The Theme of Fate in The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Theme of Fate in Victor Hugo’s “Hunchback of Notre Dame” Whenever one looks in the nineteenth century, there is Victor Hugo, the French dramatist and novelist, and the revolutionary socialist. His father was a general in Napoleon’s army and, as a result, Hugo was never a strong supporter of the monarchy that began in 1815 after Napoleon’s defeat in Waterloo. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which was written during the July 1830 Revolution, was affected by the historical and political trends of the early nineteenth century. Victor Hugo was born at the beginning of the Napoleonic Empire on February 26,1802. He began writing under the restoration monarchy but then became a strong supporter of the French Republic. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is his first novel. The original title of the novel is “Notre dame de Paris” in French. It’s a historical novel and everything about the plot is supposed to reflect the cathedral of Notre Dame. Fate is a very important theme in the novel and it is linked to the cathedral -- every character in there was tied to Notre Dame in some way, and Notre Dame sealed their fates. Notre Dame itself even had a tragic fate, it was falling apart and there was very little respect for its ar

" Hugo acknowledges that fate plays a powerful role in the novel, but implies that free will is possible. The priest tries to force himself on her, but the hunchback again comes to La Esmeralda"tms rescue. The novel opens in medieval Paris on January 6, 1482, during the festival of Fools. Hugo suggests that Frollo's deterministic attitude and resignation of free will is what allows him to become such a horrible person. For example, when Pierre Gringoire follows La Esmerelda he "resigns his free will" and accepts any direction that she chooses. The Greek capitals, black with age and cut quite deep into the stone, had something puculiarly gothic about it, as if it had been from the medieval period. None of us are all that different in the grand scheme of things -- we are born, we are separated by these constructed roles, we suffer fates that are forced upon us by these constructed roles, and then we all die. Frolla believes that all actions have been predetermined and that nothing can stop him from cathing la esmeralda, he thinks she is bound to fall in one of his traps. Here we can understand that Esmeralda has a similiar fate with the fly. Frollo is incensed that he cannot have the gypsy girl for his own and plots to have her executed. Nothing had been done to repair the damage done to it during the French Revolution. He wanted to inspire his readers to protect the historical monuments of his country and this is what made him write "Notredame of Paris" or in other words "Hunchback of Notre Dame". When Pacquette tries to protect her newly found daughter from the King"tms army, she is struck by a soldier and killed. Frollo in one of the scenes watches a fly get caught in a spider's web.