps only virgins. And secondly, the gypsy is recklessly in love with Captain Phoebus de Chateaupert. Only to him is she ready to give her heart and honor.
Esmeralda met Phoebus on the eve of her impromptu marriage. Returning after a performance to the Court of Miracles, the girl was captured by two men and saved by the handsome police captain Phoebus de Chateaupert, who arrived in time. Looking at the savior, she fell desperately and forever in love.
Only one criminal was caught - he turned out to be the hunchback of Notre Dame, Quasimodo. The kidnapper was sentenced to a public beating in the pillory. When the hunchback was exhausted from thirst, no one gave him a helping hand. The crowd roared with laughter, because what could be more fun than beating up a freak! His secret accomplice, priest Claude Frollo, also remained silent. It was he, bewitched by Esmeralda, who ordered Quasimodo to kidnap the girl, it was his unshakable authority that forced the unfortunate hunchback to remain silent and endure all the torture and humiliation alone.
Quasimodo was saved from thirst by Esmeralda. The victim brought a jug of water to her captor, the beauty helped the monster. Quasimodo's embittered heart melted, a tear slid down his cheek, and he fell in love with this beautiful creature forever.
A month has passed since the events and fateful meetings. Esmeralda is still passionately in love with Captain Phoebus de Chateaupert. But he had long since cooled off towards the beauty and resumed his relationship with his blond fiancée Fleur-de-Lys. However, the flighty handsome man still does not refuse a night date with a beautiful gypsy. During a meeting, someone attacks the couple. Before losing consciousness, Esmeralda only manages to see the dagger raised above Phoebus's chest.
The girl came to her senses already in the prison dungeon. She is accused of attempted murder of a police captain, prostitution and witchcraft. Under torture, Esmeralda confesses to all the atrocities she allegedly committed. The court sentences her to death by hanging. At the last moment, when the doomed woman has already ascended the scaffold, she is literally snatched from the hands of the executioner by the hunchback Quasimodo. With Esmeralda in his arms, he rushes to the gates of Notre Dame, shouting "refuge"!
The girl, alas, cannot live in captivity: she is frightened by a terrible savior, she is tormented by thoughts of her lover, but most importantly, her main enemy is nearby - the rector of the Cathedral, Claude Frollo. He is passionately in love with Esmeralda and is ready to exchange faith in God and his own soul for her love. Frollo invites Esmeralda to become his wife and run away with him. Having been refused, he, despite the right to a “sacred refuge,” kidnaps Esmeralda and sends her to a lonely tower (Rat Hole) under the protection of the local recluse Gudula.
Half-crazy Gudula hates gypsies and all their brood. A little less than sixteen years ago, the gypsies stole her only child, her beautiful daughter Agnes. Gudula, then called Paquette, went crazy with grief and became the eternal recluse of Rat Hole. In memory of her beloved daughter, she only had a tiny newborn bootie. Imagine Gudula’s surprise when Esmeralda took out a second bootie of the same kind. The mother has finally found her stolen child! But the executioners, led by Claude Frollo, approach the walls of the tower to pick up Esmeralda and take her to her death. Gudula protects her child until her last breath, dying in an unequal duel.
You've probably heard about Victor Hugo's novel “Les Miserables,” based on which more than ten film adaptations have been made, and the plot of which draws you in from the very first page.
Victor Hugo’s talented work “The Man Who Laughs” touches on the problem of human cruelty and heartlessness, which can destroy human lives and the happiness of others.
This time Esmeralda is executed. Quasimodo fails to save his beloved. But he takes revenge on her killer - the hunchback throws Claude Frollo from the tower. Quasimode himself lies down in the tomb next to Esmeralda. They say he died of grief near the body of his beloved. Many decades later, two skeletons were found in the tomb. One, hunched over, hugged the other. When they were separated, the hunchback's skeleton crumbled to dust.
What educated person does not know Victor Hugo's novel "Notre Dame de Paris"? After all, this book is present in any list of required literature recommended for schoolchildren to read during However, even those who have not bothered to get acquainted with this gorgeous work have at least some idea about the novel, thanks to the French musical that has made a splash all over the world. But time flies forward, our memory weeds out what it does not need. Therefore, for those who have forgotten what Hugo’s novel “Notre Dame de Paris” tells about, we give an amazing opportunity to remember how events unfolded during the time of King Louis XI. Friends, get ready! We are going to medieval France!
Hugo. Summary of the novelThe story told by the author takes place in France in the 15th century. Here the author creates a certain historical background against which a whole love drama unfolds between two people - a beauty and a freak, shown to us in quite vivid colors by Victor Hugo. "Notre-Dame de Paris" is, first of all, the love story of a hunchback freak and a charming gypsy.
The main character of the novel is a beautiful and young gypsy named Esmeralda. It so happened that three men were inflamed with passion for her at once: the archdeacon of the Cathedral - his pupil - the hunchbacked and deaf bell-ringer Quasimodo, as well as the captain of the riflemen of the royal regiment - the handsome young Phoebus de Chateaupert. However, each of them has their own idea of passion, love and honor!
Despite his mission to serve God, Archdeacon Frollo can hardly be called a pious man. At one time, it was he who picked up a little ugly boy abandoned by careless parents from a well, sheltered and raised him. But this in no way justifies him. Yes, he serves the Lord, but he does not serve for real, but simply because it is necessary! Frollo is endowed with executive power: he commands an entire royal regiment (the captain of which is our other hero, officer Phoebus), and also administers justice to people. But this is not enough for him. One day, noticing a beautiful young girl, the archdeacon succumbed to voluptuousness. He also experiences lust for young Esmeralda. Now Frollo cannot sleep at night: he locks himself in his cell and the gypsy.
Having received a refusal from Esmeralda, the false priest begins to take revenge on the young girl. He accuses her of being a witch! Claude says that the Inquisition is crying for her, and by hanging! Frollo orders his pupil, the deaf and crooked bell-ringer Quasimodo, to catch the gypsy! The hunchback fails to do this, because it is snatched from his hands by the young officer Phoebus, who happened to be patrolling the territory in that place.
Captain Phoebus is one of the nobles who served at court. He has a fiancée - a charming blond girl named Fleur-de-Lys. However, this does not stop Phoebus. Saving Esmeralda from a hunchbacked freak, the officer becomes infatuated with her. Now he is ready to do anything to get a night of love with a young gypsy, and he doesn’t even care about the fact that she is a virgin. She reciprocates his feelings! A poor young girl seriously falls in love with a lustful officer, mistaking a simple “glass” for a “diamond”!
