# III: Monsieur the Cardinal explained — Notre-Dame de Paris

> Chapter companion for Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo.

## What happens

The chapter introduces the arrival of Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon, at the Festival of Fools, causing an uproar and interrupting Gringoire's prologue. The cardinal's entrance shifts the crowd's attention, and he is followed by the Flemish embassy from the Duke of Austria, whose bourgeois members are met with stifled laughter. Gringoire's self-esteem is crushed as his performance is overshadowed.

## Themes in this chapter

### The Power of the Crowd

The crowd's attention shifts instantly from Gringoire's prologue to the cardinal, demonstrating the mob's fickle and powerful influence.

### Religion and Hypocrisy

The cardinal's worldly, courtier-like behavior contrasts with his religious office, and the scholars' irreverence highlights the hypocrisy of the church.

### Social Injustice and Class

The Flemish ambassadors, though bourgeois, are mocked for their names and titles, revealing class tensions between nobility and commoners.

## Character check-ins

### Pierre Gringoire

Gringoire's prologue is interrupted by the cardinal's arrival; his self-esteem is deflated as the crowd's attention shifts.

### Dom Claude Frollo

Referenced indirectly through his brother Joannes Frollo, who boldly taunts the cardinal.

### Jehan Frollo du Moulin

Joannes Frollo de Molendin, brother of the archdeacon, sings irreverently at the cardinal.

### Doctor Coictier

Mentioned as the doctor whose wine revisions were used by Louis XI against Edward IV.

### Michel Giborne

Not directly present; no explicit mention in this chapter.

## Key lines

> He was, in fact, an exalted personage, the sight of whom was well worth any other comedy.

The cardinal was such a high-ranking figure that seeing him was more entertaining than any play.

_Highlights the crowd's preference for spectacle over Gringoire's performance._

> It was not that Pierre Gringoire either feared or disdained monsieur the cardinal.

Gringoire neither feared nor disliked the cardinal.

_Establishes Gringoire's philosophical detachment and moderate nature._

> The much honored embassy of Monsieur the Duke of Austria, brought the cardinal none of these cares, but it troubled him in another direction.

The Flemish embassy did not worry the cardinal politically, but it annoyed him personally because he had to entertain commoners.

_Reveals the cardinal's disdain for the bourgeois ambassadors despite his diplomatic role._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/notre_dame_de_paris_se/chapters/iii-monsieur-the-cardinal
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/notre_dame_de_paris_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/notre_dame_de_paris_se/chapters