Notre-Dame de Paris · Chapter
Good Souls explained
On Quasimodo Sunday in 1467, a deformed foundling is left on the wooden bed at Notre-Dame.
What happens
On Quasimodo Sunday in 1467, a deformed foundling is left on the wooden bed at Notre-Dame. A crowd of old women, including four Haudriettes, debates the nature of the creature, with some calling it a monster or a demon. The king's protonotary, Robert Mistricolle, predicts misfortunes. The young priest Claude Frollo silences the crowd, adopts the child, and carries him away, leading to whispers that he is a sorcerer.
Themes in this chapter
Appearance and Identity
The foundling's deformed appearance is immediately judged by the crowd, who label him a monster or demon, highlighting how physical appearance shapes identity and social perception.
Religion and Hypocrisy
The devout Haudriettes and the protonotary Robert Mistricolle, despite their religious piety, call for the child to be burned, revealing hypocrisy beneath their faith.
Social Injustice and Class
The foundling, a poor and abandoned creature, is dehumanized by the crowd, while the noble Dame Aloïse de Gondelaurier dismisses him with a coin, illustrating class-based indifference.
Characters to notice
- Dom Claude Frollo
The young priest who adopts the deformed foundling, silencing the crowd and carrying the child away.
- Agnès la Herme
One of the four Haudriettes who speculates that the foundling is a beast or the fruit of a Jew and a sow.
- Jehanne de la Tarme
A Haudriette who suggests the foundling is a monster of abomination and later whispers that Claude Frollo is a sorcerer.
- Henriette la Gaultière
A Haudriette who calls the foundling a miracle and hopes no one will apply for it.
- Gauchère la Violette
A Haudriette who remarks that the foundling is an abortion of a monkey.
- Madame Aloïse de Gondelaurier
A rich noblewoman who passes by with her daughter Fleur-de-Lys and tosses a silver florin into the alms basin.
Key passages
“I adopt this child.”
Claude Frollo declares he will take the foundling as his own.
This moment marks the beginning of Quasimodo's life under Frollo's care.
“I told you so, sister—that young clerk, Monsieur Claude Frollo, is a sorcerer.”
Jehanne de la Tarme whispers that Claude Frollo must be a sorcerer for taking the child.
The crowd's superstition frames Frollo's act of compassion as dark magic.