Phoebus and Esmeralda agree on an evening meeting at a cabaret called "The Shelter of Love." However, their night was not destined to come true. When the officer and the gypsy are alone, the desperate archdeacon who has tracked Phoebus stabs him in the back! This blow turns out to be non-fatal, but for the trial of the gypsy and subsequent punishment (execution by hanging), this attempt on the captain of the riflemen is quite enough.
Beauty and the Beast
Because Quasimodo could not steal the gypsy, Frollo ordered him to be flogged in the square. And so it happened. When the hunchback asked for a drink, the only person who responded to his request was Esmeralda. She walked up to the chained freak and gave him a drink from a mug. This made a fatal impression on Quasimodo.
The hunchback, who always listened to his master (Archdeacon Frollo) in everything, finally went against his will. And it’s all because of love... The “monster’s” love for the beauty... He saved her from prosecution by hiding her in the Cathedral. According to the laws of medieval France, which were taken into account by Victor Hugo, Notre Dame Cathedral and any other temple of God was a refuge and shelter for every person persecuted by the authorities for one or another offense.
Over the course of several days spent within the walls of Notre-Dame de Paris, Esmeralda became friends with the hunchback. She fell in love with these terrible stone chimeras that sat above the Cathedral and the entire Greve Square. Unfortunately, Quasimodo never received mutual feelings from the gypsy. Of course, it couldn't be said that she didn't pay attention to him. He became her best friend. The girl saw a lonely and kind soul behind the external ugliness.
True and eternal love erased Quasimodo's external ugliness. The hunchback was finally able to find the courage to save his beloved from the death that Claude Frollo threatened her with - the gallows. He went against his mentor.
Eternal love...
Hugo's work "Notre Dame de Paris" is a book with a very dramatic ending. The ending of the novel can leave few people indifferent. The terrible Frollo nevertheless puts his plan of revenge into action - young Esmeralda finds herself in a noose. But her death will be avenged! The hunchback's love for the gypsy woman pushes him to kill his own mentor! Quasimodo pushes him off Notre Dame. The poor hunchback loves the gypsy very much. He takes her to the Cathedral, hugs her and... dies. Now they are together forever.
Municipal educational institution "Davydovskaya secondary school"N2"
ABSTRACT
ON THE LITERATURE ON THE TOPIC
"THE NOVEL OF VICTOR HUGO
"THE CATHEDRAL OF NOTRY DADY OF PARIS"
AND ITS MODERN REFLECTION IN THE MUSICAL
"NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS".
10a grade students
Belova Yana.
and literature
1. Introduction.
3. Novel “Notre Dame Cathedral”. Choice of era: 15th century.
4. Organization of the plot.
5. Reflection of social conflict in the novel.
6. Contrasts of the novel. Quasimodo, Frollo and Phoebus, everyone's love for Esmeralda.
7. Claude Frollo. Man cannot be placed outside the laws of nature.
8. Portrayal of the people in the novel.
9. The main problems of the novel.
10. Musical “Notre - Dame de Paris”.
History of creation.
Reasons for success.
11. Conclusion.
Why the musical “Notre-Dame de Paris” and Hugo’s novel are interesting and relevant in
our days?
12. List of references.
1.Introduction.
Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral was built over almost two centuries (from 1163 to 1330). Before the construction of the Eiffel Tower, it was considered the symbol of France. A huge building 120 meters high, with many secret passages, whose servants have always been particularly ascetic and reserved, has always aroused keen interest among the townspeople. The cathedral, covered in a veil of mystery, forced the people who inhabited the city to create legends about themselves. The most popular of them is the story of the noble hunchback Quasimodo and the “little merchant of illusions” (as Archdeacon Claude Frollo calls her in the original version of the musical), the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda. Or rather, this is not even a legend, but a true story that has come down to us with some changes, thanks to the famous French writer Victor Hugo.
2.Victor Hugo. Brief biography.
Reflection of his life positions in his work.
Victor Hugo's life spans almost the entire 19th century. He was born in 1802 and died in 1885. During this time, France experienced many turbulent events. This is the rise and fall of Napoleon, the restoration of Bourbon power and its collapse, the revolutions of 1830 and 1848, the Paris Commune. Young Hugo was formed as a personality under the influence of contradictory trends already within the family. The father of the future writer was the son of a carpenter, who later became a military man. He took part in the campaigns of Napoleonic army and received the rank of brigadier general. Hugo's mother came from a shipowner's family and sympathized with the royal family, which lost power as a result of the revolution of 1789-1794. But General Lagori, a Republican by conviction, was also a family friend at one time. He participated in a conspiracy against Napoleon, because he could not reconcile with the empire. He had to hide from the police in one of the monasteries in France, where Hugo’s family also settled for a while. Lagori spent a lot of time with children; under his guidance, young Hugo read the works of ancient Roman writers. And it was from this man, as the novelist himself recalled, that he first heard the words “freedom” and “right”. A few years later, Lagori, along with other conspirators who opposed Napoleon and the Empire, was shot. Hugo learned about this from the newspapers.
At an early age, the future writer became acquainted with the works of French enlighteners - Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau. This determined his democratic sympathies, sympathy for the poor, humiliated, oppressed people. And although Hugo’s political views and his relations with the authorities were often complex and contradictory, even sometimes marked by conservatism (for example, under the influence of his mother, he was at one time a royalist), the writer was always concerned about the problem of social inequality, he felt hatred for tyranny, tyranny and lawlessness.
3. Novel “Notre Dame Cathedral”.
Choice of era: 15th century.
In the novel “Notre Dame Cathedral,” which was published in 1831, the historical theme is deeply and circumstantially developed. The novel was created in the atmosphere of the revolution of 1830, which finally overthrew the power of the Bourbons in France. This determined the democratic pathos, the emotional intensity of the narrative, and the broad depiction of crowd scenes.
The very choice of the era to which the writer addresses is not accidental:
The Great Age of Genius Discoveries
Age of disasters
The age of killer and creator...
(Julius Kim).
