Notre-Dame de Paris · Chapter
More About Claude Frollo explained
This chapter delves into the character of Claude Frollo at age thirty-six, contrasting his current austere and morose priestly demeanor with his former scholarly idealism.
What happens
This chapter delves into the character of Claude Frollo at age thirty-six, contrasting his current austere and morose priestly demeanor with his former scholarly idealism. It explores his failed attempts to guide his younger brother Jehan into piety, his turn to occult sciences out of intellectual despair, and his growing misogyny and hatred for gypsies, particularly Esmeralda. His secret cell in Notre-Dame and his reputation as a sorcerer are also detailed.
Themes in this chapter
Obsession and Destructive Love
Claude Frollo's obsessive turn to occult sciences and his hatred for gypsies, especially Esmeralda, foreshadow his destructive passion.
Religion and Hypocrisy
Despite his austere priestly facade, Frollo delves into forbidden magic and harbors inner turmoil, revealing hypocrisy within the Church.
Appearance and Identity
Frollo's external severity and reputation as a sorcerer contrast with his internal struggles, highlighting the theme of hidden identity.
Characters to notice
- Dom Claude Frollo
Now archdeacon of Josas, aged thirty-six, he has become austere, grave, and morose, abandoning his earlier scholarly innocence for occult sciences and harboring a deep hatred for women and gypsies.
- Quasimodo
Mentioned as being about twenty years old, he is contrasted with Claude Frollo and is considered the archdeacon's demonic servant by the populace.
- Jehan Frollo du Moulin
Claude's younger brother, now a disorderly and debauched student at Torchi, causing Claude grief with his laziness and escapades.
Key passages
“In 1482, Quasimodo was about twenty years of age; Claude Frollo, about thirty-six. One had grown up, the other had grown old.”
By 1482, Quasimodo was roughly twenty, while Claude Frollo was thirty-six; one had matured, the other had aged prematurely.
Establishes the age contrast between the two characters at the story's time.
“He was a priest, austere, grave, morose; one charged with souls; monsieur the archdeacon of Josas, the bishop’s second acolyte, having charge of the two deaneries of Montlhéry, and Châteaufort, and one hundred and seventy-four country curacies.”
He had become a stern, solemn, and gloomy priest responsible for many souls, serving as the archdeacon of Josas and overseeing numerous parishes.
Describes Frollo's elevated but burdensome ecclesiastical position.
“Little Jehan Frollo, surnamed ( du Moulin ) “of the Mill” because of the place where he had been reared, had not grown up in the direction which Claude would have liked to impose upon him.”
Jehan Frollo, nicknamed 'of the Mill' from his upbringing, had not developed as Claude had hoped.
Introduces Jehan's divergence from Claude's expectations.
“Claude, saddened and discouraged in his human affections, by all this, had flung himself eagerly into the arms of learning, that sister which, at least does not laugh in your face, and which always pays you, though in money that is sometimes a little hollow, for the attention which you have paid to her.”
Disheartened by Jehan's behavior, Claude turned to learning as a reliable companion, though its rewards were often intangible.
Explains Frollo's retreat into scholarship as a response to personal disappointment.
“The antique symbol of the serpent biting its tail is, above all, applicable to science. It would appear that Claude Frollo had experienced this.”
The ancient symbol of the ouroboros aptly describes science, and Claude Frollo seemed to have encountered this cyclical nature.
Suggests Frollo's intellectual journey led him to forbidden knowledge.
“It was also noticed that his horror for Bohemian women and gypsies had seemed to redouble for some time past.”
Observers noted that his hatred for gypsy women had intensified recently.
Highlights Frollo's growing animosity toward Esmeralda's people.