The 15th century was a period of significant changes in the history of Europe and, in particular, France, in whose life the features of a new time were already emerging and the ideals of the Renaissance were taking shape. But this age of “cathedrals” was cruel and merciless. At the beginning of the 15th century, the church tried to destroy the germs of all knowledge based on experience, and preached the most absurd fabrications of Catholic theologians regarding living nature. The development based on the experience of knowledge in the Middle Ages and the achievement of well-known successes in the fields of medicine and mathematics, physics and astronomy occurred despite the immediate and strongest resistance from the church. By this time, the church, unable to strangle the non-church schools that had appeared in the cities of France and prevent the emergence of universities, tried to seize the management of educational institutions into its own hands. She expelled from them all opponents of the “new order”. So, killing the living and perpetuating the dead, the church used all its forces to hinder true cultural development. It brutally persecuted and destroyed the spiritual culture of the working masses both in the countryside and in the city, and suppressed the slightest glimmer of scientific thought. But everything comes to an end. At the end of the 15th century, printing presses appeared in France, the production of bricks for buildings took on a large scale, metallurgy developed significantly, the production of cast iron into iron began... The Church, as far as it was in its power, continued to hinder the development of culture that was not put at the service of the church interests. She turned the University of Paris into a center of deadening ecclesiastical scholasticism and the guardian of Catholic orthodoxy. However, the needs of the developing feudal society steadily led to the fact that through the thickness of scholastic wisdom, sprouts of knowledge based on experience more and more often broke through.
These processes confirmed the young Hugo's optimistic view of history as the progressive movement of humanity from ignorance to knowledge, from animal aspirations to spirituality, the light of reason.
Being a romantic, the writer views historical development as a struggle between evil and good, savagery and growing enlightenment
4. Organization of the plot.
Romantic pathos appeared in Hugo already in the very organization of the plot. The story of the gypsy Esmeralda, the archdeacon of Notre Dame Cathedral Claude Frollo, the bell ringer Quasimodo, the captain of the royal riflemen Phoebus de Chateaupert and other characters associated with them is full of secrets, unexpected turns of action, fatal coincidences and accidents. The fates of the heroes intricately intersect. Quasimodo tries to steal Esmeralda on the orders of Claude Frollo, but the girl is accidentally saved by guards led by Phoebus. Quasimodo is punished for the attempt on Esmeralda's life, but it is she who gives the unfortunate hunchback a sip of water when he stands in the pillory, and with her kind deed transforms him. There is a purely romantic, instantaneous change in character: Quasimodo turns from a brute animal into a man and, having fallen in love with Esmeralda, objectively finds himself in confrontation with Frollo, who plays a fatal role in the girl’s life.
The destinies of Quasimodo and Esmeralda turn out to be closely intertwined in the distant past. Esmeralda was kidnapped by gypsies as a child and among them received her exotic name (Esmeralda in Spanish means “emerald”), and they left an ugly baby in Paris, who was then taken in by Claude Frollo, calling him in Latin (Qusimodo translated as “unfinished”), but also in France Quasimodo is the name of the Red Hill holiday, on which Frollo picked up the baby.
Hugo brings the emotional intensity of the action to the limit, depicting Esmeralda’s unexpected meeting with her mother, the recluse of Roland’s Tower Gudula, who always hates the girl, considering her a gypsy. This meeting takes place literally minutes before the execution of Esmeralda, whom the mother is trying in vain to save. But what is fatal at this moment is the appearance of Phoebus, whom the girl loves dearly and whom, in her blindness, she trusts in vain. It is impossible not to notice, therefore, that the reason for the tense development of events in the novel is not only chance, an unexpected combination of circumstances, but also the spiritual impulses of the characters, human passions: passion forces Frollo to pursue Esmeralda, which becomes the impetus for the development of the central intrigue of the novel; love and compassion for the unfortunate girl determine the actions of Quasimodo, who temporarily manages to steal her from the hands of the executioners, and a sudden insight, indignation at the cruelty of Frollo, who greeted Esmeralda’s execution with hysterical laughter, turns the ugly bell-ringer into an instrument of just retribution: Quasimodo, suddenly rebelling against his teacher and master, throws him off the wall of the cathedral.
The fates of the central characters are organically integrated into the colorful life of Paris in the 15th century. The novel is densely populated. In it, an image of French society of that time appears: from courtiers to beggars, from a learned monk to a half-mad recluse, from a brilliant knight to a homeless poet. In an effort to convey the historical flavor of the era, the writer seems to resurrect before us the morals, customs, rituals and prejudices of people of the distant past. The urban landscape plays a big role in this. Hugo seems to be restoring Paris of the 15th century, telling the history of each monument, explaining the topography, names of streets and buildings. Notre Dame itself is depicted in more detail, acting as a kind of protagonist in the novel.
In the third book of the novel, entirely dedicated to the cathedral, the author literally sings a hymn to this wonderful creation of human genius. For Hugo, the cathedral is “like a huge stone symphony, a colossal creation of man and people... a wonderful result of the union of all the forces of the era, where from each stone splashes the imagination of a worker, taking hundreds of forms, disciplined by the genius of the artist... This creation of human hands is powerful and abundant, like a creation God, from whom it seemed to borrow a dual character: diversity and eternity ... "
The cathedral became the main scene of action; the fates of Archdeacon Claude, Frollo, Quasimodo, and Esmeralda are connected with it. The stone sculptures of the cathedral bear witness to human suffering, nobility and betrayal, and just retribution. By telling the history of the cathedral (or any other building), allowing us to imagine what they looked like in the distant 15th century, the author achieves a special effect. The reality of the stone structures that can be observed in Paris to this day confirms in the eyes of the reader the reality of the characters, their destinies, and the reality of human tragedies. This is also facilitated by the vivid characteristics that the author gives to the appearance of his characters even at their first appearance. Being a romantic, he uses bright colors, contrasting tones, emotionally rich epithets, and unexpected exaggerations. Here, for example, is a portrait of Esmeralda: “She was short in stature, but she seemed tall - that’s how slender her figure was. She was dark-skinned, but it was not difficult to guess that during the day her skin had that wonderful golden hue that is characteristic of Andalusian and Roman women. The girl danced, fluttered, twirled... and every time her shining face flashed, the gaze of her black eyes blinded you like lightning... Thin, fragile, with bare shoulders and occasionally slender legs flashing from under her skirt, black-haired, fast, like a wasp “, in a golden bodice that fits tightly to the waist, in a colorful billowing dress, with shining eyes, she truly seemed like an unearthly creature.” Esmeralda lives carefree, earning her living by singing and dancing in the streets.
Depicting Quasimodo, the author does not spare colors to describe his ugliness, but even in this frightening figure there is a certain attractiveness. If Esmeralda is the embodiment of lightness and grace, then Quasimodo is the embodiment of monumentality, commanding respect for power: “there was some formidable expression of strength, agility and courage in his entire figure - an extraordinary exception to the general rule that requires that strength, like beauty , flowed from harmony... It seemed that it was a broken and unsuccessfully welded giant.” Quasimodo became so accustomed to the walls of the cathedral in which he lived that he began to resemble the chimeras decorating the building: “The protruding corners of his body seemed to be created in order to be embedded ... in the concave corners of the building, and he seemed not only an inhabitant of the cathedral, but also a necessary part of it. One can, almost without exaggerating, say that he took the form of a cathedral... The cathedral became his home, his lair, his shell... Quasimodo grew to the cathedral like a turtle to its shield. The rough shell of his building became his shell.”
The comparison of Quasimodo with the cathedral, a peculiar likening of their people, runs through the entire novel. And this is no coincidence. Quasimodo's connection with the cathedral is not only external, but also deeply internal. And it is based on the fact that both the character and the temple building embody the national principle. The cathedral, which was created over almost two centuries, embodied the great spiritual forces of the people, and the bell ringer Quasimodo, under whose hand the bells came to life and began to sing, became its soul. If Quasimodo embodies the spiritual potential of the people, hidden under external rudeness and animality, but ready to awaken under the ray of goodness, then Esmeralda is a symbol of people's cheerfulness, naturalness, and harmony.
5. Reflection of social conflict in the novel.
Criticism has repeatedly noted that both characters, Esmeralda and Quasimodo, are persecuted in the novel, powerless victims of an unfair trial and cruel laws: Esmeralda is tortured and sentenced to death, Quasimodo is easily sent to the pillory. In society he is an outcast, an outcast. But having barely outlined the motive for the social assessment of reality (as, by the way, in the depiction of the king and the people), the romantic Hugo focuses his attention on something else. He is interested in the clash of moral principles, eternal polar forces: good and evil, selflessness and selfishness, the beautiful and the ugly.
The robber Clopin Truilfou, the King of Altyn from the Court of Miracles, who takes care of Esmeralda and became her second father, is also a very important character. In his novel, Hugo does not pay enough attention to him, but in the musical “Notre-Dame de Paris” his role is very significant. First of all, it consists in the transmission of social conflict:
We are nobody, we are nothing -
Nobody needs
But then, but then,
We always owe everyone.
Our life is an eternal battle,
Our life is a wolf howl!
…………………………………
He who is not his own is also an enemy,
Here's our answer...
(Yuliy Kim)
Since he is a leader among the vagabonds, it was important to reflect not only aggression, but above all the fact that he is a thinker, like most leaders... This character is very bright and dramatic. The musical shows well the contrasting traits of his character: aggressiveness, willingness to take even the most extreme measures and the ability to enjoy life; his fatherly feelings towards Esmeralda are revealed:
Esmeralda, understand,
After all, you have become different,
What was she like at eight years old?
When I was left an orphan...
(Yuliy Kim)
6. Contrasts of the novel.
Quasimodo, Frollo and Phoebus. Everyone's love for Esmeralda.
The system of images in the novel is based on the theory of the grotesque developed by Hugo and the principle of contrast. The characters are lined up in clearly defined contrasting pairs: the freak Quasimodo and the beautiful Esmeralda, also Quasimodo and the outwardly irresistible Phoebus; the ignorant bell-ringer is a learned monk who has learned all the medieval sciences; Claude Frollo also opposes Phoebus: one is an ascetic, the other is immersed in the pursuit of entertainment and pleasure. The gypsy Esmeralda is contrasted with the blond Fleur-de-Lys, Phoebe’s bride, a rich, educated girl who belongs to high society.
Quasimodo, Frollo and Phoebus all three love Esmeralda, but in their love each appears as the antagonist of the other (this is well shown by Luc Plamondon in the original version of the world famous song "Belle").
Phoebus needs a love affair for a while, Frollo burns with passion, hating Esmeralda for this as the object of his desires. Quasimodo loves the girl selflessly and disinterestedly; he confronts Phoebus and Frollo as a man devoid of even a drop of selfishness in his feelings and, thereby, rises above them. This is how a new level of contrast arises: the external appearance and internal content of the character: Phoebus is beautiful, but internally dull, mentally poor; Quasimodo is ugly in appearance, but beautiful in soul.
Thus, the novel is constructed as a system of polar oppositions. These contrasts are not just an artistic device for the author, but a reflection of his ideological positions and concept of life. The confrontation between polar principles seems to Hugo’s romance to be eternal in life, but at the same time, as already mentioned, he wants to show the movement of history. According to the researcher of French literature Boris Revizov, Hugo views the change of eras - the transition from the early Middle Ages to the late, that is, the Renaissance period - as a gradual accumulation of goodness, spirituality, a new attitude towards the world and towards ourselves. The symbolic embodiment of this movement is the Notre Dame Cathedral itself: begun in the 12th century and completed in the 14th, it embodies the entire crisis of the Middle Ages and the transition to modern times.
7. Claude Frollo.
Man cannot be placed outside the laws of nature
But such a transition develops painfully. Characteristic in this regard is the image of the Archdeacon of Josas, Claude Frollo. He, as already mentioned, played a terrible role in the fate of Esmeralda: he tried to kill Phoebus, seeing him as his rival; and allowed the accusation to be brought against Esmeralda. When the girl rejected his love, he handed her over to the executioners. Frollo is a criminal, but also a victim. A victim not only of his own egoism, his own delusions, but also a kind of victim of historical development: in his person an entire era, an entire civilization perishes.
He is a monk who devoted his entire life to serving God, scholastic science, subordinating himself to ascetic dogma - the killing of the flesh. A kind of curse hangs over Frollo - the ananke of dogma. He is a dogmatist in his religious ideas and in his scientific research. But his life turns out to be meaningless, science - fruitless and powerless.
This idea is already revealed in the description of Frollo’s office: “... compasses and retors lay on the table. Animal skeletons hung from the ceiling. Human and horse skulls lay on the manuscripts... on the floor, without any pity for the fragility of their parchment pages, piles of huge open tomes were thrown, in a word, all the rubbish of science was collected here. And on all this chaos there is dust and cobwebs.”
Even before meeting Esmeralda, Claude Frollo experiences deep dissatisfaction with himself, his lifestyle as a hermit monk, and his academic studies, which have led him to a spiritual dead end. A meeting with a young, beautiful girl, the embodiment of natural harmony, changes his soul. A living person awakens in him, thirsting for love. But Frollo’s feeling has to break through the barrier of religious prohibitions, unnatural moral dogmas, and it takes on the character of a painful, destructive selfish passion that does not take into account the feelings and desires of the very object of this passion. Frollo perceives his passion for Esmeralda as the influence of witchcraft, as a cruel fate, as a curse. But in fact, this is a manifestation of the inevitable course of history, destroying the old medieval worldview, ascetic morality, which tried to place man outside the laws of nature.
8. Portrayal of the people in the novel.
The course of history leads to the awakening of the masses. One of the central scenes of the novel is the scene depicting the storming of the cathedral by a crowd of angry inhabitants of the Court of Miracles, trying to free Esmeralda. And King Louis 11 at this time, fearing the rebellious people, hides in the Bastille. An astute reader of that time could see a parallel between Louis 11 and Charles 10, removed from power after the revolution of 1830.
Depicting the people, Hugo shows their strength, power, but also the spontaneous nature of their actions, changeability of moods and even their blindness. This is manifested in the attitude of the Parisians towards Quasimodo, today they elect him as the King of the Jesters, and tomorrow they humiliate him in the pillory.
In the scene of the storming of the cathedral, Quasimodo and the people turn out to be opponents; but both the bell ringer protecting the cathedral and the people trying to break into it act in the name of Esmeralda’s interests, but do not understand each other.
9. The main problems of the novel.
Thus, the author’s position in assessing the people appears complex. It is again due to the fact that Hugo, being a romantic, focuses the reader’s attention on the role of chance in the fate of the characters, on the role of emotions, passionate impulses, be it an individual person or a crowd of people. In the writer’s depiction, life appears simultaneously full of tragedy and comic absurdities, sublime and base, beautiful and ugly, cruel and cheerful, good and evil. This approach to reality corresponds to Hugo’s aesthetic concept, and reminds the modern reader of the eternity of many universal human values: kindness, nobility, selfless love. The novel also reminds us of the need for compassion and empathy for lonely people, rejected by society, and humiliated. In the preface to the Russian translation of “Notre Dame de Paris,” he noted that Hugo’s thought about “restoring a lost man” is “the main idea of art of the entire 19th century.”
10. Musical "Notre-Dame de Paris".
History of creation. Reasons for success.
Hugo's work is widely reflected in musical art. The Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi created an opera of the same name based on the plot of the drama “Ernani”, and the opera “Rigoletto” based on the plot of the drama “The King Amuses himself”. In the 20th century, the musical “Les Miserables” was staged.
Based on the novel Notre-Dame de Paris, Hugo wrote the opera libretto Esmeralda, the plot of which inspired many composers, including his opera Esmeralda, which was staged in 1847. Italian composer Cesare Pugni wrote the ballet Esmeralda. In the 60s of the 20th century, the composer M. Jarre created the ballet “Notre-Dame de Paris”.
But the most popular and interesting production of this novel was the now fashionable musical “Notre-Dame de Paris”, which became an event in theatrical life. It broke all box office records, captivating audiences whose total number exceeded three million. At the same time, the total number of audio recordings sold exceeded the seven million mark.
What was the path to such incredible success?
In 1993, Luc Plamondon, a popular songwriter in France, Canada and several other countries, began searching for a French theme for a new musical.
“I began to look through the dictionary of literary heroes,” he recalls, “but my gaze did not linger for a moment near the name Esmeralda, as well as near other names. Finally I reached the letter “Q”, read: “Qasimodo”, and then it dawned on me - well, of course, “Notre Dame Cathedral”, because the plot of this work is well known to everyone, it cannot be confused with anything, and no one will have to explain what we are talking about. And that's why there have been at least a dozen film adaptations of Hugo's novel, from the first silent films to Walt Disney's recent animated version.
Re-reading the six-hundred-page novel, Plamondon, in the heat of inspiration, made rough sketches of lyrics for three dozen songs and went with them to his old colleague, Richard Cocciente.
Plamondon, who worked on the musical with Cocciente for three years, recalls this meeting with delight:
He then played me several very successful melodies, which later turned into the arias “Belle”, “Le Temps des Cathedrales” and “Danse Mon Esmeralda”. It seemed to me that they were in no way inferior to the melodies of the best opera arias, and their unique originality should have ensured our success with the modern audience.
The composer’s rather original musical taste was formed in childhood, when he became seriously interested in opera and at the same time avidly listened to the group “The Beatles”, which largely influenced his further work: indeed, in all of Cocciente’s music, in every of his songs, there is both classic and modern.
In 1996, avant-garde director Gilles Mahut became interested in the musical. Back in the eighties, he staged a twenty-minute ballet about Esmeralda and three men in love with her.
All that remained was to find a producer. The outstanding French producer and entrepreneur Charles Talard decided to support the project, uttering a historical phrase:
If people like Plamondon, Cocciente and Victor Hugo are involved in the matter, consider that I am also involved in it!
The very next day, the producers rented the Parisian Palais des Congrès, whose hall seats five thousand spectators, and invested three million pounds sterling in the production of the play, which premiered in September 1998.
The best professionals took part in creating the visuals of the performance: lighting director Alan Lortie, lighting designer for concerts of many rock stars; artist Christian Ratz (set designs), known for his work on the opera stage; costume designer, famous in the world of Parisian fashion, Fred Satal; the eternal director of modern ballet performances Martino Müller from the Netherlands Dance Theater. The arrangements of the tunes were performed under the general direction of Richard Cocciente by the best French performer of jazz improvisations Yannick Top (bass) as well as Serge Peratone (keyboards), with the direct participation of Claude Salmieri (drums), Claude Engel (guitar) and Marc Chantreau (other percussion instruments) ). Eight months before the premiere of the play, in January 1998, an album of hits from the musical was released.
“Notre-Dame de Paris” entered the Guinness Book of Records as the most commercially successful musical in its first year. This musical received more than twenty international awards, including prizes for best direction and best show at the Gala of the ADISO in 1999 in Montreal and for best musical performance at the festival in Paris.
The musical was initially doomed to success. Stunning music, as already mentioned, combining classicism and modernity, attracts the attention of both young people and representatives of older generations.
The music is a mixture of different styles, carefully selected from each other: for example, the first aria of the poet Gringoire resembles the song of a medieval troubadour singer; rock, gypsy romance, church singing, flamenco rhythms, simply lyrical ballads - all these, at first glance, different styles combine perfectly with each other and together form a single whole.
“Notre-Dame de Paris” played a key role in the history of the European musical, becoming a turning point that changed the laws of the genre created in America (although few people know the canons of the American musical in Russia), the texts of the musical’s libretto are striking in their boldness and philosophy.
In the musical, unlike the novel, there are no supporting roles (except for the ballet). There are only seven main characters, and each of them performs its own function.
The poet Pierre Gringoire is not so much a participant as a witness and narrator of everything that happens. He tells viewers about the era of that time, about events and heroes. He strongly empathizes with the characters and expresses his dissatisfaction with the cruelty of the world:
For centuries there has been a war between people and people,
And there is no place in the world for patience and love.
And the pain is getting stronger, and the scream is getting stronger -
When, my God, will you stop them?!
(Yuliy Kim)
Fleur-de-Lys is the bride of Phoebe de Chateaupert. If in Hugo's novel she is the same naive girl as Esmeralda, blindly trusting her beloved Phoebus, then in the musical everything is not so simple. It is very interesting to watch the development of character: if at the beginning of the play we see the same character as Hugo:
The sun of life is bright Phoebus!
You are my knight, my hero...
(Yuliy Kim),
then at the end the complete opposite appears:
My darling, you are not an angel,
I'm not a sheep either.
Dreams, hopes, vows, -
Alas, nothing lasts forever...
I will be a faithful wife
But swear on my head
That this witch will be strung up...
(Yuliy Kim)
11.Conclusion.
Why the musical Notre- Dame de Paris" and Hugo's novel
interesting and relevant today?
All the characters in Notre-Dame de Paris are attractive primarily because they are all ordinary people: they are also characterized by resentment, jealousy, compassion and the desire to live the way each of them dreams of living.
Why do the public still care about Hugo's characters? Yes, because the story of the beautiful Gypsy Esmeralda and the noble hunchback Quasimodo is reminiscent of the fairy tale about Beauty and the Beast and in some ways anticipates The Phantom of the Opera. Even in a consumer society with its consumer passions, this story remains a powerful, soul-stirring myth. Some of the themes touched upon in Hugo's novel and preserved in Plamondon's libretto are becoming more relevant today than ever: about refugees seeking shelter, about racism, about the role of religion, about fear of the unknown, about man's place in an ever-changing world:
This is a new flood of dubious words,
In which everything will collapse - the temple, God, and the cross.
The world is changing for unprecedented things,
We will reach the stars - and this is not the limit.
And in my pride, forgetting about God,
Let's destroy the old temple and create a new myth.
Everything will have its time...
(Yuliy Kim)
But the main theme of both the novel and the musical is, of course, love.
Victor Hugo believed that love is the beginning and end of all things, and without love itself, people and objects cannot exist. A person of the highest spiritual essence clearly understands that when he comprehends the secrets of high love, he becomes one of the happiest people in the world.
Love is not a sentimental feeling that anyone can experience, regardless of the level of maturity they have achieved. Love cannot exist without true humanity, selflessness, courage and faith.
Love is not for egocentrics. “The meaning of happy love is to give. A person in love cannot give to himself, he only takes and thereby inevitably poisons all the best in love” ().
Love cannot exist without beauty, beauty not only external, but also internal.
While Esmeralda was in the cathedral, one day she heard Quasimodo singing. The verses of this song were without rhyme, the melody was also not distinguished by beauty, but the whole soul of the unfortunate bell-ringer was invested in it:
Don't look at your face, girl
And look into the heart.
The heart of a beautiful youth is often ugly.
There are hearts where love does not live.
Girl, the pine tree is not beautiful,
And not as good as poplar,
But the pine tree turns green even in winter.
Alas! Why would you sing about this?
That which is ugly, let it perish;
Beauty is only attracted to beauty,
And April doesn't look at January.
Beauty is perfect
Beauty is almighty
Only beauty lives life to the fullest...
After Esmeralda’s execution, Quasimodo disappeared from the cathedral, and only two years later, in the crypt where the Gypsy’s dead body was placed, two skeletons of a man and a woman were found, one tightly hugging the other. Judging by the curved spine, it was the skeleton of Quasimodo, when they tried to separate them, it crumbled...
Years have passed, followed by centuries, man has entered the third millennium, and the story of the hunchbacked bell-ringer and the beautiful gypsy is not forgotten. It will be told and retold as long as the bells ring on earth...
13. References:
Foreign literature: From Aeschylus to Flaubert:
Book for teachers.
(Voronezh: “Native Speech”, 1994 – 172 p.)
World History. Volume 3.
Development of French culture in the 14th-15th centuries.
(Moscow: State Publishing House of Political Literature.
1957 – 894 pp.).
3. Pierre Perrone.
"Success Story".
Main characters
Victor Hugo created the following famous vivid images in his novel:
- Quasimodo- the bell ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral, a deaf hunchback, became deaf from the ringing of bells
- Claude Frollo- priest, archdeacon, rector of the Cathedral
- Phoebe de Chateaupert- Captain of the Royal Fusiliers
- Pierre Gringoire- poet, philosopher, playwright, later a tramp
- Clopin Trouillefou- leader of the Court of Miracles, beggar
- edit] Plot
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By order of Cardinal Charles of Bourbon, a play was to be presented in the central hall of the Palace of Justice (“Great Hall”) with the participation of characters from the Bible, as well as ancient Roman gods - a mystery play. The play was dedicated to the marriage planned at that time of the “son of the lion of France,” the heir to the French throne, Dauphin Charles and Margaret of Austria. After the mystery, the election of the main comedian of Paris - the clownish pope - was to take place.
The cardinal and the honored Flemish guests were late for the mystery because they had spent too long listening to the speeches of the university lecturer. Lecturers, economists and trustees are mocked by a lazy schoolboy (student) Jehan Frollo, the younger brother of one of the main characters (“And we have 4 pieces of all sorts of rubbish in our shop: 4 holidays, 4 faculties, 4 lecturers, 4 housekeeper, 4 trustees and 4 librarians!”). Author of the mystery Pierre Gringoire, promised to come to an agreement with the cardinal and the performance began in the absence of Charles. When Charles and the ambassadors of Flanders (in particular, Guillaume Rome and Jacques Copenol) appeared, Pierre “clenched his fists in impotent rage,” because the people were no longer interested in the poet’s brilliant creation. The last hope of completing the mystery “dissipated like smoke” when the people shouted: “ Esmeralda on the square! ran out of the palace.
The election of a clownish pope took place - he became the hunchbacked bell ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral Quasimodo. Pierre fled from the palace in despair. He had nowhere to while away the night, because he was counting on paying for housing with the money received from the mystery. He decided to share the joy with the people and went to the fire in the square. There Pierre saw a dancing girl “of such beauty that God himself would prefer her to the Virgin Mary.” After the dance, Esmeralda began to demonstrate the unusual abilities of her goat Jalli, for which Esmeralda was criticized by a priest standing in the crowd Claude Frollo, mentor of the hunchback Quasimodo. Thieves, beggars and vagabonds celebrated their new hunchbacked king. Seeing this, Claude tears off Quasimodo's clothes, takes away the scepter and leads the hunchback away.
The gypsy woman collects money for her dance and goes home. Pierre follows her in the hope that, in addition to her beautiful appearance, she has a kind heart and will help him with housing. In front of Pierre's eyes, the gypsy is kidnapped by Quasimodo and someone else, with his face covered. Esmeralda is saved by a brilliant officer Phoebe de Chateaupert. Esmeralda falls in love with him.
Following the girl, Gringoire finds himself in the Court of Miracles, where the Parisian beggars live. Clopin accuses Pierre of illegally trespassing on the territory of the Court of Miracles and plans to hang him. The poet asks to be accepted into their community, but does not pass the difficult test; you need to pull out the wallet from the stuffed animal with the bells, so that they don’t ring. In the last minutes before the execution, the beggars remembered that according to the law, Pierre must say whether there is a woman who will marry him. If one is found, the sentence is canceled. Esmeralda agreed to become the poet's wife. He recognized her. They were “married” for 4 years. However, the girl does not allow Gringoire to touch her. As it turned out, Esmeralda wore an amulet that was supposed to help her find her parents, but there was one significant “but” - the talisman is only valid as long as the gypsy remains a virgin.
After the “wedding,” Gringoire accompanies Esmeralda during her performances in the square. During the next dance of the gypsy, Archdeacon Frollo recognizes his student Gringoire in her new companion and begins to question the poet in detail about how he got involved with the street dancer. The fact of the marriage of Esmeralda and Gringoire outrages the priest, he takes his word from the philosopher so that he does not touch the gypsy. Gringoire tells Frollo that Esmeralda is in love with a certain Phoebus and dreams of him day and night. This news causes an unprecedented attack of jealousy in the archdeacon, he decides to find out at all costs who this Phoebus is and to find him.
The search for Frollo is crowned with success. Driven by jealousy, he not only finds Captain Phoebus, but also inflicts a serious wound on him during his date with Esmeralda, which further incites the gypsy against him.
Esmeralda is accused of the murder of Phoebus (Claude manages to leave the crime scene by jumping through a window into the river), taken into custody and subjected to torture, unable to bear it the girl admits her “guilt”. Esmeralda is sentenced to death by hanging at the Place de Grève. On the night before her execution, the archdeacon comes to the girl in prison. He invites the captive to escape with him, but she angrily pushes away the murderer of her beloved Phoebus. Even before the execution, all her thoughts are occupied by Phoebus. Fate gave her the chance to see him one last time. He stood completely cool on the balcony of the house of his fiancée Fleur-de-Lys. At the last moment, Quasimodo saves her and hides her in the cathedral.
Esmeralda even then does not stop dreaming of the captain of the royal riflemen (his wound turned out to be non-fatal), not believing that he had forgotten her long ago. All the inhabitants of the Court of Miracles go to rescue their innocent sister. They storm Notre Dame Cathedral, which Quasimodo jealously defends, believing that the tramps have come to execute the gypsy. Clopin Trouillefou and Jehan Frollo died in this battle.
When the siege of the cathedral began, Esmeralda was sleeping. Suddenly two people come to her cell: her “husband” Pierre Gringoire and a certain man in black clothes. Overwhelmed by fear, she still follows the men. They secretly take her out of the cathedral. Too late, Esmeralda realizes that the mysterious silent companion is none other than Archdeacon Claude Frollo. On the other side of the river, Claude asks for the last time what she chooses: to be with him or to be hanged. The girl is adamant. Then the angry priest gives her to the protection of the recluse Gudula.
The recluse is cruel and unceremonious with the girl: after all, she is a gypsy. But everything is resolved in the most unusual way - it turns out that little Agnes, who was kidnapped by gypsies from Gudula (Pacquette Chantfleury) and Esmeralda, are one and the same person. Gudula promises to save her daughter and hides her in her cell. But when the guards come for the girl, Phoebus de Chateaupert is among them. In a fit of love, Esmeralda forgets about caution and calls him. All the mother's efforts are in vain. The daughter is taken away. She tries to the last to save her, but in the end she dies herself.
Esmeralda is brought back to the square. Only then does the girl realize the horror of imminent death. From the top of the cathedral, Quasimodo and, of course, Claude Frollo watched this tragic scene.
Realizing that Frollo was responsible for the death of the gypsy, a maddened Quasimodo threw his adoptive father from the top of the cathedral. Claude Frollo fell to his death. Shifting his gaze from the square to the foot of the cathedral, from the body of the gypsy woman beating in death convulsions to the mutilated body of the priest, Quasimodo desperately shouted: “That’s all I loved!” After that the hunchback disappeared.
The final scene of the novel tells how two bodies were found in the tomb of the Montfaucon gallows, one of which hugged the other. It was Quasimodo and Esmeralda. When they tried to separate them, Quasimodo's skeleton crumbled to dust.
Meaning
The novel was written by Hugo with the aim of using the Gothic cathedral of Paris, which at that time was going to be demolished or modernized, as the main character. Following the publication of the novel in France, and then throughout Europe, a movement developed for the preservation and restoration of Gothic monuments (see neo-Gothic, Viollet-le-Duc).
Translation
In Russian translation, excerpts from the novel appeared already in the year of its publication (in the Moscow Telegraph) and continued to be published in 1832 (in the Telescope magazine). Due to censorship obstacles, the Russian translation did not appear in full immediately. The first complete translation of “Notre Dame de Paris” (probably by Yu. P. Pomerantseva) appeared in the Dostoevsky brothers’ magazine “Time” only in 1862, and in 1874 it was republished as a separate book. .
Every more or less large city in countries where the main religion is Christianity (and not only in them) can boast of a cathedral and, sometimes, more than one.
Perhaps the most famous, most bewitching and extraordinary, having absorbed many legends, is Notre Dame Cathedral, or Notre-Dame de Paris. It can be called the heart of France.
On the square in front of the cathedral there is a “zero kilometer” sign; all roads in the country are counted from this point.
It was built on the Ile de la Cité, which is also called the “cradle of Paris.” Once upon a time, this place was the site of the ancient Temple of Jupiter, and then the first Christian church in Paris - St. Stephen's Basilica.
The history of Notre-Dame de Paris
The history of the cathedral begins with the appointment of the Bishop of Paris Maurice de Sully, who became the main initiator of the construction of the most remarkable temple in all of France. Pope Alexander III was present at the ceremony of laying the first stone in 1163, which has given historians reason to assume that he personally laid the stone.
Construction of the building lasted almost 170 years, although the main part of the cathedral was actually completed in 1196, when the nave of the building was completed. A few days after the completion of work in the nave, Maurice de Sgolly, who was already well over seventy, died. The cathedral was completely completed in 1330.
Due to such a long construction period, the cathedral building contains features of both Romanesque and Gothic styles, which gives it both monumentality and grace. In the south and east of the cathedral there are two bell towers, the height of which is 69 meters.
Features of the interior design of the cathedral
Since the decoration was completed during the era of the dominance of the Gothic style, there are no frescoes inside, and the only source of color is the giant stained glass windows in the lancet windows.
Unfortunately, of the original stained glass windows, only the part in the south “rose” window has survived to this day. It depicts Christ surrounded by the Virgin Mary, saints and 12 apostles.
In the 17th-18th centuries, the cathedral was partially rebuilt; the pulpit and tombs inside were demolished, and some of the original stained glass windows were replaced with ordinary glass.
But real disasters befell the cathedral during the era Great French Revolution.
First, it was looted and partially destroyed, then turned into a “temple of Reason,” after which it completely became a wine warehouse.
Under Napoleon Bonaparte, the cathedral was reconsecrated, but after the return of the Bourbons, it was abandoned and was under threat of demolition.
In 1841, restoration began, which lasted 23 years. The renovation work was led by Viollet-le-Duc, who came up with the idea of creating the famous statues of chimeras at the foot of the towers.
The Virgin Mary with two angels is located in the center of the main stained glass rose window, whose diameter is 9.6 meters, and to the left and right, as a reminder of the original sin, are Adam and Eve.
Wrought iron with a fanciful pattern adds beauty to the doors of the entrance doors to the Cathedral.
The North and South portals have their own names, the North one - in honor Virgin Mary, and the southern one - in honor St. Anne's.
Scenes of the Last Judgment are located on the central portal. The ledges are famous for the figures depicted on them: on the left is Saint Dionysius, the first bishop, on the right is Saint Etienne, the deacon.
The lighting in Notre Dame is natural, but very poor, since the light penetrates only through the tall, lancet windows, glazed with stained glass.
As is typical for all Catholic churches, unlike Orthodox churches, there is absolutely no painting on the walls of the Cathedral. And only around the main altar the walls are covered with reliefs telling about the life of Jesus Christ.
The main, largest bell, whose tone is F sharp, sounds quite rarely. All other bells, which have their own names, ring at eight o'clock in the morning and seven o'clock in the evening.
Bell names:
- Angelique Francoise, weight is 1765 kg, tone C sharp.
- Antoinette Charlotte, weight is 1158 kg, tone D-sharp.
- Hyacinthe Jeanne, weight is 813 kg, tone F.
- Denise David, weight is 670 kg, tone F-sharp.
Believers are given the opportunity to venerate the shrines on the first Friday of every month, as well as on Good Friday of Catholic Lent. It is on these days that the Crown of Thorns, a particle of the Cross of the Lord and the Grape of the Cross become available for worship.
But the queue is huge, you need to come and take a seat early, long before the start of the ceremonies. 
Listening to the amazing sound of the six-ton bell, one cannot help but recall the immortal work of Victor Hugo and his main characters - the hunchback Quasimodo, the beautiful Esmeralda, the handsome Phoebus... After all, it was to this bell that the unfortunate Quasimodo entrusted all his troubles and suffering.
And every Sunday a mass is held in the Cathedral, to which everyone is allowed. At Mass you can enjoy the sounds of the largest organ in the country. Admission is free these days.
Notre Dame de Paris is second only to the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre in popularity; tourists come here in the millions.
Over the centuries of the Cathedral's existence, a huge collection of ceremonial things and religious relics has accumulated there, such as a piece of the cross and a nail from the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, various manuscripts, sacred cups, and robes.
During the tour, you will climb the 422 steps of the spiral staircase, go out to the observation deck and enjoy a beautiful view of the Ile de la Cité.
It is here that you will see a thirteen-ton bell named Emmanuel, which sounds only on special occasions - during major church holidays and after terrible disasters, when all nations unite in common grief and compassion, for example, this happened after the tragedy of the Twin Towers in America.
The further path also runs through Gallery of Chimeras, created only in the nineteenth century.
To purchase tickets and get on the tour, you need to find the foot of the North Tower from Monastery Street (address: Rue du cloitre Notre-Dame), buy tickets and enjoy immersing yourself in history.
Children, too, undoubtedly should visit this one of the main attractions of Paris.
But to make it more interesting for them, first show them the Disney cartoon “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Then the children will not yawn and dream of leaving as quickly as possible, but will begin to look at everything around and try to compare what they saw in the cartoon with reality.
Notre Dame Cathedral Address
- 6 pl. du Parvis Notre-Dame
- Metro: Cite or St-Michel RER: St-Michel
Cathedral opening hours
- 8.00 – 18.45 (Saturday and Sunday: until 19.15)
Opening hours of the towers and the Chimera Gallery (may differ from the opening hours of the Cathedral itself)
- October 1 - March 31: 10.00 - 17.30
- April 1 - September 30: 10.00 - 18.30 (on Saturdays and Sundays in June, July and August until 23.00)
- Entry closes a quarter of an hour before closing
- The cathedral is closed: January 1, May 1 and December 25
Entrance to the cathedral is free. In the towers - paid for adults, under 18 years old free.
